How Do You Cook When Camping?

[Chary]

Most of the time when we go camping we cook over an open campfire. There have been a couple of times that we have used a gas, three burner, portable stove that we have. I really enjoy cooking over a campfire. The food seems to have a much better taste. What do you use when you go camping?

[Archer]

I've done it so many ways - using provided camp-ground grills, cooking over the open fire, and for very long camping trips bringing the gas-powered burners for boiling/frying. I love the grill and open fire food, but I appreciate the variety the burners provide on longer trips.

[Michael]

Over the fire is the only way to go. Stick, grill, pot, it doesn't really matter. Over the fire is key. It just tastes so much better.

[le Metis]

That depends - open campfire if permitted, no fires if I need to cover distance, small gas stoves above the tree line (check those O rings before you pump up that fuel bottle).... I've used Pocket Rockets (super fast at boiling water), MSR XGK's (awesome), MSR Whisperlites, sheepherder stoves, and the pine cone burning Sierra stoves....however, I have also found that the alcohol burners are a waste of time and money.....

[Refrigerator]

Backpacking I use Freeze dried foods and a blend of Fresh.
Car Camping I do the same as I would at home....and i like the Dutch oven...

Backpacking cooking gear has come a long way with light weight ovens, stoves.... and new innovative foods that you can find at your local Grocery store

[Peesalot]

For backpacking trips we bring the jetboil. We have the fry pan and the pot. For 2, or 3 day trips we'll sometimes dehydrate sauce and use the fry pan to make trailside pizza out of flat bread, or use the pot to cook up spinach tortellini...mmmmm! When we car camp we usually end up eating in town. We're not much for hanging around a campsite all day so usually it's getting dark by the time we get there and it's too much effort to bother with cooking. If we do eat at the campsite then it's usually just hot dogs on a gas stove, or something of that nature.

[Wildpegleg]

A flat cast iron skillet and regular cast iron skillet. Plus I had at one point built a reflective oven out of some sheet metal, in the shape of a pup tent wide end left open. I placed a wire rack from an old toaster oven in it and baked biscuits in it by sitting it in front of the fire. With those items, a well stocked cooler and some preparation I eat as well as I do at home.

[Grandpa]

Backpacking is strictly boiling water or bringing ready to eat stuff. So many good freeze dried and dehydrated menus available. For campgrounds it's dutch ovens or the griddle with gas. There are getting to be so many people that open fires are a thing of the past, unless the means to dispose of the ashes exist. Ashes contain phosphates which leach into streams and lakes upsetting the pH balance and destoying aquatic habitat. Even our remote Rocky Mt wilderness' are restricting open fires now. Even in the far back country, wood is getting scarce for considerable distances around favorite sites. Unless there is a pre-existing fire ring as well as no wilderness restrictions, use a stove. My favorite freeze dried entree's are mountain houses Sweet and Sour pork and Chicken Polynesion. For campground/tailgating the dutch ovens reign supreme in our book, from steaks to baking yeast breads from scratch, nothing beats the cast iron.

[woodsman]

We don't always cook sometimes we have prepared meals on hand especially if we are on the move during the trip, but when we do it's always on an open fire.

[mccallum]

Camping (ie car at site) camp stove two-burner coleman and the grill at the camp site and fire in the fire ring. We have the idea that breakfast may or may not be hot; lunch will most likely be hot and supper will be cold camp esp the day we set up camp. The last two day camp we did we did a hot supper and cooked and ate in the dark/lantern light; we then tryed to camp fire bake potatos for luch (would have worked had we not gone swimming and left them in the fire for about an hour to long!!). If we are just over nighting the chance are it will be cold camp.