Outdoor Cooking

Book List

If you are looking for some new camping recipes, cooking methods, or some camping information in general, check out these books :

The Back-Country Kitchen, by Teresa Marrone

This book of techniques and recipes is primarily for those who need to pack lightweight, yet tasty and nutritious, meals. Some meals require some prep at home, including home drying in a dehydrator or home oven (instructions included). Instruction on cooking methods, including helpful photographs, is included. I give this book high marks for its ease in reading. Each recipe is accompanied by simple icon symbols regarding ingredients, cooking methods, preparation, and easiness rating.

Baking in a Box, Cooking on a Can, by Gail Kay Haines

This is a delightful book for the simple reason that it is simple. Written for the juvenile reader, it has simple, easy-to-follow instructions with illustrations (just what I like). As the title implies, the book tells you how to make and bake in a box oven and how to construct and cook on a tin can stove. Also included are toasting on a wire and frying/steaming in paper. Recipes are included with each cooking method section. If you are a beginner (or even if you're not) this is a good place to start.

Campers Guide to Outdoor Cooking, by John G. Ragsdale

This comprehensive guide covers everything from "fires to fixin's." It includes information on building fires, cooking methods, stoves, ovens, utensils, meal planning and recipes. The recipes are arranged by type of food (meats, breads, desserts, etc) and are easy to prepare. I especially appreciated the photographs included with the instructions for using the different cooking methods.

Campground Cookery, by Brenda Kulibert

This book is almost all recipes, along with a few helpful hints. The recipes are arranged by food type ( snacks, breads, soups, etc.) and each recipe has an easy-to-read symbol beside it that enables you to see at a glance the recommended method of cooking. I especially appreciated the kid stuff and pie iron sections.

Cooking Out-of-Doors, by Girl Scouts of the USA

This book is simple written but comprehensive, including directions on how to contruct the equipment for the different cooking methods, as well as the recipes for the methods. The recipes are organized by cooking methods, and there is also a section on edible wild food. Being a Girl Scout of yesteryear, these recipes bring back many fond memories. (I especially remember burying our stew pot in a hole, and having a wonderful meal hours later.)

Everything Tastes Better Outdoors, by Claudia Roden

This book is divided into three sections. The first covers food cooked at home and transported to everything from a picnic to English tea on the lawn. The second part deals with food that is cooked outdoors, on a grill, over a camp fire, or in a barbeque pit. The final section is for travelers using cramped galley kitchens on boats or in campers, as well as for others who sometimes live off the land.

Gourmet Camping, by Joan Wilcox Osborne

Contents include a complete three-meal-a-day menu guide for a variety of outdoor trips, along with practical information on planning, packing, and preparing excellent meals in the wild. For each meal, the book tells what to prepare beforehand at home, what ingredients to pack, and what to do at the campsite. The book is divided into the four seasons of the year with suggested trips for each of the seasons. Note: I found that many of the recipes were wonderful to make and freeze for home use.

The Lightweight Gourmet, by Alan S. Kesselheim

If you want to dry your own food for your camping excursions, then this is the book for you. It includes what you need to know to successfully process and dehydrate, package, store, and cook your own lightweight food is in this book. It includes field-tested recipes together with specific instructions for converting your own favorite recipes into lightweight food for outdoor life.

The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide, by Simer and Sullivan

This is not an outdoor cooking book but it does have a short chapter on cooking for nutrition and pleasure, as well as recipes in the appendix. It is, however, an excellent and comprehensive wilderness guide.

Roughing It Easy, by DianThomas

In this book you'll learn about planning, equipment (I especially liked the shower), campsites, fire building, cooking, backpacking (including drying your own trail food), and winter camping. The recipes are arranged by cooking methods, with a chapter devoted to each (direct heat, baking, stick and spit, Dutch oven, and solar cooking). These chapters not only contain recipes but instructions on constructing or using the cooking apparatus for each, including photographs. There is a nice at-a-glance chart on pp. 78-80 that lists the recipes with the cooking times using the various methods.

The Upscale Outdoor Cookbook, by Cari Taylor-Carlson

This is a cookbook containing the recipes for meals used by Tripping Lightly, Inc., which takes small groups camping, backpacking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing, and was founded by the author. Simplicity is the goal and healthful, unusual, tasty gourmet meals the end product. Some meals are cooked over the campstove and some are prepared at home, frozen, and brought to camp in a cooler. Recipes are arranged by meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner), whether it is for the campground or backpacking, and if it is to be cooked at home at in camp. Recipes are easy to read and easy to prepare.

Wilderness Cuisine, by Carole Latimer

This booked is geared mainly to the backpacker in mind. The emphasis is on using fine, high-quality ingredients, and gresh food whenever possible. Included is information on how to pack food and keep it fresh, how to equip a wilderness kitchen, and how to set up camp and cook with minimum impact on the environment. The recipe section is divided by food types and by meal types, and includes some sample menus. For each recipe, the book tells what to prepare beforehand at home and what to do in camp. These are not your typical camping recipes. They lean toward the"gourmet side of life." There is also a section on drying your own food

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