Camping Foods for a group

[vonfirmath]

We had a AHG Camping trip this past weekend with about 30 people there. (Half kids and half adults)

 

Since the previous Pi/Pa camping trip went over on grocery costs, we raised our food from $10/person to $15/person for the weekend (4 meals -- 3 on Saturday, Sunday Morning, and Smores Fixins).

 

We need new camping food ideas.  Sandwiches for lunch worked great (though we need more bread). But oatmeal for breakfast -- took forever to cook and was not filling enough ultimately I think. Then cleanup (of the cooking dishes. Everyone is supposed to bring a reusable mess kit and clean their own dishes -- which was an issue to since we had several people not pack the stuff on the list and kept asking "How do I eat this?" as if we were providing dishes as well) was a PAIN. All that oatmeal! 

 

But worse was dinner. At a suggestion from one of the families coming we made hobo packets. But we had three cuts (One we considered going to ER for stitches over) just cutting up all the ingredients. And then we had to start a second fire to have enough room to cook them all, ate over an hour later than we expected, and many ended up half charred.  ANd then -- all that trash! (The foil) -- we are trying to be reusable, etc. and the foil definitely does not lend to that!

[Faith-manor]

If you want to be reusable, my best suggestion is to invest in a stainless steel, tripod grill station that sits over an open fire, and you can adjust the height (make sure you have a welders glove because it does get hot). You can then make burgers, dogs, grilled cheese, etc. on the fire. We have done grilled cheese stations with 4H before. We get three or four kinds of cheese, and have each camper butter their own bread, and layer whatever cheese they want. We have also done it with salami and roast turkey lunchmeat if we wanted them to have the choice of a hot meat and cheese sandwich. You can do about five at a time on that grill station and they don't take long if you have a nice bed of coals going so the heat is good. Along with it, you can arrange a log on the fire to place corn on the cob in their husks. Fire roasted corn is good, but you need long tongs and that glove so it can be turned regularly, and they can't be directly on the coals because that is too intense for corn unless you wrap them in foil. We usually keep a couple of extra pairs of insulated gloves on the picnic table so campers can shuck their hot corn, allowing it to cool rapidly enough to eat soon.

Other sides can be done in a steel grilling basket on propped up just above the coals but not directly on them. For crowd this size, you need two or three. If you are going to regularly camp with the group and want to have as little trash as possible, then investing in these things is a good idea. We also have a griddle which we can put on a logs over the bed of coals and cook fried eggs pretty rapidly along with campfire toast. Make sure all the adults take turn slaving over the fire so you don't get stuck with it all. We have been known to chunk up a hickory smoked ham, and toss onto the grill as well for breakfasts. One fried egg, some chunked ham, and a piece of fruit usually does well keeping them until lunch.

[bolt.]

Oatmeal for breakfast can work. Add some raisins, and maybe yogurt cups on the side. (Or plan a mid-morning snack like cookies or squares to hold off the hunger for longer.) I think you could throw in some paper bowls and plastic spoons for those people who didn't bring their own. Maybe "charge them a quarter" or something to emphasize that you are not intended to provide dishes, and they need their own. (Used paper bowls make great kindling, and they compost.) You could announce the "charge" for paper bowls as a way of emphasizing for kids to bring their own.

For supper, a one- or two-pot meal like pasta with tomato sauce, chili, beef stew, chicken stew, taco meat served over chips, etc. Should do the trick with little fuss (and again, the paper bowls and plastic spoons/forks).

You don't need to cook on a fire. Just bring a pair of Coleman stoves and some nice tall pots (so that two pots fit on each stove at the same time). Cook 8 portions per pot, all at the same time.

Edited to add: instead of paper bowls, you could get some plastic reusable dish sets (dollar store?) and sell a mess kit (at cost) to anyone who forgot one, or didn't have any dishes like that to bring. Then they would have one for next time. You could return any unsold ones back to the store at the end of the trip.

Edited October 12, 2021 by bolt.

[HomeAgain]

Tacos are a hit for dinner here. The only thing cooked is the meat.

Novices, though, may like making biscuit wrapped sausages. Here's one way, but the boy scouts would just wrap precut biscuits around in a spiral.  We do kabobs as a family - you can use sausage rather than marinated chicken or beef if that's your jam.

Corn on the cob is another dinner hit.  I peel back one part of the husk, salt, butter it, and then pull the husk back up.  The corn steams itself over the campfire.

 

For breakfast, that's a little tougher.  We do eggs first thing in the morning, after cooking bacon.  The leftover grease is used for the egg side of the skillet.  I've done breakfast burritos the day after taco night and that's fine. 

