Camp cooking - Need a few suggestions

[Nac Mac Feegle]

It's been a long time since I've ben able to dig out the dutch ovens and go wild. Have an opportunity to do a couple meals (supper). I need a few suggestions for a main dish and some sides.

I have charcoal and real dutch ovens (the cast iron kind with the legs). I also have a gas burner and a small gas barbecue. I'll have plenty of prep room and a couple of coolers for storage of cold items. We have 5 guys total on a project for work, and we're all just crazy enough to think this sort of stuff is fun.

We're also going to be about 8000 feet above sea level, and quite a long way from a grocery store. So getting everything prepared and ready before leaving is neccesary.

It's been so long since I've done this that I don't remember anything other than a cobbler and a cornbread, but that's only one night, maybe two if we have leftovers.

[Snarkoleptic]

1. On my most recent campout, we had two beef roasts.

They were heavily coated with mustard, seasoned, and thrown directly onto the hot coals. (no foil)
The fire had been burning for a long while, was about halfway burned down and had lots of hot coals.
The roasts cooked for just over an hour and were each flipped once with fireplace tongs.

This was the preferred technique of the long-time scoutmaster and the adult scout leaders enjoyed a really nice meal with baked potatoes on the side.

[grasswire]

2. our member Warpy lives at high altitude NM

Maybe she would have some hints for your baking and general cooking.

[Major Nikon]

3. Biscuits are pretty easy to do in a dutch oven

I use a silicone mat to mix the dough and cut the biscuits. You mix the dry ingredients on the mat, make a well with the dry ingredients, then pour the wet ingredients into the well and slowly mix with a fork until you can work the dough with your hands.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/baking-powder-biscuits-recipe

I store the leftovers in a ziplock. The next day you cut them in two and fry the cut side in butter or lard until brown.

[Kali]

4. stews are almost foolproof

dredge meat chunks in salt, pepper, flour. brown in fat/oil add chopped onion, garlic and whatever vegetables you want, a couple cans of chopped tomatoes and cook for a couple hours.

biscuits or corn bread for the side


this looks like a good site - http://www.dutchovendude.com/dutch-oven-recipes.asp

http://www.cowboyshowcase.com/dutch-ovens.html#.VU1CbZP-UcY

[Hotler]

6. I vote for beef stew. I got my BoyScout..

First class badge doing beef stew for the cooking assignment in the winter at altitude here in Colorado around 1969, 11 degrees out.

[pinto]

5. I've done whole meals, tightly foil wrapped, separately, on the hot coals.

Beef tri-tip (spiced and seared before wrapping)
Corn on the cob w/butter
Onions, halved
Garlic, halved
Green beans w/ butter
Apples, halved w/butter and cinnamon

[Nac Mac Feegle]

7. Abandoning a thread is considered bad manners, so here is a report

Monday night:

Home made salsa and chips provided by one of the other guys.
Marinated Flatiron steaks grilled on a cast iron griddle.
Potato salad.

My contributions:
Blue cornbread with chiles and corn kernels cooked in a dutch oven, recipe adjusted for size and altitude.
Peach - blackberry cobbler in another dutch oven.
Cowboy beans. (Five different cans of beans in a stew pot, with diced jalapenos and a couple diced hot link sausages.
Grill roasted sweet potato slices.


Beer (of course)


Tuesday Lunch:

Sandwiches
Pita chips with dips (Hummus and green onion dip)
Leftover beans
Chocolate Bundt Cake


Tuesday night:

Warmed up spare ribs from one of the other guys.
Beer (of course)

Me again with my outdoor stuff:

Hawaiian shish kabobs (Spam, cherry tomatoes, pineapple chunks, teriyaki glaze on grill)
Shepherds' Pie in Dutch oven
Leftover Blue cornbread
Leftover Cobbler
Spring mix salad with balsamic vinaigrette
Cabernet Sauvignon (two buck Chuck: a bit of it went into the sauce for the shepherds' pie, we had to dispose of the rest)


Food coma was enjoyed by all.

I still have the camp cooking 'touch', the only thing that got burned was the sweet potatoes on Monday night, as I got sidetracked lighting up a batch of charcoal and didn't check on them soon enough to flip at the right time.

The last time I did any camp cooking was before going to cooking school. I'm better now than I ever was. I've learned how to organize things and how to set up mise-en-place. Knowing how the recipe works enables me to adjust for variables (altitude, pot size, number of intended victims, etc...) much more easily and with reliable results.

I have GOT to do this again: I've forgotten how much pure FUN it is. With a sufficient number of hungry people, "fresh victims" so to speak, it's a lot more enjoyable to see the reactions. My wifes' medications mess up her appetite, and my son goes from one picky attitude to another at random, so new people that are just a little starved from a long cool day of work are a perfect audience.

There's a saying attributed to many different people: "Hunger is the greatest sauce of all."

I know that my Cobbler has been able to extract an entire Troop of Boy Scouts from their sleeping bags without any zippers being touched. Either on the bags or the tents. Grabs them by the nostrils and just sort of pulls. I open up the D.O., and a few seconds later: hungry Scouts all over the place.


Nice to know I still have "it".

[Galileo126]

8. Awesome!

I haven't cooked by campfire in about 20 yrs (grad school, I think). What I do remember was cooking the most perishable items on the first night, then a gradual creep of creativity using what remained in the days following. I think my best one was doing a chicken/shrimp gumbo over the fire (a first-nighter recipe).

Glad all worked out!

[SheilaT]

9. I live at 7,000 feet,

although I don't cook outdoors. The main thing to keep in mind is that water boils at a lower temperature, so everything will take longer to cook. You will also need to use more spices than you would at lower altitude. Not sure why, but the flavors don't take as well. So add a bit more of whatever.

If you want to bake break, cake, cookies, or brownies, here are the rules to follow: Increase the liquid by about 10%. Wing it. Use larger eggs, or a bit more milk, water, whatever. Also a smidge more butter/oil/shortening than you'd use at lower altitude. Reduce any leavening by half. Leave the sugar alone. Reduce the flour by about a tablespoon per cup. Do NOT believe the cookbooks that tell you to increase flour. I can't begin to understand why so many of them say that. The air is already dry at high altitude, and increasing flour just dries things out more. Trust me on this. I make amazing cakes, cookies, and brownies at 7,000 feet.