What is campsite culinary adventures? Well it’s mastering outdoor cooking but really not something we will ever complete as there are so many possibilities to explore. This all depends on your own style of cooking. Some of us love to cook on an open fire or some hot coals, others love cast iron cooking whether it’s on a griddle or in a skillet. Let’s not forget that there’s always the option to use a slow cooker, instant pot, smoker, grill, or the stove in the RV. So many options and we are always looking to explore new recipes and cooking styles.
We are planners and usually have all of our meals planned prior to our trip so it’s easy to know what we will need on any given meal. Our daughter and other family members often have dietary restrictions that we need to take into account therefore planning is a must for us. A lot of our go-to meals are cooked on the campfire or on the Blackstone griddle. Our family jokes a lot about how we eat so much better when we are camping than we do at home. That’s not far from the truth. We have even seen Brian dancing as he’s sampling some of the stuff that he’s cooked. While he isn’t going to be a professional dancer any time soon, the meals are amazing and something we look forward to every time we camp.
Come and explore with us as we discuss some of our favorite styles of cooking
The Versatile Blackstone Griddle
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you use any links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! Thank you for your support.
Unleash the potential of your Blackstone griddle with cooking options that go beyond the basics. Whether you want to whip up a sizzling stir fry, perfect the art of fried rice, and craft smash burgers that rival any gourmet eatery. You won’t go wrong choosing to bring along a Blackstone griddle. Plus, who doesn’t love a breakfast haven with fluffy pancakes, eggs, sausage, and crispy bacon.
We bring the 22” tabletop Blackstone griddle with us as it’s easily portable and sets up in minutes. Our camper came with a single burner griddle but we highly recommend a dual burner griddle.
Some must have items for Blackstone cooking
- Dual Spatulas: Essential for flipping and moving food with ease.
- Scraper: For keeping the griddle top clean during and after cooking. Removing food residue.
- Infrared Thermometer: okay, maybe not a must have but a good to have. Helps to ensure your cooking surface is at a desired cooking temp.
- Egg Rings: Silicone ring to help keep eggs or pancake shapes consistent.
- Squeeze Bottles: One with your preferred cooking oil. We like to use Avocado Oil. The other with water which helps when you clean off the griddle.
- Basting Cover: usually like a metal dome lid of some sort. Useful for melting cheese and steaming foods
- Let’s not forget paper towels or rags to help with putting on a layer of oil, or cleaning the griddle when you are done cooking.
Often times you can find griddle accessories kit that has many of these items.
Like we mentioned, we plan out all of our meals and a lot of them revolve around the Blackstone griddle. Our favorite meal is a good stir fry with your choice of meats, veggies, sauces, etc. We tend to do it up right with chicken, steak, onions, peppers, mushrooms, zucchini / squash, carrots, broccoli, and rice. It’s amazing how much we can cook on a 22”- 2 burner Blackstone griddle. Sometimes you may hear the banjo playing as we have dueling Blackstone griddles going with Jen’s dad, especially if we are feeding 14 or more family members.
Speaking of feeding large amounts of people, that’s what makes the Blackstone amazing. We usually camp with our parents and Jen’s brother and his family so there’s always plenty of help to manage different stations with options for all.
Breakfast is another amazing meal we look forward to. Our go to meals for breakfast usually consists of egg McBob’s (a play on McDonald’s egg McMuffin). This one is a family favorite and something Jen and her family cooked when they grew up camping. Kind of a family tradition. If you are unaware of what an egg McMuffin is, it’s really just a toasted english muffin, with a cooked egg, canadian bacon (to Brian, ham), and american cheese or as Jen calls it astronaut cheese. All nicely stacked together with cheese melted dripping down the sides of the breakfast sandwich. Yum.
Let’s not forget another breakfast favorite, pancakes with bacon or sausage. A few of us are gluten free and with our daughter’s restrictions, we are also egg, dairy, and soy free. With the ability to have Jen’s parents with us and another Blackstone, this is another dueling griddle opportunity to keep one allergy friendly. We must also admit that with us being a Disney family we usually have our Mickey Waffle maker. Makes it feel like we are at Chef Mickey’s in Disney World.
Did someone mention smash burgers? Truth be told, we hadn’t cooked any smash burgers until we camped. And the first time was even when we stayed at Fort Wilderness in Disney World. Brian is still working on perfecting these but let’s just say they were some of the best burgers we ever had. Thin patty burgers smashed on some grilled onions, a little crispy edge, juicy and that melted cheese would make anyone fall in love with them. And they are super easy to make which is a plus when you are camping. Just do yourself a favor and invest in a good griddle press.