My family growing up used to make biscuit donuts: canned biscuits, hole cut in the middle, and fried in an inch of oil.  Then tossed in cinnamon and sugar. It's messy but welcomed.

I prefer biscuits and gravy.  I make the biscuits ahead of time, cook the sausage and make the gravy there.  It's one pan to wash.

My own kids like to do parfaits.  I freeze yogurt cups ahead of time, and each person gets a yogurt, whatever fruit they want, and granola offerings.

[hshibley]

Pancakes from a just add water mix works well for breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon are another option. The eggs can be scrambled at home before hand and stored in a plastic bottle. 
 

Tacos are great for dinner and could be served as a diy nacho plate or salad. Any one pot meal you make on the stove makes a good camp meal. 
 

I strongly recommend a Coleman camp stove. It really speeds things up. If you want to cook over the fire for the experience I’d keep it simple - hotdogs, foil wrapped potatoes, foil wrapped corn, desserts etc.

If you’re doing a large family camping trip for the whole troop you may want to have the pi/pa preprep some of the meals at home - vegetables can be chopped before hand and stored in ziplock bags, ground beef browned etc. That way you’re really only reheating at camp. 

[HomeAgain]

Also, side note here, but it sounds like your org can benefit from a prep day.

Ds's troop is going camping this weekend.  Because there are so many new scouts, for the past three meetings they have been told to bring their gear with them so it can be checked over.  One kid is still missing one item, but we're bringing that for him to borrow tonight (his was ordered, won't be here on time).

Everyone needs a gear check now and then.  Making it a mandatory thing before camping might help y'all out.

[vonfirmath]

33 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

Also, side note here, but it sounds like your org can benefit from a prep day.

Ds's troop is going camping this weekend.  Because there are so many new scouts, for the past three meetings they have been told to bring their gear with them so it can be checked over.  One kid is still missing one item, but we're bringing that for him to borrow tonight (his was ordered, won't be here on time).

Everyone needs a gear check now and then.  Making it a mandatory thing before camping might help y'all out.

This actually sounds fabulous and is not something I've ever heard of before!

Yes, we do cook on Coleman stoves -- but even then cooking for 30 is hard. I like the idea of splitting it up into groups of 8. They work much better for "families" size groups

 

[wathe]

We just had our first weekend scout camp since the pandemic.

Menu:

Sat Breakfast: pancakes - blueberry or plain, syrup, and hand fruit (apples, orange, pear or banana)

Sat Lunch: Sandwiches (cold cuts, sliced cheese, lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayo, peanut butter), cut veg, hand fruit

Sat Dinner: Butter chicken (cooked chicken, jarred sauce), rice, veg cooked from frozen, hand fruit.  We warmed up the sauce separately anticipating picky eaters, but needn't have bothered - they all ate it.

Breakfast: Instant oatmeal (2 packets each), hand fruit, leftovers from all previous meals available.  This meal is designed to be easy on the kitchen team (only cooking task is to boil water) to speed up breaking camp.

Snacks and desserts: granola bars, arrowroot cookies, and the ever-present hand fruit.

Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, orange crystals.

We did a central kitchen with kitchen team for this camp, as many of our scouts are new and some had never camped before, and we'd not camped as  group since Jan 2020!  KISS principle -  We didn't want to overload them  or ourselves.  We'll introduce patrol cooking for one meal at out next camp, and hopefully have the patrol independent for food by year's end.

Kitchen team serves the food.  Portioning is strict - small portions avoid waste and makes sure everyone gets some of everything.  We always call out seconds and thirds, so no-one is going hungry.  Kitchen comprised of a 3 burner propane stove, table, water tank, pots/pans/griddle/utensils, 4 busbins (hand washing bin and 3 dish bins: soapy water bin, rinse bin and bleach water bin).

We charge $25 for the camp.  We came in under budget. I'm in Canada, where food costs are higher and our dollar doesn't go nearly as far as a US dollar, probably works out to about $15 US.

Mess kits:  We are serious about bring your own mess kit.  We have a group roll of aluminum foil.  One is free to fashion a plate from that if one forgets ones mess kit and can't beg/borrow mess kit parts from others who remembered theirs.  Whittling ones own chopsticks/fork is also a possibility.  We are hard-a$$es :).  The kids all see the humour.  And they never forget their mess kit again.

This particular group is young, with many new scouts:

We reviewed the pack list during the previous 2 meetings, and demonstrated it - scouters brought packed packs and went through the contents.  We sent the pack list to parents.  We reviewed the pack list with the new parents in-person.  We sent a list of past packing failures, both instructional and humorous.

