Adapt Your Cooking Setup for Off-Season Camping

Outdoor meals can be magical. Dining at camp offers a time to break bread, free of the distractions of televisions and phones. The food affords the energy needed to fuel the day’s activities. And let’s be honest, meals taste—and smell—better when you’re out in fresh air.

Off-season cooking is a little different

Less daylight in the fall leaves you with less time to prepare your meals. Food sometimes takes longer to cook when the temperature dips. Wind? Well, that can be downright annoying when trying to light a stove or keep your tablecloth on the picnic table.

Your body also burns more energy when trying to keep warm. As such, you’ll likely feel hungrier when camping in the off-season. If you’re like me, you’ll also crave comfort foods that warm the belly.

Setting up your fall kitchen

There’s little change to your camp kitchen between the seasons. Sure, you’ll want adequate wind protection for your camp stove so the flame remains lit and your food stays put. Also, try to bring along extra camp fuel to accommodate the longer cook times. (This also helps if you make more hot beverages to warm yourself.)

Given the colder temperatures, your coffee will cool off faster—which is kind of yucky. Insulated cups help keep your hot drinks… well… hot. You can also find double-wall insulated bottles that help keep beverages warm over more extended periods.

Despite the colder temperatures, you’ll probably still need a good cooler (or a Dometic if you’re fancy). These keep your perishables from going bad faster than they should. Should you have a warmer day, they’ll also help keep your beer from tasting like swill.

I’m not a big fan of cooking over the fire as it creates so much more clean-up. If you do, though, a cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven is a must. The weighty nature of these items holds and distributes heat well. They’re also durable. You can use them over an open flame for years—and still pass them on to future generations.

Take it easy

I don’t know many people who want to wash dishes. My hunch is that even fewer feel like doing so when they’re outside and the temperature is dropping. Simple answer: fewer dishes!

Consider using one utensil for multiple jobs. Sure, you might get some mayonnaise in your mustard, but big deal. Emily Post doesn’t camp with you, so I figure you’ll be free of any disapproving glances. Same goes for food prep. A steel spatula can stir your noodles in a pot and scrape baked-on spaghetti sauce from a pan (so long as it isn’t a non-stick pan).

One-pot meals can be delicious, and guess what? Only one pot to clean! (Go figure.) Foil packets eliminate some dishes, and you can prepare them in advance. Less prep, less cleaning, more time for whiskey by the fire. 🤙

Treat yo self!

Fall camping affords an excellent time to indulge yourself, given the cold temperatures and your body working overtime to stay warm. By this, I mean that you might opt for foods rich in good fats that offer up a dollop of energy. Oh, yes, and those satiating high-carb meals.

Popular, gut warming one-pot favorites include soup, chili, stew, and stroganoff. You can make these over your campfire. As you wait, you’ll be able to take in those mouth-watering cooking smells as they waft your way. You could even cook some cornbread, cobbler, or cinnamon rolls in your Dutch oven.

To me, foil packets are a kind of art form. My dad made these for us as kids, combining mixed potatoes, onions, carrots, sausage, and lots of black pepper. These were delicious. Well, except for the burnt parts, but I learned to navigate my way around those.

Hot beverages make your time around the fire a bit more special. So, pack along some coffee, herbal teas, cocoa… And, did I already say whiskey? All of these can leave you feeling warmer on a cold night.

Did I already tell you to prepare for the unexpected?

I load my truck up with extra foods, just in case. This stockpile affords some peace of mind when camping. With it, I know we have food for a while should we get stuck. (These also perform double-duty as an emergency preparedness kit at home.)

Buy a box of Clif Bars and store them behind your back seat. You can take these on hikes or eat them after a workout. They offer a quick and easy energy boost when you need one. Nuts, dried fruit, and candy bars store easily and provide immediate relief when you get hangry.

One last thing: making water potable. You can get fancy tools for this or use something as simple as iodine tablets. I go somewhere in between with Katadyn flasks. These pack easily and are essentially dummy-proof. I keep one of these in each family member’s pack. That way, they can use them on the trail or quickly access them if we don’t have a reliable water source.

Fun Activities for Fall Camping Trips is the next installment in our Fall Camping Guide.

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Thanks to Dan Edwards (@dangrom on Instagram) for this yummy campfire cooking photo!

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