From Dutch oven delicacies to variations on the ever-popular s'more, camping cuisine doesn't have to be limited to beans and weenies.
Dorothy Ott and her family of five have been trekking into the great outdoors for years in their camper, and she said enjoys trying new recipes to keep their camping fare fun and new.
Most who do the cooking on a camping trip agree the first step is being prepared.
"Do as much ahead of time as you can," Ott said. "Think about what cooking utensils you need just to make the recipe, but not serve it or put the finishing touches on it. If you can avoid taking things you do not need, you will thank yourself later."
Ott suggests assembling food dishes in advance as well.
"Fresh fruit kabobs, even meat and veggie kabobs are easiest when assembled first," she said. "Initially they may take up a little more cooler room, but when they are ready to go they can easily be pulled out and served or thrown on the grill. And then you also have more of a chance for the meats to marinate, and you can rarely go wrong with that."
Breakfasts have gotten easier, too, Ott said. "Don't think that you have to bring the whole kitchen to have good food."
Grab pre-made biscuits and leave the dry mix at home. English muffins also work well for heating up breakfast sandwiches.
When Velma Masterson's family goes camping, they like a big breakfast. She recommends preparing pancake batter and even mixing eggs for scrambled eggs before leaving home and transporting them in zip-lock bags, which are easy to use and discard.
When it comes to dessert, a favorite in the Ott-family camper is the waffle cone s'more. This twist on the popular dessert still requires roasting, but also allows campers to experiment as they fill their own waffle cone or bowl to the top with various combinations of marshmallow and chocolaty treats.
While on a camping trip, snacks are must to keep the family going during hikes, fishing trips and water sports, and when it comes camping fare, Masterson agrees, simple is best.
"Don't make it more work than it has to be," she said. "And if something doesn't work, tweak it or move on. Also try to pick things more than one person likes. Make the family favorites."
Trail mixes are great for an easy, on-the-go snack. Fruits trays, veggies, and even simple cuts of cheese and meats are great.
For larger meals, Masterson's family tends to do quite a bit of cooking with a Dutch oven. Though it can be steamy during summer months, often the meal is a reward in itself. Just be sure to have plenty of oven mitts and keep the children back, she cautioned.
"Even things I make at home seem to taste different when we go camping," Masterson said, "something about the taste of cooking over an open flame."
Though grilling meats is always a favorite, smokers and even slow-cooking meat in a Dutch oven is just as good. "I prefer to make the food like this," Masterson said. "It seems like more of a tradition."
For many, getting the temperature right is sometimes the trickiest part of Dutch oven cooking. Environmental factors play a huge role.
"Wind might blow heat away. ... Higher humidity and higher elevation reduce heat generated by coals. Direct sunlight makes a black oven a bit hotter," Masterson said. "You might consider making an aluminum foil wind shield to place around your oven, but if it is that windy, I would recommend you not have an open fire."
You can use your hand to determine the cooking temperature of a Dutch oven. Just remove the lid from the Dutch oven and place your hand just above or just inside the oven. Count how many seconds you can keep your hand there before it gets too hot. It is about 50 degrees per second counting down from 550 degrees - so count from 550, to 500, to 450, to 400, and so forth.
Be careful when using this method - it is better to have a burnt meal than a burnt hand, said Masterson.
She said potatoes can be trickiest to learn to cook as they can go from soft and tender to burnt very quickly, especially for multi-tasking campers.
"Nearly all Dutch oven cooking will come out OK if your Dutch oven is about 350 degrees. Some things should be cooked hotter and some cooler, but that's the temperature for all recipes that fail to include a temperature suggestion," Masterson added, noting it gets easier each time, especially after getting used to your oven.
Overall, the key to memorable camping cuisine is to approach it with the same adventurous spirit you're taking to the wilderness, the camp cooks agreed.
"Experiment. Try different combinations. Hot dogs wrapped with bacon is a good treat. Mix things up," Ott said. "We have messed up, eaten some burnt foods, but we also have had some really great things.
"If nothing else, a cooking disaster will add to a great story about your weekend adventure."
Dutch oven pork chop and potato recipe
Ingredients:
four pork chops
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
cup water, divided
three medium potatoes, cubed
one can cream of mushroom soup
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
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Heat the Dutch oven with olive oil. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Add pork chops to the heated Dutch oven.
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Melt the butter in a separate pan. In a bowl, mix together butter, bread crumbs and cup of water. Pour that mixture over the pork chops and let it coat them.
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Place the cubed potatoes on top of the pork chop mixture. Cover everything with the cream of mushroom soup and the remaining cup water.
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Bake for one hour at about 350 degrees.