 

 

 

 

[Carrie12345]

We do large group camping and the absolute BEST thing in the world (in our opinions) is having a flat top grill (or several, when we’re a mega group.) Easy to clean, reduces cookware, and fits a whole lot, from pancakes and eggs to burgers and dogs.

Advanced food prep is a huge help, too. Chopping, mixing, measuring in some cases... 

To me, there’s a big difference between camping for the heck of it and camping to practice survival skills. If I’m going for a good time, I’d rather do the scut work in a fully equipped kitchen!

[wathe]

I once cooked breakfast for 35 with whittled chopsticks as my only utensil.  We forgot the utensil box.  #Scouter fail.  Add to the list of examples of things people have forgotten to bring to camp......

[wathe]

9 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

We do large group camping and the absolute BEST thing in the world (in our opinions) is having a flat top grill (or several, when we’re a mega group.) Easy to clean, reduces cookware, and fits a whole lot, from pancakes and eggs to burgers and dogs.

Advanced food prep is a huge help, too. Chopping, mixing, measuring in some cases... 

To me, there’s a big difference between camping for the heck of it and camping to practice survival skills. If I’m going for a good time, I’d rather do the scut work in a fully equipped kitchen!

Agree.  We have a 2 burner cast iron griddle.  It's super versatile and can cook a lot at once.

[vonfirmath]

11 minutes ago, wathe said:

I once cooked breakfast for 35 with whittled chopsticks as my only utensil.  We forgot the utensil box.  #Scouter fail.  Add to the list of examples of things people have forgotten to bring to camp......

Ah. We'd have sent a car to the nearest Wal-mart to grab some cooking utensils. I don't think we are THAT resourceful!

 

[skimomma]

Another way to make sure people have complete mess kits is to make it a group project pre-camping.  Have everyone bring their components then make "swishy bags" as a craft.  A swishy bag is a hand-sewn bag made of mesh or very loose washcloth material with a drawstring top.  In the olden days, we put our dirty kit into the swishy bag and literally took turns dunking them into soap and then rinse water bins.  That is gross and I do not suggest that.  But they can also just be a cute mesh bag to keep the kit together (and in one place) and campers can put their clean, wet kit in the bag and hang from a branch/clothesline to dry.  This keeps dishes from getting mixed up and puts them all in one place for easy access at the next meal.  If you suspect some scouts will not bring their kits or will not have all of the components, you could just grab a small collection from a thrift store to build up missing/incomplete kits. 

As for foods, if you are trying to only use fire, I suggest things on sticks and instant oatmeal.  Or using a big grate over the fire as a cooktop.  Or if you have the funds, tonka cookers can be used to cook an amazing array of foods with no waste or major clean-up.  My family has eaten for days using only tonka cookers.  For a group that big, you will want at least one cooker per three people and plan to take turns.

[wathe]

1 minute ago, skimomma said:

Another way to make sure people have complete mess kits is to make it a group project pre-camping.  Have everyone bring their components then make "swishy bags" as a craft.  A swishy bag is a hand-sewn bag made of mesh or very loose washcloth material with a drawstring top.  In the olden days, we put our dirty kit into the swishy bag and literally took turns dunking them into soap and then rinse water bins.  That is gross and I do not suggest that.  But they can also just be a cute mesh bag to keep the kit together (and in one place) and campers can put their clean, wet kit in the bag and hang from a branch/clothesline to dry.  This keeps dishes from getting mixed up and puts them all in one place for easy access at the next meal.  If you suspect some scouts will not bring their kits or will not have all of the components, you could just grab a small collection from a thrift store to build up missing/incomplete kits. 

As for foods, if you are trying to only use fire, I suggest things on sticks and instant oatmeal.  Or using a big grate over the fire as a cooktop.  Or if you have the funds, tonka cookers can be used to cook an amazing array of foods with no waste or major clean-up.  My family has eaten for days using only tonka cookers.  For a group that big, you will want at least one cooker per three people and plan to take turns.

We use a mesh bag/hanging mess line system for mess kits too.  "dunk bags" can be purchased specially, and some mess kits come with them.  Dollar stores  around here carry them.  small mesh laundry bags (the kind meant for washing delicates) work. Mesh from old firewood bags is a free, if not long-lasting, alternative.

