Would you like to know about easy winter camping meals? hello everyone! Have you ever worried about what to eat when you go camping? Since I’m camping, I want to eat something delicious and special! ! In order to solve your problems, this time we will introduce recommended camping meals in autumn and winter!
- What is camping food? ? Let’s understand the difference between cooking at home!
- When the weather gets cold, enjoy the Japanese classic dish “nabe(Hot pot)” while camping!
- Spicy chicken made over a bonfire
- Serve piping hot ajillo with bread!
- Instant food recommended for solo camping!
What is winter camping meals? ? Let’s understand the difference between cooking at home!
First of all, I would like to touch on what camping food is. Camping meals, as the name suggests, are meals eaten at a campsite. The appeal of “camping meals” is that eating meals in nature is a different experience than usual, and the same food can be even more delicious!
Of course, there are many things that are different from when cooking at home, so it’s easy to make mistakes, and it’s difficult to get the heat right.
The big difference from home kitchen cooking is obvious! It’s about the heat. When camping, there are three options for cooking: bonfire, charcoal, and gas, but all of them are different from the usual heat.
camping meals by bonfireThe characteristic of a bonfire is that it can generate a lot of firepower. The firepower can be adjusted by adding firewood. When boiling water or using large pots, you can cook food faster over a bonfire. The disadvantages are that smoke comes out and it is difficult to reduce the heat, so you have to be careful not to burn the food too much when grilling it. The advantage of winter camping is that you can keep warm while cooking!
Charcoal-fired camping mealCharcoal fires can produce stable heat. This cooking method is suitable for grilling meat, BBQ, etc. as it uses far infrared rays. Depending on the amount of charcoal, it can reach quite high temperatures, so you can use it for anything from BBQ to hotpots and stir-fries. The downside is that it takes a long time to light the charcoal.
Camping food cooked with gasThe advantage of gas is that it works quickly and feels similar to using it at home. For gas, you will need a gas stove or pocket stove type gear and a gas can. For home gas stoves, you can use the familiar gas cans, but for outdoor gas stove gear, you will need to use outdoor cans called OD cans.
What you need to be careful about is the amount of gas remaining and the wind. If you are not careful about the amount left, you may not be able to use it in the morning even if there is no problem when cooking at night, so be careful. Also, if it is used outdoors, the firepower may not be produced due to the wind. In that case, you will need to find ways to protect yourself from wind.
other differencesRestrictions on cooking and washing areas. Of course, the place to cook will not be the usual kitchen counter, but on a table placed outdoors. Knives are not something I’m used to using, and sometimes I have to use them for cooking.
I can’t say for sure what’s the right answer, but I have to say that adjusting your camping cooking gear to your own preferences is necessary in order to enjoy more delicious camping food. We will also publish an article summarizing cooking gear, so please check it out!
Of course, the amount of water that can be used is also limited. Sometimes you may not be able to wash vegetables as much as usual, or you may be limited in the amount of effort required to boil or steam them. Even within such limited cooking methods, it can be said that the simple and possible ones are suitable for camping food!
When the weather gets cold, enjoy the Japanese classic dish “nabe(Hot pot)” as winter camping meals!
The standard winter dish is “hot pot,” but when the weather gets cold, eating hot pot at a campsite really warms your body and soul. Cooking with a pot is not difficult and it is difficult to make mistakes, so it is recommended for beginners. Another great thing about it is that even if you don’t finish it all, you can reheat it and eat it the next morning!
Here are the easy cooking methods and necessary gear recommended by the author!
| required gears | Fire pit, Nabe(pot), gloves |
| Foods | Cut vegetables, meat/seafood, (you need tastes of hot pot) |
| cook① | Add all the cut vegetables, meat, and pot ingredients and heat. Done! |
| cook② | If you like, add noodles or retort rice at the end!←this is necessary |
My recommendation is an extremely simple method of cooking: just add everything, heat it up. If any scum appears, remove it before eating. Finally, add noodles or ready-to-eat rice to finish off the dish and make it the perfect dinner.
Spicy chicken made over a bonfire
Warm up in the cold with spicy spicy chicken! The spicy seasoning makes you feel warm when you eat it. When it comes to camping, many people think of BBQ and grilled meat. If you are cooking in the cold, cooking over a bonfire will keep the surroundings warm and very comfortable.
Among the many dishes, the spicy spicy chicken is recommended. The cooking method and preparation are easy and recommended.
| Required gear | Bonfire stand (wood or charcoal), cooking tongs, work gloves |
| Items | Chicken meat (breast or thigh is your choice), chili powder, garlic, ginger, salt and pepper |
| cook① | Place the chicken meat and seasonings in a zipper or bag and mix well. |
| cook② | Bake slowly until the fire goes through |
My recommendation is to prepare it at home and then take it out of the bag and bake it at the campsite. It’s perfect for snacks with alcohol, making it the perfect fall or winter camp! If the supermarket sells a similar product that only requires baking, that’s OK!
Serve piping hot ajillo with bread!
The best part of camping is being able to enjoy the Italian dish Ajillo while it’s piping hot. Isn’t it possible to reheat things even if they get cold when camping? If you are doing this in the cold season, we recommend using a titanium cooker to keep it from getting cold. Let’s also bake bread and bread together.
Click here for the required gear and cooking method↓
| required gear | Cooker, skillet, or small pot, fire pit or gas stove |
| items | Fish and shellfish (shrimp, octopus, oysters, etc.), broccoli, mushrooms, onions to your liking, garlic, hawk claws |
| cook① | Add the ingredients and crush or cut the garlic. A piece of hawk claw is fine. |
| cook② | Once the fire passes, it’s done. It’s also great if you add pasta at the end! |
Ajillo is also a very easy camping meal. It’s delicious when you warm up some bread or bread over a bonfire and soak it in. Add pasta at the end and it turns into pepperoncino!
Instant food recommended for solo camping!
Many solo campers don’t do elaborate cooking, so we’ll introduce some recommended instant camping meals. The first thing I would like to introduce is the classic Cup Noodles. Even if you don’t usually eat instant food, try it when camping! There is no doubt that sipping ramen in the cold will be the best bowl.
The next recommendation is the recently popular curry meal(called curry meshi). This is also very easy as all you have to do is add hot water. If it’s cold, if you wait a minute or two longer than usual, the rice will become nice and loose, making it a truly delicious cup. This is one of the camping meals that I always bring with me when I go solo camping, so if you haven’t had it before, give it a try!
The last recommendation is the combination of retort curry and retort rice. Place both pieces into the cooker, and after about 5 minutes, turn them to the other side and wait a few minutes. If you need more time, heat the rice first. It’s also nice that you don’t need a container if you pour curry on top of retort rice. Curry at the campsite is definitely special!
One thing to keep in mind when using retort rice is that some garbage will be generated, so be sure to separate your garbage properly. You will also need gear to boil water, so if you have a gas can left and the wind is strong, you may not be able to boil water properly unless you bring a windshield. Keep in mind that the temperature of the hot water tends to be lower at higher altitudes!
Lately I’ve been hooked on frozen fried rice from convenience stores, which is also perfect for camping. Since it’s frozen, there’s no problem leaving it as an ingredient for a while, and once it’s melted, you can fry it in the cooker and no seasoning is needed, so I highly recommend it!
If you have any camping food you recommend, please let Forest Kraft know!
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