The lakes thread, the talk of trout, got me thinking about camping meals. What do you guys like? My personal fave, because its easy and delicious, are just making hobo meals. All the prep is done ahead of time, per person, half an onion chopped, three small red potatoes cubed, two spicy Italian sausage mashed up, a few cloves of garlic, a few baby carrots, and a good amount of spices. Take all that, wrap it in tin foil, throw it on a camp fire for about 30 minutes. Filling, good, and goes well with beer.
When me and my buddies go camping it's pretty much grill a steak, serve it with chilli. Grill a steak, serve it with fried eggs. Catch fish? Serve it with steak.
Here's what I did two weeks ago camping down on the Rogue River: 1. premake some bread dough and put it in a plastic bag, sit near the fire to warm and rise a bit before using it 2. skewer half an Olympic Provisions hotdog lengthwise 3. twist a very thin strip of dough around the dog from top to bottom, leaving about in inch of exposed dog between each go around 4. twist bacon around in the empty spaces. squish the dough a bit around the edges to hold it in place. 5. roast somehow i was too drunk to remember to take a picture when it was done.
Mine are usually like Sly- lots of steak, but also some italian sausage and hot dogs. Favorite has to be spam and eggs for breakfast. I also started throwing some of the packaged turkey deli meat on the grill on toast with ketchup which is pretty good for long camping trips where you get sick of eating the same thing over and over.
Oh man, I love those, but we usually put hamburger meat, as well as carrots, potatoes, onions, etc. If you want to try something new, buy some meat stock and put a little in with the other ingredients. It really gives it some extra flavor and the juice keeps it nice and moist. I love it. We've cooked them at home and put them in the oven before
A hint for things not getting too messy, once you prep everything, put it in a ziplock bag, then once at the campfire you can transfer it to tin foil. Also, adding a tablespoon of olive oil does wonders. What I said is the basic recipe, but you can go wild from there. Adding shrimp(no shell), scallops, or some other seafood is always good. Mixing some sausage and some hamburger is always nice. If you like beets or yams or some other good roasting veg, toss that bad boy in as well. I don't like mushrooms, but if you like them, add them. Also, I have never tried it, but I have heard that adding a splash of bourbon or wine can work well. Things that don't work are anything leafy like spinach or kale. Thin watery veggies are also not so great, like tomatoes or bell peppers. Enjoy, and report back if you end up doing it.
I was thinking about ready made pizza dough. I don't know if it would work, but seems like a good option.
For the adults: Fillet the steelhead you just caught. Cut fillets in half, to make them half as long. Place two pieces (one fillet) in one of those wire 'fish baskets'. http://www.casa.com/p/cuisinart-non-stick-grilling-basket-753921?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_C&utm_term=WGM-010&utm_campaign=GoogleAW&CAWELAID=1610424737&utm_content=pla&adtype=pla&cagpspn=pla Slather generously with your favorite BBQ sauce. Salt and pepper. Cook, skin side down, until nearly done (see white fat showing up between flakes of flesh) Turn over long enough to finish cooking and 'set' the sauce. Best steelhead/salmon recipe ever. For the kids: One small packaged Boboli bread per kid. One can/bottle of spaghetti sauce. Grated/thinly sliced cheddar and jack cheese Packaged, sliced pepperoni, sausage, ham, pineapple, ect. Spread spaghetti sauce on the Boboli. Add toppings per kid's taste. Cover with the cheeses. Place over a low fire (on lid of a wire basket, or on tin foil. Heat until cheese melts. Kids love this one.
I tried this while camping this past weekend and it was pretty good. I used a tube of crousant dough. I might try something different next time because the dough didn't cook as fast as the hot dog and bacon.