[prairiewindmomma]

3 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Since the previous Pi/Pa camping trip went over on grocery costs, we raised our food from $10/person to $15/person for the weekend (4 meals -- 3 on Saturday, Sunday Morning, and Smores Fixins). That is a modest budget, depending on the size of your eaters.  That's a little over $4/meal, which, depending on food costs in your area may be really constraining.

 

We need new camping food ideas.  Sandwiches for lunch worked great (though we need more bread). But oatmeal for breakfast -- took forever to cook and was not filling enough ultimately I think. Then cleanup (of the cooking dishes. Everyone is supposed to bring a reusable mess kit and clean their own dishes -- which was an issue to since we had several people not pack the stuff on the list and kept asking "How do I eat this?" as if we were providing dishes as well) was a PAIN. All that oatmeal! We do pack checks before we leave on any campout. They absolutely need to have the requested gear.  That's not ok.  We usually had totes which functioned as dunk tanks for dishes. If you aren't traveling with a full camping kitchen (some troops pull trailers to do this---we've had some troops that did, some that didn't), then I'd at least provide the washing tubs + basic supplies as your basic troop gear that you store somewhere and assign someone to help transport.

 

But worse was dinner. At a suggestion from one of the families coming we made hobo packets. But we had three cuts (One we considered going to ER for stitches over) just cutting up all the ingredients. And then we had to start a second fire to have enough room to cook them all, ate over an hour later than we expected, and many ended up half charred.  ANd then -- all that trash! (The foil) -- we are trying to be reusable, etc. and the foil definitely does not lend to that I hate hobo packets.  Those foods all cook at different times and it's just not a great idea.  

I also think you need a prep day, or a prep team, who is prepping a ton of stuff before the trip. It's easier to do all of that at home and just transport.

I'm happy to suggest meals, but I think you need to let us know what kind of gear you have, what the skill levels are of the people you are preparing for, and what your heat source is.  If you guys are deep in the mountains, and you're backpacking in, you're needing a just-add-water scenario.  If you are car camping at a place that has grills already as part of the camp site, that's a different scenario.

[wathe]

11 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Ah. We'd have sent a car to the nearest Wal-mart to grab some cooking utensils. I don't think we are THAT resourceful!

 

If I talk the talk, then I've gotta walk the walk.......

[prairiewindmomma]

These recipes are reliably good for dutch oven cooking, fwiw: http://www.macscouter.com/cooking/docs/DOCookbk.pdf

[prairiewindmomma]

For breakfast, I pack bagels or muffins, and do eggs (precracked, stored in a clean water bottle in the cooler OR already hardboiled), piece of fruit--tea or instant coffee or hot cocoa if people are needing to warm up.

Lunch = sandwich or wraps, already prepared and labeled, bags of veggies

snacks = nuts, dried seaweed, trail mix, crackers + cheese===something calorie dense

supper = depends on the campsite--but generally served hot.  I'd be thinking about just add water cups of ramen this time of year if I was remote. Summer sausage + zucchini makes a decent foil meal. Walking tacos are easy. Tastybite madras lentils heat well + served with pita + cucumbers is a meal. Reheated bbq shredded pork is also yummy. 

bedtime snack = hot cocoa, or dutch oven cobbler or s'mores or something else warm for fall camping

[vonfirmath]

14 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

3 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Since the previous Pi/Pa camping trip went over on grocery costs, we raised our food from $10/person to $15/person for the weekend (4 meals -- 3 on Saturday, Sunday Morning, and Smores Fixins). That is a modest budget, depending on the size of your eaters.  That's a little over $4/meal, which, depending on food costs in your area may be really constraining.

 

We need new camping food ideas.  Sandwiches for lunch worked great (though we need more bread). But oatmeal for breakfast -- took forever to cook and was not filling enough ultimately I think. Then cleanup (of the cooking dishes. Everyone is supposed to bring a reusable mess kit and clean their own dishes -- which was an issue to since we had several people not pack the stuff on the list and kept asking "How do I eat this?" as if we were providing dishes as well) was a PAIN. All that oatmeal! We do pack checks before we leave on any campout. They absolutely need to have the requested gear.  That's not ok.  We usually had totes which functioned as dunk tanks for dishes. If you aren't traveling with a full camping kitchen (some troops pull trailers to do this---we've had some troops that did, some that didn't), then I'd at least provide the washing tubs + basic supplies as your basic troop gear that you store somewhere and assign someone to help transport.

 

But worse was dinner. At a suggestion from one of the families coming we made hobo packets. But we had three cuts (One we considered going to ER for stitches over) just cutting up all the ingredients. And then we had to start a second fire to have enough room to cook them all, ate over an hour later than we expected, and many ended up half charred.  ANd then -- all that trash! (The foil) -- we are trying to be reusable, etc. and the foil definitely does not lend to that I hate hobo packets.  Those foods all cook at different times and it's just not a great idea.  

