How to Prepare Thanksgiving Dinner at a Camp Site

Member

By bonsueb
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating: (10 Ratings)

With simple modifications, most dishes can be prepared at camp

Camping is a fantastic way to spend Thanksgiving and with a few modifications, your meal will be as wonderful as if it was prepared in your kitchen. Just like when you are cooking at home, the key to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal is preparation. Ask your guests about food allergies and likes/dislikes ahead of time and let them know what you plan to serve.

Accept that some issues are going to be a compromise. For instance, you can go green and take only dishes that can be reused for every meal, or you can use paper platters, plastic forks and tin foil roasting pans. Reusing dishes is, of course, better for the environment, but using disposable tin-foil pans to cook messy dishes like a green bean casserole or candied yams is terrific for eliminating work and helps create a happy camper atmosphere when it is time to wash the dishes.

Don't plan to cook the impossible. For instance, if your normal Thanksgiving dinner includes a soufflé, forget about it. I don't know anyone who can cook a soufflé on a campfire or transport one to a campsite without it falling. Plan to make your special soufflé when you return home, and serve it with the turkey leftovers. The same rule applies to Jell-O molds.

Set your menu and stick to it. If others want to bring 'special' dishes, advise them they can bring Thanksgiving dishes that need no cooking, or they can add their special dish to the menu on another night of the camping trip.

Remember, there won't be room on the grill/camp stove if you have too many things to cook. Suggest guests bring salad, cranberry sauce, etc., which can be served straight from the cooler.

Be organized. Know how long things need to cook, what needs to be done first, etc. Do as much cooking/prep work as possible before leaving your house. In many cases, it's a lot easier to re-heat than cook from scratch over a camp fire.

Make sure you take enough pots/pans/serving utensils and don't forget pot holders! Also, take lots of zip lock bags in all sizes... not the zipper kind, the press-together kind. They're more waterproof, which is important, since most items will be stored in coolers with ice.

Once you have planned your meal, adapt each recipe to camping conditions. For instance:

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Tin foil & foil loaf pans
Coolers
Cooking spray/seasonings
Thanksgiving meal ingrediants
Pot holders
Large bag of Charcoal

Step 1

Pre-cook your turkey for easy prep!

• Turkey - There are 4 ways to go about preparing the main course when you are going to be camping. 1) You can deep-fry it at the campground, 2) Bake it before you go, 3) Microwave it before you go, or 4) Buy it already prepared.

o If you plan to use the first method, deep-frying, please take precautions. Paramedics can't get to you as quickly as they would if you were at home. Keep a fire extinguisher nearby and DO NOT try to use water to put out any fires.

o Baking or microwaving your turkey ahead of time is easy. Just prepare as directed and when it is finished, let it cool and then wrap it securely in tin foil that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking oil. If you purchased a cooked turkey, wrap it the same way. Put the turkey into an XL or XXL zip lock bag and put it into a cooler. Cover it with ice. When you are ready to prepare your Thanksgiving dinner, place the wrapped turkey into a tin foil roasting pan over the coals. Rotate ¼ turn every half hour until warmed (about 1 hr per 5 lbs of turkey.) carefully unwrap onto a serving platter. Don't forget to pack carving tools!

o NOTE: Use the same methodology for baked ham.
Step 2

• Stuffing - Keep it simple. Use Stovetop Stuffing mix for turkey. It is easy to prepare on a camp stove and tastes good, too.
Step 3

• Gravy - There will be drippings in the roasting pan, so you can make your own gravy on a camp stove, but I prefer to heat up a few jars of pre-made gravy in a tin foil loaf pan. Just pour in the gravy, cover the pan with tin foil and pinch the sides closed to keep ashes out. Put on the grill about 30 minutes before you plan to serve.
Step 4

* Potatoes - There are two traditional ways to serve potatoes for Thanksgiving; Baked or mashed. If you serve baked potatoes, cook them at home and double-wrap them in tin foil. Once cooled, put them in a zip lock bag in a cooler and cover with ice. They will heat up in the coals in about ½ hour (turn occasionally.) Remove the sooty outer layer of tin foil before serving. If you serve mashed potatoes, I recommend you leave the skins on. Just wash them, cut them into 2" cubes and boil them on a camp stove. Once tender, drain and season with Lowry's Seasoning Salt, pepper and margarine/butter to taste. Lumps are fine. They are delicious with or without gravy.
Step 5

* Candied Yams - Plan to cook candied yams in a covered tin foil loaf pan which has been sprayed with non-stick oil. Whoever does your dishes at camp will thank you. Use canned yams. Drain the juice and pour the yams into pan. Cover with brown sugar and dot generously with butter. Stir. Cover with tin foil and pinch the sides to keep ashes out. Put on the grill about ½ hour to 45 minutes before you plan to serve. While they are cooking, toast marshmallows (or have other campers do this for you) on a stick until golden brown. Slide the marshmallows onto a plate & set aside. Put them on top of the candied yams just before serving.
Step 6

• Green bean casserole: Spray a tin foil loaf pan with cooking spray. Mix together 2 cans drained French-cut green beans (I prefer seasoned green beans) 1 can of mushroom soup, ½ can milk, 1 can drained mushroom bits & pieces, and ½ large can fried onions. Season with pepper and a seasoning salt to taste. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan. Top with remaining ½ can of fried onions. Cover with tin foil and pinch the sides to keep ashes out. Put on the grill about ½ hour to 45 minutes before you plan to serve.
Step 7

Thanksgiving Dinner at Camp

• Dinner rolls - Buy ones that only have to be warmed up. Wrap them in tin foil and let them warm on top of the other dishes that are cooking on the grill, turning occasionally until warm.
Step 8

Thanksgiving Dinner & Camping go great together!

• Pie: Prepare at home or buy one or two from your local restaurant. Put them in a pie keeper and slide the pie keeper into an XL zip lock bag, folding excess bag under the pie. Place the wrapped pie into a second zip lock bag, cover with ice and zip the second bag closed. Keep pies flat when transporting to camp site.