Cooking on the road

SGH0004

We are planning a month long trip to as many western/north western national parks that we can see & still be able to enjoy.   We normally camp within a hundred miles from home for the weekend & do the normal hamburgers/hotdogs & camping type meals.  What do you guys do on long trips?  We're not big on fast food & there will be times when there might not be a restaurant handy.   Any suggestions for easy cook/easy clean up meals?  Cookbook suggestions?  So we don't end up eating a bunch of "junk".  We are planning on bringing a small toaster oven & a griddle.

skwhee

Keep it simple. Keep it fresh. Shop often. Local grocery stores and produce stands.

We tend to travel for months on end and we eat much the same on the road as we do at home. We eat out occasionally but more to sample the specialties in an area. We shop the local grocery stores looking for familiar foods but are also open to trying some of the regional foods.

If you are planning on staying in the national park campgrounds you need to be prepared for non-electric cooking at least some of the time.

We use the Esbit Folding Charcoal Grill with the Kingsford 2.8 lb Easy Light bags. We'll buy a week's worth of meat, fire up the grill and do "Grill Night". We'll cook up all the meat, have some hot off the grill, then eat the leftovers in various combinations the rest of the week.

Our favorite electric appliance is the now discontinued Cuisinart Oven Central (CBO-1000). Refurbished units are still available online and worth considering. We can do an amazing variety of techniques with it: sauteing, stewing, searing, baking, roasting. Cornbread, beef stew, eggs and sausage, soup, muffins, shish kabobs, brownies, and much more. It takes up less room than a toaster oven and has fewer parts that rattle around.

And the one stovetop pan that we use far more than any other is the 10" Fry Pan with folding handle from REI. It's amazingly versatile.

Happy Trails!



https://www.amazon.com/Esbit-Portable-Folding-Charcoal-Carrying/dp/B003DRLQEG

https://www.kingsford.com/products/kingsford-easy-light-bag/#D6PzJxgw5UcyA8oB.97

https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-Oven-Central-Countertop-Stainless-Steel/dp/B01MUEU27R
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR4sJihETWI

https://www.rei.com/product/895453/gsi-outdoors-bugaboo-frypan-10-in

SGH0004

skwhee, thanks for the tips.  We are looking into the Oven Central.  That is several appliances in one.  I can see how you can eat like you're at home 

Photomom

The oven central is awesome. I bought one for T@Bbing and liked it so much I bought another for my home kitchen. 

One thing I've made several times while camping is frittata. Start with either fresh cubed potatoes or dried hash browns. Cook the potatoes in a bit of water. When nearly done add diced peppers, onions, and broccoli and a little olive oil and finish cooking. Then beat eggs with a little milk and grated cheese and pour over the veggies. Cook with top heat on until eggs are set. You can also add other things like diced ham or sundried tomatoes while cooking. Good for supper or a hearty breakfast.

All these ingredients can be found in any grocery store and will keep at least a week in the T@B fridge or a cooler. I've also made this in my Outback Oven on a propane camp stove many times.

Photomom

Kabobs work great in the oven central too and that's one of our favorite suppers. I do recommend using the baking pan accessory for cooking since it's easy to take out and wash.

jkjenn

BallPark makes chicken patties that are grilled, low cal, and frozen so you just have to heat them up. I eat them with sandwich thins. They also make pulled pork pouches (sandwich serving size.) Pulled pork without the mess!

I will also use either Bob Evans or Simply Potatoes and the Hormel meat found in the fridge department. Very little mess to clean up.

Other than that, it's mostly sandwiches. 

SGH0004

photomom, I'm most impressed that y'all eat supper!  I thought only us southern folks eat "supper".  LOL.  Thanks for the advice.  My son actually ate something like that tonight.  
Jenn, great suggestion on the frozen patties.  I bet you can do a lot with some pre-cooked frozen/grilled chicken.  Keep the suggestions coming.  We're going on a little trip this weekend & might try some of these out.  We picked up a few cooking items at TJ Maxx last night.  I was hoping an oven central would be there but no such luck.  My wife saw some sort of a gas cooker kind of like the oven central online.  Anyone have any experience with anything like that?  Just concerned that we may not have electricity at several campgrounds or has not having electricity not really been a problem for those that use the oven central.  Do most of the NP campgrounds have a charcoal grill or is that something that we will need to bring along? 