I also think you need a prep day, or a prep team, who is prepping a ton of stuff before the trip. It's easier to do all of that at home and just transport.

I'm happy to suggest meals, but I think you need to let us know what kind of gear you have, what the skill levels are of the people you are preparing for, and what your heat source is.  If you guys are deep in the mountains, and you're backpacking in, you're needing a just-add-water scenario.  If you are car camping at a place that has grills already as part of the camp site, that's a different scenario.

I appreciate the sentiment. We had complaints at the raise in food grocery cost -- how expensive it was and "We can feed ourselves for cheaper at home"

 

We don't have trailers, etc. But we have different families bring different items that can be put together to make a full kitchen. This campout we had three tables, three camp stoves (only two of which got used due to space), two pop up canopies, and our chuck box of troop items (Which does need better inventorying. It has the three tubs that make up the cleaning station with soap, sponges, bleach, and drying towels inside) as well as some common cooking utensils. A big pot, some bowls, serving containers, one pouring pitcher, trash bags, etc.  And a few IKEA "meal kits" that are kept for emergencies -- there just were not enough to go around for the number of people that did not bring their own this campout!

 

We do need to figure out how to do some prep ahead of time such that it does not all fall one one person.

[prairiewindmomma]

I'll be super honest. We've been in groups with difficult families before, and I won't camp with them anymore. It's a more challenging dynamic when you just have a handful of families who are making contributions versus functioning as a troop where the troop supplies the gear and the troop members plan and prep the meals (and supervising adults join in).  Good luck!

[hshibley]

I’ve had daughters in girl scouts and AHG. For scout only camps we’ve done group food with scouts planning the menu etc. For family camp we’ve had each family take care of their own meals. For whatever reason it’s always been too difficult to work around food restrictions/budgetary constraints to have large group meals. If a particular group of girls are working on a badge that requires camp cooking I’d have them prepare lunch to take care of the badge requirement. Older girls would need to take care of badge cooking on an age group exclusive trip. 

[73349]

DS's scout troop...

- Breaks large groups down into smaller groups for grub. Each group has a grubmaster who plans the menu, preps as needed, and brings the food for that group (and is reimbursed in cash), and directs others in cooking and cleanup. Teens are expected to manage a group of about 6 including themselves &  to choose a balanced menu. This also helps with any allergies/food restrictions--the vegetarian kid can be in one group and the celiac kid in another group, so that no one group has to manage everything.

- Expects to spend $15 for 4 meals and 1 to 2 snacks (but TBH if you're backpacking and/or meeting dietary restrictions, $20 to feed a growing teen with limited kitchen supplies is quite reasonable). The price of food has increased markedly (UN reports a 10-year high for basic foods like cereal crops).

- Has a "shakedown" hike before any major trips so that campers can show their gear to an experienced adult. This reveals any gaps (like, How *are* you going to eat oatmeal or soup if you're served that?) and also any excess (You will not enjoy backpacking if you choose to carry a 6-person tent for just yourself!).

[prairiewindmomma]

Yeah, I don't know what it is....but somehow $15 to feed four meals and a snack is reasonable if you are sending one kid, but if you're sending a family of 6 on a campout, then people freak out about spending $90 even though $90 for 24 meals is reasonable, and $90 wouldn't cover a Chipotle dinner + a modest packed from home breakfast for a family of 6 (only food for two meals).  I've required those families to go shopping so that they see the receipts. They need the mental connection that camping isn't comparable to eating at home. It's more comparable to meals on a frugal vacation.

[Faith-manor]

6 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Yeah, I don't know what it is....but somehow $15 to feed four meals and a snack is reasonable if you are sending one kid, but if you're sending a family of 6 on a campout, then people freak out about spending $90 even though $90 for 24 meals is reasonable, and $90 wouldn't cover a Chipotle dinner + a modest packed from home breakfast for a family of 6 (only food for two meals).  I've required those families to go shopping so that they see the receipts. They need the mental connection that camping isn't comparable to eating at home. It's more comparable to meals on a frugal vacation.

This is very true. I think families who do not camp for.vacation do not understand this.

[hippymamato3]

2 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

I appreciate the sentiment. We had complaints at the raise in food grocery cost -- how expensive it was and "We can feed ourselves for cheaper at home"

Well they aren't at home. I think it was too inexpensive personally.  Maybe next time assign specific foods for each family to bring...