When you think of outdoor cooking the mind wanders to images of leather skinned cowboys squatting around a tin can of beans. While real outdoor cooking is much different from cooking in a regular kitchen, it can be much better than a can of smoky beans. Backpackers, campers, and barbeque enthusiasts have revolutionized outdoor cooking with techniques and equipment that make it a lot of fun. Setting up outdoor kitchens is an art and a great way to commune with nature, but mostly it's just plain fun.

Food Comes First

The type of food you can cook outdoors really just depends on what you are willing to try. Camping food is normally energy packed carbohydrates and fat. To provide energy for increased activities, dehydrated foods are easy to whip up and easy to carry, but it doesn't need to be so crude. If you are not going to be moving around to different camp sites, then you can be a bit more versatile. Doing as much of the prep work at home saves time as does choosing foods that are easier to prepare outside.

Tools of the Trade

Equipment is where the fun really begins campfire cooking is normally a direct heat method, but be careful to check out the fire rules in your camp area and take plenty of precautions that you fire is well managed. This is one of the oldest methods and still produces the tastiest results, but due to the danger involved many still prefer a camp stove.

Camp cookware varies form from crude and simple to seriously heavy duty. Most campers prefer having lightweight aluminum cooking sets. The light weight is great for traveling and aluminum makes is a great heat conductor. For those that prefer heavy duty the cooking options increase exponentially. Cast iron Dutch ovens hold heat much longer and are strong enough to stand up to intense use and are versatile enough to even bake bread.

The Techniques Matter

Cooking techniques can vary as well, while many campers prefer boiling an entire industry of camping food has developed around boiling. Small and efficient rapid boilers can boil food in a metallic bag and you can have a complete meal in a few minutes. But the ease of boiling water to cook food outdoors isn't new ancient people have been using the heat generated from water to steam cook for generations. If you still want the convenience of boiling you can make your own boil in a bag food using small freezer bags. It is simple to make scrambled eggs; you simply put the cracked eggs and additional items into a Ziploc bag, close the bag and drop it in a pot of boiling water. In 2-3 minutes you will have perfect scrambled eggs. The beauty of using this technique in your outdoor kitchen is that you can cook several items from the same heat source.

Outdoor cooking is as old as man and a great way to stay in touch with nature. You can set up an outdoor kitchen using a variety of methods and equipment, but keep it simple for the most ease. Outdoor cooking doesn't have to be gourmet, but it doesn't have to be gross either.

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