Camp Cooking 101
If you find a good method for eating great while backpacking or camping, you will greatly increase your happiness on the trail. As my friend Brooks of Camp Chef says, "There's a lot of things that will be out of your control in the outdoors. But if you eat poorly, that's your fault."Everything tastes better when your backpacking. While this is true, it shouldn't be an excuse to eat crappy food, resigning yourself to pathetic meals. You can actually eat really well in the backcountry. Here's a primer on doing dinner right.
Boil-and-eat meals
It doesn't get any easier and lighter than freeze dried backpacker food. These keep your pack weight to a minimum and keep fuel consumption very low. These are good options for multi-day adventures (like 3 or more nights) because it's easy to manage pack weight and space. And generally speaking, these are okay options in terms of taste and quality. There are some good ones out there. And there are some not-so-good ones (I almost lost a friendship with a long time buddy after a meal of Katmandu Curry because I couldn't stop farting in the tent. The stuff actually made me sick!) I've had success with Good-to-Go, which are becoming easier to find in stores. The best brand for pre-packaged meals I've ever experienced in Adventure Appetites. But these hardly qualify as boil-and-eat meals.It's culinary art brought to you in backpackable form. Reindeer Rotini? Teriyaki Beef Noodle? Yes please. A little pricey, but they are insanely good.Tip: Pay attention to the calories. Some meals are sub-300 calories. That's not gonna work for me after a day on the trail. I look for meals over 700 calories. I need fuel! Also, Serving size 1 is not enough for me. I regularly eat a bag "for two people" by myself, easily. I have no idea who is actually satisfied by those one-person meals.
Boiling water + a little bit of chefery
Boil and eat meals are not just freeze dried options. With a little bit of creativity and a willingness to carry a little extra weight, you have almost limitless possibilities for awesome backcountry meals. People who only go backpacking a couple nights a year probably do not want to bother with anything other than freeze dried meals. But I get quickly bored with the meal-in-a-bag options, plus I just enjoy cooking. Almost all my meals fall in this category. Staple ingredients for these meals can be purchased at any grocery store, and include items such as Darn Good Chili, Mac n Cheese, Quinoa, and Chef Aidell's smoked sausages. Check out a blog I wrote for MSR on some delicious boil-only recipes that can be prepared (such as Pad Thai, Chili, Andouille Sausage Stew).
Full on Chef Wizardry
On my last backpacking trip, my friend packed in about 20 pounds of food and prepared the most jaw-droppingly delicious backpacker meals you can imagine. I laughed, literally out loud, when I saw her food bag. It included items such as raw eggs (RAW EGGS!!!), bananas, whole sweet potatoes, onions, jalapeños, rice noodles, and lentils. This is not for everybody. But people who spend loads of time in the backcountry (such as guides, these are NOT the ultralight types) care more about comfort and satisfaction, and are willing to sacrifice with heavy packs. The food options are literally endless here. But the key to doing this right, is your stove. You can't do this with a JetBoil type stove. You need a liquid fuel stove. A true classic, and a stove I use anyway, is MSR's Whisperlite. The stove is bomber. They can practically last forever. And you can prepare skillet meals on them. And if you're going crazy, the MSR Dragonfly is a backcountry chef's dream because you can control the heat, all the way down to a simmer.