Photomom

We like to get up and have a quick breakfast most days unless we're just hanging around camp that day. For a two week trip I make up about a gallon of muesli. I start with Bob's Red Mill Muesli and add dried fruit (raisins, blueberries, apricots) and nuts (pecans, sliced almonds, pepitas). We eat it topped with fresh berries and yogurt from a local store. Quick and hearty, minimal cleanup.

ericnliz

@SGH0004, Most parks have a fire pit, some accommodate with a 'grill' of sorts on top, some have a separate BBQ grill as well. Gotta be careful in the summer months for posted burn bans that don't allow charcoal, or even open flame propane grills. Search through here for the different cooking apparatuses that different folks use. Remember though.."different strokes for different folks". What works for some doesn't work for all. You just need to figure out what would fit your 'style' the best.

Dptrit

One of our favorite camp foods is quesadillas. Super easy. Large flour tortillas, cheese, dry cheese like manchego holds up better on long camp trips, but whatever you have works. A can of green chiles. Throw in some salsa, or leftover chicken, beef, tofu, whatever you have. Grill over open fire, I have a grill basket used for fish that works great. Add garlic, other sauces, small cut veggies, mushrooms, the possibilities are endless. Anything over a open fire taste great. But it will work on a grill, a pan, or in a oven. Add sour cream or low fat yogurt when serving. Or not. 
Freeze food before you go, pre shredded cheese seems to do ok. I freeze herbs and veggies as well. We try to hit road side stands or farmer markets for fresh veggies. Tip: Show up at a farmers market when they are closing down and you get better deals or freebies. We were given several loaves of fresh baked bread just recently by a ranger, who had been given it by a local artisan baker at a farmer market. Baker was packing up and leaving for the day. It was great. 
Eggs, if properly packed, travel well and stay fresh. Most countries do not even refrigerate eggs, the US does, do to some inoculation process and factory farming. 
I also try to stay away from raw meats. If we have it (rarely) we keep two coolers. Meat and non meat. But with small spaces, sometime inadequate cleaning and possibility of cross contamination it is generally not worth it. 
Pastas sauces are easy, low prep. Though boiling water for noodles can be difficult. Elevation and propane. Hot dogs/sausages on the grill (can be frozen in advance.) Olive oil a must. 
Pre pack small bags of salt, pepper, fresh garlic, fresh herbs, rosemary and thyme always good. Corn on the grill is Wonderful. Get fresh ears of corn, peel back the husks, brush or rub with olive oil, sprinkle with herbs, and throw on the grill.
Perhaps the most important ingredient is wine. A little for cooking, but mostly for the chef. 

SGH0004

@Dptrit thanks for the great advice. You mentioned something that I haven't thought of about the propane . What's the difference cooking at elevation? Slower to heat up?

Dptrit

@SGH0004 yes things take longer to heat. On small camp stoves ( not sure on the T@B stove) it is hard to get a good boil going in general, and then add high altitude is is even more difficult. This is from the source herself Betty Crocker, or at least her "people"
At high altitudes: Air pressure is lower, so foods take longer to cook. Temperatures and/or cook times may need to be increased. Water boils at a lower temperature, so foods prepared with water (such as pastas and soups) may take longer to cook. Temperatures and cook times may need to be increased.

The below link seems like a good resource , it is from a cook/chef that lives and regularly cooks at high altitude.  
http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/high-altitude/

Ratkity

Once you put freshly laid eggs in a frig (industry) they last 3 weeks. They want them to last as long as possible. There's no other thing industry does other than "candle" the eggs and pull out the double-yolkers for the baking industry and brush them off. Eggs last longer if they are are brushed after being laid than if they are washed. Candling is just that, they used to hold a candle behind the egg to see the yolk. Of course, they use a regular light now  

Fresh eggs will last 2 weeks on the countertop or 3 weeks in the frig. We never refrigerated eggs growing up. Milk or butter either. 

