CAMP COOKING

Camp cooking is a fun activity. But the key to enjoying yourself while cooking over a campfire or camp stove is preparation. The following tips should be of help:

• Aluminum Foil - Don't forget the heavy duty aluminum foil. There are many uses for it at camp.

•  Aluminum foil bags - take up little room and are great for mixing vegetables and meats together for easy cooking and easy clean-up.

• Bar Soap - To keep bar soap clean at your campsite, put it in a sock and hang from a tree.

• Block Ice - Block ice will last longer than cubed ice.

•  Bread types - Pita bread packs better and stays in better shape while camping than regular type breads.

• Breakfast tip - On your last day of camp, use your leftover meats and vegetables to make omelets for breakfast. You can use almost any ingredient in an omelet. More importantly, you won't have to take the leftovers home with you.

• Chicken on the Grill - When grilling chicken, grill the chicken without the sauce until it is cooked, then coat with your favorite bar-b-que sauce. The bar-b-que sauce won't burn and your chicken will be more flavorful.

• Cleanup tips - Easily remove burned on food - from your skillet or pan, simply add a drop or two of dish soap and enough water to cover bottom of pan and bring to a boil.

• Coffee Pots - Use an old, large coffee pot to heat up water for cooking, doing the dishes or for hot beverages.

• Cooking - Cook meals on or over coals (either wood or charcoal). Coals provide a more steady, even heat without the smoke.  Avoid burning your food.? Avoid undercooked food in the middle.

•  Cooler convenience - All items in your cooler should be packed in watertight plastic bags or containers.

• Cooler convenience  Use cans of frozen juice keep other foods cold.

• Cooler convenience - To fix a cooler leak, apply melted paraffin wax inside and outside the leaky area.

• Cooler convenience - To remove odors from your cooler, wipe with a water and baking soda solution.

• Cooler convenience - Use a separate cooler for drinks so not to open the food cooler too often.

• Cover pots whenever cooking outdoors. Food will cook more rapidly and you will save on fuel. Also, it helps keep dirt and insects out of your food.

• Crock-pot - Consider using a crock-pot. Prepare and start your dinner in the morning before your activities. It'll be ready to eat when you return to camp.

• Disposable water bottles - make great dispensers for salad dressings, oils and sauces.

• Doing Dishes  Place a pan of hot water on the fire while you eat, so that it'll be ready for cleanup when you have finished your meal.

• Energy Snack foods - Bring energy boosting snacks such as GORP trail mix, granola bars, dried fruit, beef jerky, etc.

• Food Storage - To avoid unwanted visits from animals, keep food stored away or hang above ground level.

• Freeze your Meats - Freeze meat before putting in cooler. This will keep other foods cold and your meat will keep for a longer period of time.
• Gas Canisters - Be very careful with gas canisters. Keep upright at all times. Keep outside in well ventilated area. Check for leakage by putting soap liquid on all connections. Turn off when not in use.

• Grill tips - Add a few ice cubes to aluminum foil dinners or vegetables packets to prevent them from burning and to keep them moist.

• Grill tips - Oil your Grill Grate. Apply vegetable oil (or PAM cooking spray) on camp grill grate to keep foods from sticking.

• Grill tips - To get your charcoal pieces ready quicker, use a charcoal chimney.

• Hamburgers on the Grill - To cook hamburgers more evenly throughout, put a hole in the middle of your hamburger about the size of your finger. As the burger cooks, the hole will disappear, and the center of the burger will be cooked the same as the edges.

• Ice - Replenish your ice often. Keep your food cold at all times to avoid food spoilage and food poisoning.

• Instant foods - Use convenience or instant foods for quick meals.?

• Liquid soap - For ease of clean up and to protect from smoke and fire damage, put liquid soap on outside of your pots and pans before putting over the fire.

• Margarine and Butter - Instead of "stick" or "tub" butter or margarine, try "squeeze" margarine. The squeeze bottle is much easier and cleaner to use when in the woods. It is also great for cooler temperatures. If it gets too hard, simply place the bottle in a pot of warm water for a few minutes.

• Marshmallows - To keep marshmallows from sticking together, add a little powdered sugar to the bag. Brand name marshmallows are less likely to stick together.

• Milk Containers - Fill gallon milk jugs or 2 liter soda bottles with water or juice and freeze. They keep the cooler cold and provide a cold beverage.

• Mixing Bowls - To save room when packing your camp kitchen, use your pots as mixing bowls.

• Oven mitts  Remember to bring a mitt or you can use a leather/suede work glove as an oven mitt.

•  Paper Towels - Put a rope through the paper towel tube. Tie the ends of the rope together. Loop over slat in picnic table or from a low tree limb.

• Pre-chop ingredients - such as onion, peppers etc at home. Pack in ziplock bags. Pre-cook select meats and freeze for quick meal preparation.

• Pre-cook side dishes - Precook rice or noodles at home. Let cool. Store in a Gladlock or Ziplock bag. Just reheat and eat.

• Pre-made Meals - Prepare soups, stews or chili etc ahead of time. Freeze and keep in cooler. Reheat for a quick meal.

• Pre-Measure ingredients - for each meal ahead of time and pack in Gladlock or Ziplock bags. Label each bag accordingly. Reuse bags for litter cleanup.

• Seal-A-Meal type systems - Invest in an airtight bag/sealing system. There are many benefits to this investment:

o  Without air, a bacterium doesn't grow as rapidly and foods keep better.

o  Prepare individual servings in airtight bags so you only open what you need. For frozen food items, individual servings defrost faster than large portions. 

o The bags are reusable, so use them for your litter. 

o The plastic bags are also lighter than cans. 

o  Finally, the bags are thicker than other storage bags and will help reduce, if not eliminate, food odors.

•  To keep matches dry - dip stick matches in wax and when needed, scrape off the tip of the match and light. Also keep matches in a waterproof container.

• Too much Salt - If you add too much salt to a recipe, add a peeled potato to the dish and finish cooking. The potato will absorb the excess salt.

• Use fireproof cooking equipment - Keep handles away from extreme heat and flames.

•  Use Gladlock or Ziplock bags - to store foods like soup, sauces, chili etc. Freeze the bag and put in cooler. It helps keep other foods cold and when ready to eat, put bag in hot water to heat through.