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).
- Fresh Garlic, Turmeric, Ginger, Potatoes, Carrots & Beetroot.
- Long life, condensed or powdered milk.
- Condiments – Mustard, pickles, mayonnaise, Soy Sauce, Tahini.
- Rice cakes & crisp breads (Salada or Rivita).
- 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!