It's putting the eggs in and out cold and warmth that makes them go bad so fast. There are pores on a very thin outside membrane on the shell. The pores open up and close when eggs go in and out of cool and warmth and then sweat, pulling in surface microbes. Beware of buying "fresh eggs" from little country stores who have the chest frigs. The frigs are warmer at the top than the bottom and are open and closed frequently (setting up the hot/cold egg situation).

That is your egg lesson from your resident microbiologist (who worked in a Poultry Science lab in grad school). I ate so many free eggs then, it took a while for me to eat them again after graduating!

ScottG

Good info, @Ratkity. I knew temperature fluctuations were detrimental to wine (nature's other delicate, delicious gift to humankind) so I'm not surprised the same applies to eggs!

Ratkity

Did you know beer could go bad too @ScottG??? I'm not just talking about the six pack I buy just to use 2 cans in my chili recipe and then forget it about it in the pantry for a year (talk about nasty, and I'm not a beer drinker). I'm talking about it going bad just like wine if exposed to too much heat and then cooler temps. I bet those small brewery and specialty beers don't fair to well either. 

Homebodyatheart

@Ratkity I buy one tall can of Coors every 10 to 14 months or so. I decant it into sandwich zippered baggies and freeze them upright. Because beer doesn't freeze hard like water I can knock off a chunk here and there for soups and stews, etc, and not have the beer go bad. I guess you and I are doomed to be a couple of lushes, eh?!

Ratkity

Homebodyatheart said:

@Ratkity I buy one tall can of Coors every 10 to 14 months or so. I decant it into sandwich zippered baggies and freeze them upright. Because beer doesn't freeze hard like water I can knock off a chunk here and there for soups and stews, etc, and not have the beer go bad. I guess you and I are doomed to be a couple of lushes, eh?!

OMG! What a great idea!! I had no clue you could do that. We are doooooomed  

ScottG

Oh yeah, I definitely knew that about beer! While I don't care for air conditioning myself, I've considered installing the T@B's amputated unit in my basement to help keep the homebrew and other libations fresh.

Love makes you do funny things...

Photomom

A couple comments on Dptrit's post. If I bring raw meat I put it in a ziplock freezer bag and put that in a lock-n-lock container to prevent leaking and contamination.

As for pasta, I recently found some precooked pasta at Wegmans. I believe the brand was Barilla Ready Pasta. Doesn't require refrigeration and you just add it to your dish the last minute of cooking. Looks like it is available online from various places.

Ratkity

@Photomom, great idea about that pasta!! I've seen it and never thought of using it while camping. Genius!!

ericnliz

"Did you know beer could go bad too" Ha, not at MY house! Doesn't stick around long enough for THAT to happen!  
Back to cookin'...I freeze ALL the meat that I take campin', and have a dedicated cooler for all my frozen goodies. Simple configuration: Block ice, or frozen gallon jugs, frozen meat, assorted frozen foods, frozen water bottles, and ice cubes on top. I just plan ahead for what I'm going to cook, and take out what I want, and put it in the T@B fridge to safely thaw ahead of time. Don't drain the water out of the cooler until it gets to the middle, or close to the middle of the bottom layer of ice, or frozen jugs. Helps keep things a LOT colder.
Chicken stir fry: Aluminum foil to make packet, chicken breasts cut up to desired size, choices of cut-up veggies ( we use zucchini, and various summer squashes, red & yellow peppers, red potatoes, & onion) marinade: either Italian salad dressing, or various other salad dressings of your choice, note: the more liquefied ones work best.  Place all ingredients in foil, make packet & fold to seal. Freeze, and take out about 1-2 hours before cooking, depending on weather & thaw time. You can either cook this on an open flame (BBQ), in the fire pit, or in a cast iron skillet. Yummy stuff & you can also substitute pork for the chicken. Home made burritos frozen can be done the same way, also yummy. Also freeze spaghetti sauce in baggies, lots of uses: from spaghetti to Sloppy Joes, and even add some stuff for chili, or goulash.
If we're staying in one spot for more than two, or three days, I take the Pit Barrel, and cook larger portions of meat, and re-use what we don't eat the first go-round, packed in gallon baggies, and into the frozen food cooler it goes. Makes for good breakfasts (prime rib & eggs!!!), make-shift dinners, and awesome sammiches. After a while, you just kinda figure out what works best for YOU & YOUR needs & wants. Also depends on how much 'ya like to cook! If 'ya come campin' with us & our friends, 'ya won't leave hungry, but 'ya might be considering a diet when 'ya get back home!

