Many of us go camping to escape the stress and chaos of the city, to take a much-needed break from the humdrum rhythms of our daily lives, and to relax in the peace and harmony of mother nature.
However, if you don’t prepare well before heading out into the wilderness, you will likely find that certain outdoor activities can be stressful in and of themselves; such is the case of cooking while camping.
Generally speaking, when you go camping food options are limited, you typically lack advanced cooking equipment, and are hindered by the inconvenience of preparing food outdoors. All of these things can easily turn camping mealtimes into a big hassle.
For this reason, I’m going to tell you how to organize your camp kitchen. By following the tips below, you will find that your campsite cooking station becomes less of a chore and more of a relaxing delight, as it should be.
Table of Contents
9 Tips To Organize Your Camp Kitchen
Know The Type Of Meals That You Will Be Cooking
Going camping means leaving behind conventional kitchen amenities, so you must identify and choose the right cooking equipment long before you begin packing your camp kitchen. Therefore you need to think about the meals you will be preparing and plan your items accordingly.
For example, if you plan to eat a delicious roast, a small portable gas stove is a practical option to take with you.
If you will be taking meals that consist of typical campfire ideas such as wieners and beans, baked potatoes, hot dogs, etc, then a good frying pan and a sturdy pot will be all you need. And tin foil, lots of tin foil.
Plan Each Meal In Advance
Planning all of your meals will allow you to organize your camp kitchen much more efficiently. This will allow you to take the exact amount of ingredients needed, and save storage space. This will also allow you to properly store, package, and setup everything for even more convenience and functionality.
Freeze Your Meats
Freezing your meat completely before heading out will allow you more leeway in how you prepare your meals and prevent important perishables from spoiling. This is especially important if you plan on camping for more than one night.
Prep Before Hand
Food prep is sometimes the most time-consuming aspect of cooking meals and doing so outdoors while dealing with the environment and limited space/tools can be quite a pain in the butt.
Doing all or most of your prep at home will save you a great deal of time and prevent a messy or infuriating time at camp.
Things like cutting vegetables, chopping meats, marinating, mixing, etc, at home, will ultimately help you to keep your camp kitchen organized.
Bottles Are Your Friends
Bottles are for more than just water. They can be used to store and transport things like pancake batter, scrambled egg mix, oils, dressings, condiments, etc. Putting these foods into handy squeeze bottles will save you from having to bring unnecessary utensils, and it will also make cooking/cleaning up easier, and less messy.
Coat The Exterior Of Your Pots And Pans With Detergent
Believe it or not, coating the exterior of your pots and pans with a thin layer of detergent will help tremendously with the cleanup. You see, when cooking over direct heat will invariably coat your utensils with a thin layer of soot, which can be difficult to clean.
Applying a very thin coating of detergent will prevent the sooty layer from sticking to the exterior of your pots and pans making washing easy.
Label Everything
With so many different bags, packs, and containers, needed to prepare your campsite meals, it becomes important to label everything in detail. This will save time when it comes to preparing your meals, and will also prevent unfortunate accidents such as adding a ton of salt to a sweet dish.
Cover Food When Cooking
This tip will not only keep bugs and other critters out of your foods, but it will also help your food to cook faster.
Don’t Forget The Fire
Few things in life will be more frustrating than finding yourself deep in the woods, far from civilization, about to enjoy your first campsite meal, and realizing that you have somehow forgotten a lighter.
Therefore, always pack your camp kitchen with extra lighters or extra fuel for your burners. Trust me, you can never have too many ways to start a fire when you go camping.
