12 Brilliant Camping Food Hacks
Camping may be fun, but it raises plenty of food challenges. How do you transport eggs safely or make good coffee fast? And what about pancakes? Should you take the trouble to bring all the ingredients with you or is there a shortcut?
Going camping doesn’t have to mean eating rough or sticking to simple meals. On the contrary – the campfire creates a host of wonderful food opportunities that you just don’t have at home. There’s just one thing that you have to do: go prepared.
The following camping food hacks will help you enjoy delicious food by the side of the fire while reducing cooking and cleaning time and costs. Enjoy!
Money-Saving Hacks
1. Foil Everything
Bringing plenty of foil with you allows you to take advantage of the campfire and reduce the need for store-bought food. It also speeds up the cooking process and makes everything juicier, whether you’re baking apples, frying fish, or heating up potatoes.
Another advantage of the foil is that once it cools down a bit, it can double up as a plate so that it makes the cleanup easier.
2. Start Your Day with a Coffee Bag
Take your average small coffee filter and spoon into it some ground coffee – not too much. Use regular dental floss to tie the filter and turn it into a simple and convenient camping coffee bag.
Make as many as you think you’ll need because you’ll be using one coffee bag per cup. To make coffee, toss one in a cup, pour hot water, and leave it a bit for the coffee to spread its aroma – it’s cheap and easy!
Easy Hacks
3. Transport Eggs in a Bottle
Some campers leave out the eggs because of the challenge of transporting them, but you don’t have to. Instead, break them before you go and scramble them a bit. Then use a funnel to pour them into a plastic bottle. Not only will this hack help you transport and store the eggs safely, but it makes cooking scrambled eggs so much easier.
4. Make Orange Peel Muffins
You’ll need two things: ready-made muffin batter in a container, and the inspiration not to throw away the oranges you bring with you. Actually, you’ll also need to eat your oranges or juice them before you make the muffins.
That’s because you’ll be pouring the batter into the halved peels. Bake them as you would any muffins on the campfire grill.
5. Snack on Apples
Apart from apples, you’ll need some trail mix and optionally, some tin foil. Carve your apples and fill them with trail mix. You can wrap them in foil or place them as they are on the grill. Either way, let them wrinkle and sizzle nicely on the fire. Give them a bit of time to cool down – your tongue will be grateful.
Backpacking Hacks
6. Tic-Tac Your Spices
Small, light, and convenient, Tic-Tac boxes are great for storing spices in the moderate quantities you need while camping. They’re easy to store and use and you don’t have to worry about breaking them because they’re pretty resistant. So, remember this camping food hack next time you want to toss an empty Tic-Tac box into the trash.
7. Keep Perishables Cool with Frozen Bags
If the weather isn’t too hot, a cooler with ice-cubes is good to have when camping. But if you fill some plastic bags with water and then freeze them, you get an even better cooler, at no cost whatsoever.
If you plan to take fish, meat, and other perishables with you, the frozen bag method can help you enjoy tasty meals for longer than just the first few days.
8. Open a Can Even Without a Can Opener
Find a solid rock with an even surface. Turn the can upside down and rub it against the surface of the rock. It takes a bit of effort, but once you turn it back up and squeeze it in your hand it will pop open nicely. Don’t worry if it doesn’t work the first time. It may take a bit of practice, but the result is well worth the effort.
No Cooking Hacks
9. Roast Some Cinnamon Rolls
If that sounds a bit strange, wait until you taste them. Shop for your favorite cinnamon rolls and make sure you take some roasting sticks with you. Once the campfire starts to burn away your cares, insert the stick into a roll and hold it over the fire until it roasts nicely. Let it cool a bit and then you can enjoy a simple yet delicious campfire dessert.
10. Make a Boozy Treat
Bring some marshmallows and a bottle of your favorite liqueur, preferably one that’s got some Irish whiskey and cream in it. Dip the marshmallows in the liqueur and roast them lightly. The result is a step up from your average campfire marshmallow. It will make you feel really good about yourself.
No Mess Hacks
11. Use a Banana Peel to Reinvent the S’more
If you go camping often, you’ve probably had your fair share of campfire marshmallows with chocolate and crackers. It’s about time you tried something new. All you need, apart from the regular marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers, are a few bananas.
Slice them lengthwise on the inside and take out the fruit. Don’t slice them all the way but stop at the stem and before the top. Fill it with the sweets and crackers and wrap it in tinfoil. You can grill the banana peel s’more or cook it on the coals.
12. Jar Up Some Pancake Mix
Grab some ready-made pancake mix and a plastic jar. Make sure you also bring some bottled eggs. Mix them with water and you’ll save yourself the hassle of having to prepare the pancake mix at the campsite. If you’re camping with a large party, the jar mix could save you around half an hour per pancake session.
Did you enjoy these camping food hacks? We sure hope so! Try them out next time you go camping and you’ll make your life in the wilds not only easier, cheaper, and less messy, but also more delicious.