If gourmet dining is more your thing & camp food doesn’t really excite, then you will be pleased to know, cooking outdoors isn’t all about Baked Beans, sausages & spuds cooked in coals…. it’s all in the preparation.
Whether you are using a barbecue grill & hot plate or camp oven & tinfoil over an open fire, packing a few key ingredients & essentials will go a long way to making your next alfresco experience a lot more enjoyable!
Cooking equipment
Stove, camp or Dutch oven, portable barbeque, cooking plate or grill.
Aluminum Foil, baking paper.
Pots, saucepans, frying pan, camp kettle.
Cooler, esky or fridge.
Small cutting board & cooking utensils such as tongs, skewers, baking trays, toasting rack, vegetable peeler, spatula.
Cups, plates, bowls & cutlery.
Dish cloths, sponges, environmentally friendly detergent, plastic tub for washing dishes.
Zip lock bags, rubbish bags, paper towels.
Heat proof glove for removing items from the fire.
large water jug or container.
Key pantry items
Whether you prefer your food fresh, tinned or packaged, you need to be prepared. Bread, milk, butter & meat can usually be bought along the way, but you will need to take the basics with you. Here are some suggestions for pantry staples:
Small bottle of olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Vinegar (for jellyfish stings as well as cooking)
Cereal
Pasta, Vermicelli, Noodles.
Flour – Plain & Self Raising.
Bi-Carb of Soda.
Golden Syrup, Honey, Rice or Maple Syrup.
Rice, Quinoa, Couscous.
Tinned beans - Cannellini, Aduki, Garbanzo, Red Kidney, Black beans.
Tinned tomatoes, sweet corn, lentils, chickpeas.
Small bottle of tomato ketchup &/or paste, barbecue or hot sauce.
Portions of dried herbs & spices in small zip lock bags.
Tea bags, coffee, sugar or sweeteners.
Lite cartons of fruit juice, frozen to use as ice packs in the cooler or esky.
Bottled water (some campsites have drinking water available but it pays to check before you get there).
Tortillas & wraps (longer lasting than conventional breads).
Note:
Plastic air tight storage containers & zip lock bags are ideal to pack most of your cooking essentials, including your favourite pasta sauce, pre-made foods such as our Omelette in a Bag Recipe (link), meat rubs, Herb & spice blends (link), etc., they’re dustproof, waterproof, easy to store, durable enough to handle a few knocks and are transparent so you can quickly & easily locate the right contents.
With these helpful tips, you will be making gourmet meals by the campfire friends & family will be talking about for years!