Remember: always follow the Leave No Trace principles when out in the wild.

From CampWiki

Basics of Outdoor Cooking

Still a work in progress

Cooking is a rather significant part of the outdoor experience, but it shouldn't take up a significant amount of your time-- after all, the joy of being outdoors is enjoy the experience, not spend much of your time cleaning up messes, or hauling around more stuff than you need. A little preparation and thought before your trip can save you a lot of time in the field, and may your trip more enjoyable. Keeping in mind the amount of equipment that you'll need to bring, the quantity and type of trash that will be produced, and the space and food storage requirements of the food you bring are very important.

There are two philosophies that go along with camping trips: the outdoor pick nick, and the backpacker philosophies.

The Pick Nick: This philosophy usually involves brining along an ice cooler, lots of ice, and perishable foods. Usually the ice chest takes up about 1/3 the space in your car that normally would be used for gear. The ice chest also needs to be restocked with ice for longer outings, and there is the worry that your food will spoil. Typically this philosophy means more trash as well.

The Backpacker: The backpacker only wants to have food that can be carried easily with him, is generally light weight, does not need refrigeration, and is light in the trash department (the real backpacker keeps all of his trash until he can dispose of it properly). The backpacker's meals also tend to be easy to prepare and require minimal cleanup. The backpacker also plans his meals beforehand, and takes with him only the food that is needed for the trip, often discarding the commercial packaging in favor of easy to store resealable bags.

Food Choices

The pick nick philosophy works for the first night of your trip, but really doesn't carry well over to trips lasting more than a night or two, or those that involve hiking out to a campsite. When using the backpacker philosophy, you also generally save a lot of space that normally would be taken up an ice chest or food packages, which makes your trip a lot more comfortable (at least for your extra passengers).

I generally balance out these two philosophies, and bring along a small ice chest with a hot dogs for roasting over the fire (that are intended to be used the first night). I will avoid bringing along ice, instead I'll freeze the hot dogs beforehand and wrap them in a towel. By the time I get to my location, they're thaw enough to cook over the fire (NOTE: Do not freeze things such as tin foil dinners, or other items in which you do not have good control over the heating/cooking process). Hot dogs are precooked, and have a lot of extra preservatives in them, so as long as the package hasn't been broken, they can be warm for several hours without worry (technically, hot dogs/frankfurters are "dry sausages"). DON'T try this with unpreserved meats.

If you're camping in the winter and where the temperatures fall below 32°F (0°C), then you won't need to bring along an ice chest.

Some foods keep well even if not refrigerated (so long as it's not too hot, like rarely over 78°F/25°C. Some examples include cheese (especially American/Synthetic cheeses like Kraft's individually wrapped singles), and eggs (float test them before use, if they float, throw 'em out, or use powdered eggs which pack better). Instant powdered milk is also not a bad option on the trail.

There is no need to purchase freeze dried foods. They're expensive, and you can achieve the same volume and weight usage by going with more conventional foods, such as: Powdered milk, rice, jerky (jerky was the original trail food, and was often boiled to make soups and stews), powdered eggs, instant potatoes, etc.

An excellent source of carbohydrates are tortillas: They pack well because they are flat, keep well, and have as many carbohydrates as a slice of bread. Often you can substitute sliced bread for flat breads, or even tortillas.

Freeze dried backpacking foods are still nice to have around if you want to throw something together, however, they still can't compete with foods prepared on the trail in terms of taste (when done right). Think of freeze dried meals as the over priced TV dinner of the camping word (strangely, they cost about the same too).

Now, if you're in black bear country, you should definitely avoid bringing along large coolers as they are more cumbersome to pack and keep secure. If you're backpacking, forget any food that needs to be left cold. Coolers were never really intended for camping anyway.

And still, there are the meals that can be prepared that require no cooking, no cleanup, and taste great-- which are some of the best outdoor meals of all! Some examples include the old stand by: peanut butter and jelly/honey sandwiches, or Outdoor Skills:Cooking/Recipes/Cold Tacos!

Note: It is not advisable that you rely on foraging, fishing, or hunting for your food while in the outdoors. These are unpredictable food sources, and foraging (looking for edible plants) takes away from the natural environment and is risky (many edible plants have poisonous look-alikes).

Cooking Equipment

Outdoor cooking requires something that you can cook in (generally), and a heat source. Where that heat source comes from, and in what you cook in can vary widely. Sometimes, that something you cook in can include tin foil (for tin foil dinners), a stick or poker for hot dogs or other small meats, or the more common pots and pans (I've read that you can cook fish and other slices of meat by laying them directly on the hot coals).

Heat sources can come from fire, produces either by burning wood, liquid and gas fuels (including denatured alcohol), solid fuels (pellets), or even from the sun. Camp stoves generally do not offer very good regulation of heat (and altitudes make some tasks a bit more difficult, as water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes), but you can prevent burning your food by raising and lowering your pan over the fire. If it gets too hot, simply move the pan up a few inches or so from the fire (and, if you can, adjust the fuel flow).