The Classic Campfire
Rekindle your love for traditional campfire cooking with grilling burgers, searing steaks, and preparing cast iron skillet meals that infuse a smoky essence. Discover the simplicity of hobo meals—foil packets filled with your favorite ingredients, cooked directly in the campfire’s embers.
Do you love to cook with charcoal? If so, campfire cooking will be right up your alley. But not all campgrounds have grates connected to their grill so you may need to bring your own. You could even come up with some clever ways to cook on the fire even if it’s just hotdogs on a stick.
Getting the fire embers hot is a must to cook meats over the fire. The challenge of maintaining a good heat throughout the cooking process is what makes it enjoyable for some. Brian is the one in our family that truly enjoys cooking and certainly rises to the challenge every time.
We typically make burgers, sausages, or hotdogs but have done some additional cooking that requires a bit more patience. As they say you have to trust the process. One such thing is a dutch oven. If you are unfamiliar with what one is, it’s a cast iron pot with a lid used as a slow cooker of sorts. (example of a dutch oven Lodge – Cast Iron Deep Camp Dutch Oven)
Dutch oven meals are amazing and usually used for recipes such as stews, chicken meals, jambalaya, chili, deserts… the list goes on. Just make sure you get a cast iron pot that is for campfire cooking. Also you’ll want to have another tool to lift the lid off and fire-rated gloves as the pot will be extremely hot. Cooking this way is an amazing process which requires you to place hot embers from the fire above and below the dutch oven. Just make sure you prepare the fire with enough time to let the wood burn down and produce the hot embers needed. They also have tripod setups which will suspend the pot over the fire at desired levels.
Let’s talk about hobo meals. Ever made a one sheet pan meal in the oven? Well that’s basically hobo meals. It’s usually a meat of choice (we use ham or smoke sausage), potatoes, veggies like carrots, corn, or anything else of your choosing. All seasoned, wrapped up in aluminum foil that has had some sort of oil so things don’t stick while being cooked. Make sure to wrap this nice and tight, and toss in close to the fire where you can easily manage these or on a grate over the fire. You’ll need to experiment on timing for this but the more you do, the more you’ll know where to place them and for how long.
You can also do desserts in similar fashion. We’ve made s’mores in a cone, stuffed with chocolate, marshmallows, and fruit like strawberries, wrapped in aluminum foil and tossed in the fire. Banana boats and campfire baked apples are some other examples of desserts you can cook in the fire. These are always fun to experiment with if you have the patients and time. Don’t forget the proper tools like tongs that are long enough, or fire-rated gloves. Safety first.
Slow Cooker & Instant Pot Magic
Don’t let the lack of a full kitchen hold you back. Slow cookers and Instant Pots are good for hearty stews, soups, and one-pot wonders that require minimal effort but deliver maximum taste.
Sure bringing along a bulky item isn’t always ideal but when you have your home on wheels with you, your ability to bring such items becomes less cumbersome. Most RVs have plenty of storage space and as long as you don’t pack everything you own, bringing a slow cooker or instant pot is easier than you think. Find a good spot for it to hide until you need it. We have brought both at the same time before.
I know what you are thinking though, we don’t have time for what it takes to cook soups, stews, etc. Well, that’s where slow cookers shine. Heck, so do instant pots. Recall we are planners. As long as you plan ahead of time, you can prepare everything you need for an amazing stew on cold fall nights of camping. We love to start our meals in the slow cooker on a table we bring and place outside the camper before we head off on a hike, or adventure. And once you get back from your trip, you’ll have an amazing meal ready for you and your family to eat.
We highly recommend the instant pot brand like this one Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1
Tip: appliances like this can trip the breaker in the RV so hopefully your camping spot has an extra 15 or 20 amp outlet on the electrical pedestal. We run an extension cord from there so we don’t overload the campers power causing the breaker to trip.
Which one do we like?
While cooking inside the RV is an option, we tend to spend most of our time outside cooking. There are times in which we may need to cook, say noodles or something that requires us to use the stove in the RV. We bring our RV with us mainly for a safe place to stay while we explore the great outdoors. As much as possible, we are outside the camper and enjoying a laid back experience around a fire. Laughter can be heard and smiles seen which is really what it’s all about. Camping community is such an amazing community and even if you don’t have something needed for cooking, chances are a fellow camper or the camp store (ranger station) will.
At the end of the day, we just enjoy the experiences camping provides us. We feel that this is the time we can experiment and even if what we cooked up doesn’t work out, there’s always a good old hotdog over the fire. What are some ways you cook while camping?
Leave us a comment below and maybe even share some of your favorite camping recipes.
Pingback: Free Camping Planner - To Infinity & Somewhere