Camping Food

[daniel banquo merrick]

I was thinking that one of the best things about car camping can be food.

Some of my earliest memories are of mom cooking in skillets over a fire in the Yaak River country of northwestern Montana which must have been about 1960. A galvanized bucket of cold water right out of the creek was always kept in camp hanging from a branch with a dipper. The dipper handle had a hooked end and hung from the side of the bucket or the bramch. When you got thirsty, you just got a dipper of water and drank out of the dipper. The dipper was metal with a flat bottom and straight side just like the big dipper. I haven't seen a dipper like that since I was a kid.

Here is some YouTube camping food porn to inspire us:
https://youtu.be/42Q3cNKoYxI

[mungeclimber]

One of the best meals camping was having a whole pig on a spit.

I mean, who does that, right?

[susan]

Iron skillet of fried chicken over a campfire is about the most delicious meal made extra special to eat outdoors.

What a random and cute as heck owl 🦉 hanging around the scene in that video, but for a second I worried for that owl. Naw!

Where have I seen that ladle dipping for a drink of water scene? Some b&w tv shows. Maybe a farm. Anyway what a nice still from that time.

Easy and delicious: steak, salmon,  burgers... My brother & sister-in-law made the best smoked Fred Flinstone sized brontosaurus beef ribs and that was probably the best meal outdoors I’ve had and one of the best anywhere. Plus easy for me but lotta work for the cook.

[daniel banquo merrick]

The abattoir in Los Banos has a store. Not long ago I picked up some really nice steaks there. I stopped and bought a whole New York Strip, about 10 lbs for $90 if I recall. I sliced it into 2 inch thick steaks and grilled them. My wife and I thought they were nearly the best New York steaks we have had in a long time. I'm pretty sure I could cook a whole strip on a grill over a bed of hot campfire coals. The fat side all crispy and the meat side all caramelized. Lay the whole thing out on a plank and let people slice off what they want.

[susan]

Talk like that is serious now, ya hear? Crispy and caramelized... I support this.

[susan]

And another thing, here's a picture I’ve posted around here before....

[mungeclimber]

either of those posts is permissible, assuming I can put it in a tortilla with lime and cilantro.

[DaveyTree]

I am trying to get in shape and this is not helping.......

I have fallen in love with hatch green Chile seasoning, https://www.amazon.com/Hatch-Green-Chile-seasoning-Mild/dp/B007P57L2I , which my wife brought back after visiting my daughter at college @ ASU. The smell made it seam perfect for fish. I cooked up some fresh bass fillets I caught around Fresno and it is amazing. Since then I have mastered the bass fish taco.

I also used it last year when I took a pack trip to fly fish Goldens in the lakes below Mt. Hooper. I told them to keep some Goldens and rainbows and surprised them by pulling out olive oil, hatch seasoning, tortillas and fixings out of my pack. Once done, forked the meat off and the tacos couldn't have tasted any better, unless I would have brought some sriracha mayo.

[DaveyTree]

Not healthy but Frito boats are pretty amazing after a long day in the woods. All you need is a can of Chile beans which you can cook in the can and a bag of Fritos. Easy for big groups.

.....You can also use some of the Fritos as a pretty good fire starter. They burn pretty good, Hhahaha

[daniel banquo merrick]

Susan's iron skillet looks like it's cooking something good. Can we elect her camp cook? I'll do prep and cleanup.

When I was a kid we used to toast potato chips over the fire. Poke a little hole in one, hang it on a stick and hold it over the fire until it sizzles. Do you know how much better fresh hot french fries are compared to cold ones? That's how much better toasting makes potato chips.

[susan]

Went out of my way on the long drive out to Soyo to find a small bag of flour to buy, that time we fried chicken in the iron skillet, but John is responsible for cooking some of that too. Probably my inspiration and tossing the chicken with flour and seasonings, and his cooking. Doesn’t always work out to get a  good team effort cooking but enjoy it when it does.


Campfire hot tato chips will have to try, but agreed this thread is seriously indulgent when I should focus on lean eats... Honestly a little bad keeps us sane right?