Partially rehydrated bites of pad thai crunch between my teeth. If I was Alex Honnold, I’d use the the word, “mastication” but I’m just a simple outdoors guy who enjoys hanging with friends and eating food in the dirt. I mean, what more could you ask for than pretty view, some dirt under the nails, and a good night sleep under the stars?
Honestly, I could think of a few things, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves as your next meal with friends should be right around the corner. If you are anything like me, you’re probably asking yourself what you’re going to cook, so here are a few camping meals that I have enjoyed over the years.
Pre-surf breakfast burritos in San Juanico, Baja. Follow Dalton Johnson on Instagram for more stunning images & stories
The Perfect Breakfast Burrito
Now, there is no “right way” to make a breakfast burrito, but there surely is a wrong way. So, let me just establish some of those faux paws:
not heating up your tortilla
only having eggs and cheese in your burrito
a poorly wrapped torilla
forgetting the salsa
forgetting the avocado
the burrito not feeling heavy in your hand
cold eggs
While it doesn’t take a foody to know the difference between a good breakfast burrito and an average breakfast burrito, if you are camping, a breakfast burrito can fuel your full day adventure. As an avid remote surfer, especially when surfing in Baja, here’s how I think you make the best breakfast burrito:
STEP 1: skillet your veggies in oil; onions, bell peppers, jalapeños (if you like it spicey)
STEP 2: mix with eggs (add salsa to eggs for more flavor/fluff) into your veggies
STEP 3: add cheese
STEP 4: heat tortilla on separate pan until soft
STEP 5: add scramble to burritos and wrap
STEP 6: cook the full burrito on all sides until crispy
That final step makes the burrito next level.
Taking a break to fill the belly while bikepacking outside of Phoenix, AZ. Follow Dalton Johnson on Instagram for more stunning images & stories
The Classic Dehydrated Meal (hopefully spiced up a little)
Boring without a doubt, but there are a few tricks to make your dehydrated, or freeze dried food, better. Obviously, every meal has it’s own additions that are worth add, but here is a general rule of thumb:
hot sauce
condiments, ideally ones that come in packet form
veggies, pre-sliced if you are a hero
Also, dehydrated food has come a long ways in terms of flavor and options, so don’t just grab the tried and true lasagna. Here are few meals to try out that I have enjoyed recently:
Day one burgers on the glacier are the perfect way to send off on an expedition to climb Mount Denali. Follow Dalton Johnson on Instagram for more stunning images & stories
Burgers at Basecamp (don’t forget to bring the mustard)
While burgers may seem like the impossible food to bring on most camping trips, they really aren’t. You just need to eat them early in the trip or go to a really cold place, like a glacier. While filming a documentary on Denali (you can watch it for free on PBS, click here) we had burgers on day one. If you are car camping, just use a cooler and some ice to keep your meat cold. If you are backpacking… well, I wouldn’t suggest it.
Burgers don’t have to be complicated to taste really freak’n good, but here are some tricks to make your friends wanting more:
add some fajita spice to the meat
make your patties thick and char the outside for an added flavor
bring along cheese and not that Craft singles cheese, but real cheese
invest in good buns, this goes a long ways!
make sure to have some veggies like lettuce, onions, tomatoes
Katy cooking up some pasta during a vanlife meet up. Follow Dalton Johnson on Instagram for more stunning images & stories
The Ever Classic Pasta
Lame as it sounds, pasta is a classic. Sure, most people will think of pasta as a camping food that is easy to make and keeps forever, but doing pasta right will raise any and all spirits on the trail or at the campsite. Here are my tricks to making good pasta:
cook till al dente, then add the sauce to finish cooking
make a great sauce and add extra cheese
did I say cheese, yes, add more please
salt and pepper
try this before saying no… add mushrooms chopped up small. I started to do this and it levels up the pasta
You know they are a good friend when they offer you the last slice of pizza. Follow Dalton Johnson on Instagram for more stunning images & stories
Pizza Over The Fire
True friends will give you last slice a pizza. I don’t when this started, but I cook a backcountry pizza whenever I go backpacking with a stove. When I say “have a stove” I mean with a whisperlite stove and some pots. While these stoves are notorious for being scary to cook over your first time, they offer a lot of versatility for a cook in the backcountry. Cobbler, scrambles, pizza, calzones, pasta, cake, brownies, oat meal, you name it, it can most likely be cook with a whisperlite.
Pizza is hard to make, but it doesn’t have to be. In the backcountry use a whisperlite and at a campsite use your campfire. Here’s the easy button for pizza:
Trader Joe’s pizza mix
Cheese, lots of cheese
Red sauce
Pepperoni, mushrooms, bell peppers, whatever you want
The trick to cooking a great pizza is to almost finish the crust before adding any toppings. I know this sounds strange, but your fire or stove isn’t going to be hot enough, so cook and flip your crust like a pancake, then top it.