Inspired by a question Mr Mann asked in
this thread , I thought this was a somewhat useful thing to have it's own discussion about.
I do a variety or outdoor activities - mostly vehicle based these days, but occasionally on foot and try to keep the same techniques and recipes from the home kitchen to the camp kitchen. The only real caveat being that a fire takes a lot more practice with regard to temperature control than a stove. A proper gas camp stove performs exactly the same as a regular indoor gas stove or BBQ/ gas grill.
When I'm travelling on foot , I try to carry simple foods that can be eaten as-is or prepared by basically adding boiling water or heating in the bag.
To this end I have 2 of the square aluminium pans with folding handles and a aluminium cup with folding handle that nests with a water bottle. One can boil water simply enough and still be able to cook something like fish or other forage meats in the pans as well as heat a bag meal .
The heat source is a small open fire from whatever wood is on hand. Keep a wire saw and a hatchet (
SOG make a nice one) in your kit for this end.
I still keep a box of the solid fuel tablets on hand to assist starting fires in inclement weather, like when it has been pissing down rain all day. Hand sanitizer works at a pinch but has significantly less calorific value.
Vehicle Supported operations get far more fancy.
Road meals and overnight camps in remote areas I'll light a small fire and heat up the big dutch oven on the coals. Can easily cook bacon , eggs , steaks and etc in there as per normal. The oven will cool down enough while you're eating to pack away into the vehicle. In other places where a fire is unsuitable set up a 2 burner gas stove with or without a plate grill for food as it's good enough to cook nearly anything and works the same as at home. I have one of the single burner canister stoves for boiling water. All cast iron cookware pans or the grill plate for main meals and a couple of aluminium billycans with lids for boiling water / making rice / etc.
Long term - several day or longer camp I'll start off by building a nice big firepit set up a freestanding grill plate over it. Then a tripod for hanging billycans and small dutch ovens over the heat. Several different size dutch ovens cover cooking nearly anything from cakes and bread , through stews and roasts. Still set up the gas stove for convenience - making coffee and etc. The fire is also the waste disposal and everything except glass going in there. A neat way to use a dutch oven is to dig a hole large enough to contain the entire oven and line the bottom with a few shovel loads of coals from the fire. Drop the hot and loaded oven in there and cover the lid with another shovel full of coals - check every while and add more coals if required.
Back when I was starting out and lacked facilities (bear in mind that I've been building my collection of outdoor equipment for nearly 20 years) we'd eat from cans and packets and have fairly uncivilised and rough camps. Which is all good when you're 15-21. As time progressed and equipment was acquired it reaches the point where you can prepare and cook the same meals you would at home with fresh or semi-fresh ingredients in a efficient manner while still being in the great outdoors.