Ratkity

I'm going to @ericnliz's camper to be fed! I hate to cook. I bring spaghettio's and used to eat them at room temp. Now I have a small microwave and heat them up a little. My camping trips are short due to lack of work leave. I like to go out to a local restaurant once, so that decreases food needs. 

For longer times on the road, I'd have to think much like @Photomom and @ericnliz. Plan ez-cook meals. When I retire, my income will be very fixed and going out to eat will be a blue moon treat on the road for long trips. I *am* taking notes!! I may kid around about our T@B/T@G chefs, but I am secretly writing it all down! *shifty eyes*

ericnliz

@Ratkity, I learned a LONG time ago, planning ahead makes all the difference for not only easy cook, but for planning available space as well. My long time campin' friend that we're goin' campin' with this week used to be a cook on Alaskan fishing, crab boats. When we first met, we'd have up to 5, or 6 little folks with us on our trips that varied from 2-3 days, up to 7 to 10 days. The week before we'd go, we'd discuss what we were going to cook that we could use left-overs for. From turkeys to roasts, and everything in between, we'd get REAL creative, and seldom had any complaints, and those usually fell on deaf ears. Filling in between with fish caught never hurt either. Found the hardest part to be.....CLOSE THE COOLER!!!

Ratkity

"CLOSE THE COOLER!"

OMG, I heard that from my parents so many times. We took day trips to Kerr Lake or Lake Jordon in NC. We had a gray Coleman metal cooler I remember using as a seat. It seemed so big. I wish I still had it. Good memories. All of us were little fish and playing "shark" with each other in the murky waters was hysterical (pulling on the leg of the unsuspecting person treading water and talking to someone else). It worked best on pestering big sisters. Leaking rafts and floats, patches and sandy feet. Plain bologna sammiches (or with mustard) and red koolaid never tasted so good.

ericnliz

Don't forget the hot dogs over the campfire on a stick!!!! No bun required & good stuff. (gotta save the stick for the marshmallows later anyway!) We used to have contests between Dad & my brothers to see who could get their hot dog to swell up the most with absolutely torchin' it, or havin' it split wide open!
No rafts, or floats, just plain old patched up inner tubes. Still have the old metal milk cooler that my folks had on the front porch for the milkman to deliver milk. Add ice, beer, perfect for the back patio!

Ratkity

The first time us kids didn't have a hand-me-down canvas raft and were introduced to a humongous inner tube, we had a blast. Playing "king of the inner tube" and bouncing the king off... omg. So many good memories. I never liked the marshmallows, but loved to torch them black. My Mom loved blackened marshmallows, so it was a win-win situation. Covered in crumbs, sticky with marshmallows, red Koolaid mustaches - we were all required to dunk one more time before getting into the hot car with vinyl seats. Dark purple Mercury Comet station wagon - 3-on-the-tree shifter.

Did you ever play, capture the greased watermelon? I think the adults had more fun watching us try to hold onto it and it popping out of our arms at rocket speed. Good times. 

SGH0004

@Ratkity & @ericnliz  thanks for all of the tips & advice.  We went to David Crockett state park in TN this past weekend (nice park/not so nice bath houses).  We grilled chicken & vegetables Fri night & hobo packs (hamburger meat with potatoes/carrots/onions/mushrooms).  I have found that our cheap electric griddle fits perfect in my Husky box that I have mounted on the tongue.  Great for state parks with hookups to cook bacon & pancakes on.  However, our trip in October will be a real awakening since most of the National Parks don't have power.  We may start looking for some pre-cooked chicken like @jkjenn mentioned.  I have found good use for canned chicken breast.  Great for burritos & quesadillas.