Plan and prep at home If you organize everything before you go, you'll eat better and faster (important when you've been hiking).
Cross-utilize your groceries by building leftovers into your meal plans. For instance, save bacon fat from breakfast to fry potatoes for dinner. Make sure you keep the fat, and all your food, away from animals.
Invest in a camp Dutch oven You can use it for everything from frying an egg to boiling water and, best of all, it has little legs so you can set the pot right over coals–no flat surface needed.
Keep things at least semiclean with antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer, or a spray bottle of bleach solution (1 tbsp. bleach in 1 qt. water).
Cut the vegetables at home, make the dressing, then toss everything together when you're ready to eat. Use a handheld slicer (like a mandoline or a Benriner) to make cutting the vegetables easier.
Photo by: Photo: Thayer Allyson Gowdy
1. At home: Put cut vegetables in a large resealable plastic bag. Keep, chilled, up to 2 days.
2. At home: Combine oil, vinegar, lime juice, minced cilantro, salt, pepper, sugar, chili powder, and chile flakes in a small resealable plastic bag or container. Keep, chilled, up to 2 days.
3. At campsite: Add dressing to vegetables, shake to combine well, and let sit 15 minutes, stirring 2 or 3 times. Serve garnished with cilantro, if you like.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
Sunset MAY 2009
Cooking corn on the cob in its de-silked husk keeps the kernels moist and adds a nice grassy flavor. For less fuss, feel free to fully husk the corn and wrap it in foil.
Photo by: Photo: Thayer Allyson Gowdy
1. At home: Combine butter, zest, chili powder, salt, pepper, and garlic in a small resealable plastic bag. Mush around to combine thoroughly. Chill until ready to use, then bring to room temperature.
2. At home or campsite: Pull back husk from each ear without detaching from bottom of cob. Remove as much silk as possible and fold husk back over ears. Soak ears in water for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
3. At home or campsite: Drain ears, open husks, dry ears with paper towels, and spread evenly with butter mixture. Fold husks back over ears and tie in place with kitchen string or strips of husk. Corn can be kept at this point, chilled, up to 24 hours.
4. At campsite: Prepare grill for indirect medium heat (350° to 450°; you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 5 to 7 seconds). If using charcoal, bank coals evenly on opposite sides of the firegrate, leaving a cooler center section; if using gas, turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat 10 minutes. Then turn off one burner and lower others to medium. Grill corn over cooler spot, covered, until tender and charred, 20 minutes. Serve with salt for sprinkling.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
Sunset MAY 2009
Time: 30 minutes, plus marinating time. The flavor in this dish, like Guy Fieri himself, just doesn't stop. The sharp, slightly herby marinade tenderizes and flavors the meat and makes a great bridge to the chimichurri. If you want to cook the steak on the second day of your trip, freeze it in the marinade at home and let it defrost in the cooler while you're at camp.
Photo by: Photo: Thayer Allyson Gowdy
1. At home: Whirl garlic, cilantro, oil, tequila, lemon and lime juices, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Transfer to a large resealable plastic bag. When ready to marinate steak (at least 1 and up to 24 hours before cooking), add steak to bag, shake to coat with marinade, reseal, and chill.
2. At campsite: Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for high heat (450° to 550°; you can hold your hand 5 in. above cooking grate only 2 to 4 seconds). Grill steak over direct heat (cover if using gas), about 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let sit 10 minutes, then cut across the grain into 1/2-in.-thick slices. Serve with Four-Herb Chimichurri.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving of steak only.
Sunset MAY 2009
Time: 1 1/2 hours. Any berry or berry combination works in this cake, which has a dry, crumbly topping that combines with the berry juices for a rich, sweet treat. You'll need a 12-in. (6-qt.) camp Dutch oven (with feet). Pack the frozen berries in a cooler and make this on the first night of camping, before they thaw completely.
Photo by: Photo: Thayer Allyson Gowdy
1. At home: In a food processor, pulse together flour, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and baking powder. Add butter; pulse until mixture is very fine. Add sugar and pulse to combine. Transfer to a large resealable bag and chill until ready to use, up to 2 days.
2. At campsite: Ignite 40 briquets on the firegrate of a clean charcoal grill or firepit and let burn until just covered with a fine layer of ash. Using tongs, arrange 20 coals into a 12-in. ring; push remaining coals aside.
3. Put strawberries in a 12-in. footed (camp) Dutch oven. Spoon half the flour mixture evenly over strawberries, cover pot, and set in the ring of coals. Arrange remaining 20 ash-covered coals in a single layer on top of Dutch oven lid.
4. Arrange another ring of 20 fresh, unlit coals around and touching the hot coals at the base of oven (these will ignite and provide a second burst of heat later).
5. Cook cake about 20 minutes (do not cover grill or firepit). With tongs, push coals away from lid handle, remove lid (keeping coals on top), and spoon on remaining flour mixture. Replace lid and top evenly with the second batch of newly ash-covered coals from around the pot.
6. Bake until topping is golden brown and strawberry juices are bubbling to the surface, 15 to 25 minutes more. Let cool at least 20 minutes before eating.
*If using berries other than strawberries, mix with an extra 1/4 cup sugar when putting them in the Dutch oven.
Note: Nutritional analysis is per serving.
Sunset MAY 2009
Camp Out and Eat Well Menu
Jicama Slaw
Chili Lime Corn on the Cob
Gaucho Steak with Four-Herb Chimichurri
Berry Camping Cake
Sunset
Food Network's Guy Fieri shows you how to cook an unforgettable outdoor feast. Get his recipes and secrets to planning and prep. (Serves 6)
Plan and prep at home If you organize everything before you go, you'll eat better and faster (important when you've been hiking).
Cross-utilize your groceries by building leftovers into your meal plans. For instance, save bacon fat from breakfast to fry potatoes for dinner. Make sure you keep the fat, and all your food, away from animals.
Invest in a camp Dutch oven You can use it for everything from frying an egg to boiling water and, best of all, it has little legs so you can set the pot right over coals–no flat surface needed.
Keep things at least semiclean with antibacterial wipes, hand sanitizer, or a spray bottle of bleach solution (1 tbsp. bleach in 1 qt. water).
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Camp Out and Eat Well Menu