Outdoor Cooking

Camping outdoors is a great way to bond with your family and connect with the natural surroundings. You would also need to bear in mind that you have to be prepared in all respects for cooking out in the open. Camping out has it own requirements and with some planning, you can whip up some amazing dishes in the outdoors as well.

Factors to Consider for Outdoor Cooking

You would need to know the method that would be employed in preparing the food, is it a camping stove you would be using, would it be on open fire, would it be gas powered or on charcoal? This is very necessary, as you need to plan other things based on this factor. Once you know the mode of cooking, preparing the camping food would be an easier task for you.

Note down the kind of cookware you would need to cook outdoors. Do take a good cooler chest to store all those meats and sandwiches. A camp grill can come handy for cooking over a campfire. Although these are available at certain camping sites, an extra one can be very useful as well.

Keep all the supplies in an easily accessible area. Keep the pots, utensils, food items and even the water close to the cooking area. This would save you all the trips and would help you to cook with ease. Always cook at a reasonable distance, away from the tents.

You can prepare for outdoor cooking at your home itself, before you set out for the camping site. This would help you to manage the schedule on a better scale and help you cook delicious camping food in a better manner. Measure and pack all the dry foods in foils and zip lock bags. If you label these packages, it would make things more systematic when you start cooking outdoors.

When you cook your food in foils, you also need to be sure that you cook it right so that it tastes great and is also safe to eat. Always cook such foil wrapped food over charcoal and a wood fire; avoid cooking on direct flames. Keep turning the packet occasionally for an average of 15 minutes to 20 minutes. This would also depend upon what is being cooked.

Recipes for Cooking Outdoors

Potatoes
Ingredients:
Potatoes (2 pounds)
Medium-sized onion (1)
Aluminum foil
Margarine (4 tablespoons)
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
First, you need to cut the potatoes and onions. Cut these into slices. Remove the onion slices into rings. Place the potatoes and the onions on the aluminum foil. Spread some quantity of the margarine on top.

Now you need to fold the foil to close it over the food ingredients. You will need to punch some holes in the foil. This is done so that the steam can escape from these holes. Cook this on a campfire or even a grill. The cooking time required may be around 30 minutes. Do check in between to see if the potatoes are tender. Keep rotating the food package so that all the area gets an equal amount of heat. This will ensure it is cooked evenly. Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Beans
Ingredients:
Ground beef (1-2 pounds)
Onion - chopped (1)
Minced garlic (1/2 teaspoon)
Chili powder (2 tablespoons)
Tomato sauce (1-15 ounce can)
Diced tomatoes (1- 15 ounce can)
Butter beans (1-8 ounce can)
Chickpeas (1-15 ounce can)
Kidney beans (1- 15 ounce can)
Great northern beans (1 - 24 ounce can)
Water (3 cups)
Salt and pepper
Medium carrot - chopped (1)
Stalk celery - chopped (1)
Corn bread

Preparation:
First, cook the hamburger till it browns. Drain the grease. You need to place all the ingredients in a large pot. Cook this and let it simmer for an hour. Ensure you keep stirring it at regular intervals. This can be prepared in a Dutch oven as well or even on a grill. Add some salt and pepper to taste. Place the freshly chopped onions on this. You can serve the preparation with some corn bread. Wrap this in a foil to have it later, this can also be heated over a grill if you like to have it warm.

Outdoor cooking can be great fun if you keep in mind a few basics. Always remember to clean the area before you leave the camping site. Make sure you douse out all the fires when you finish. Collect all your items when you are ready to go back home. Always remember to keep the camping site clean and tidy as you have found it.