Food for a 4 day camp.

[TaiGianni]

As the title says.

I made a post not long ago asking for some tips as I'm heading out at the end of July, and I received some fantastic information which I appreciate muchly! I have another question, however, and I feel as if my last post may have been lost to the forums (At least I couldn't see it on my feed).

My question is; What sort of food is viable to take over 4 days for 6 people? We're talking about quite a lot I guess. And as we will be staying in one spot for the duration we will be okay taking a cooler, as while we will be taking walks, we will be returning to our 'campsite'. Is it possible to take any kind of meat to cook? Will it even last long enough? I've looked at some of the boil-in-the-bag stuff made specifically for this, and that'll definitely be an option for us, but I was wondering whether you could take other, less processed foods(For hiking/camping, not talking about sweet foods) like meat etc? I mean, we do plan on fishing, but none of us are massively experienced in gutting and cooking fish. I mean we can try, i'm not sure if there are any risks for not cooking is properly etc?

Any help on this subject is much appreciated! Thanks!

[Caberfeidh]

This a problem for all campers in the summer. Winter temperatures might keep your meat cold enough, but summer heat just makes it poisonous very quickly. We have to compromise, by using only tinned meat such as corned beef, spam and ham, or spicy sausages like salami. Dehydrated meat such as jerky is a poor substitute, and can be very tough - like eating boot leather - and results in terrible flatulence so sharing a tent is likely to lead to horrific situations. Smoked sausage is available , shrink-wrapped in plastic and does not need to be kept in a fridge, just eat it all once the packet is opened. A good thing to have with these meats is dehydrated pasta, available for much cheapness as packets with tomato and herb sauce, just add to boiling water. dehydrated vegetables and stock cubes are available in supermarkets so it is cheap and easy to make a decent meal from these, though you may want to stop in at pubs to get something freshly cooked and different if you get fed up and bored of the same thing.

Eat your own boots

Tinned meat - tasty.

Catch some fish

[Caberfeidh]

Oh and fish it generally ok to eat, not cooking it properly just makes it taste a bit yukky. Just cook it til the flesh looks opaque and white throughout, not translucent like when it's raw. Japanese people eat sushi and they do just fine.

There are trout in the lochs too...

[TaiGianni]

Smoked sausage, pasta and a good sauce sounds like quite a nice meal actually, and seeing the amount of people that will be feeding we'll definitely cook it all at once. And as long as fish are okay in terms of cooking (Not too difficult) we'll definitely give it a try!

I've also heard that corned beef/spam can make a fairly tasty meal if combined with the right ingredients, i might have to look something up. Thanks for the info!

[Phil the Hill]

Good quality salami or saucisson sec from a a supermarket or deli makes an excellent addition if chopped up and added to a packet pasta or couscous meal. If you can catch some small fish, just fry them up, chop off the heads and tails and add the flesh instead of salami.

Do read the instructions on the packets of pasta before setting out though. On my last trip I found I was supposed to add some milk to a macaroni cheese packet - not easy to find at Loch Callater bothy. We improvised by adding cheese and water, and it worked surprisingly well.

[TaiGianni]

Yup, reading packets will definitely be a priority I'm starting to think of things we can add to the fish, but I'm also questioning what we do about the fish bones? Aren't they annoying, sharp and a pain to get rid of?

[Caberfeidh]

Usually fish bones will be easy to pull off the flesh when properly cooked; the spine and ribs come away easily from a cooked mackerel or trout, with just the fin-bones to prise out with a fork or your fingers. It is all much easier when cooked than when raw. Brown bread and butter is good with fried/baked fish, mackerel especially seem to go well with a pool of balsamic vinegar on the plate. If you visit a café or pub where you get a basket of condiments such as ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard, be sure to get your money's worth and pocket a few for use when camping. Little salt/pepper sachets too.

First catch your mackerel...

[Arthurs Eat]

Good quality salami or saucisson sec from a a supermarket or deli makes an excellent addition if chopped up and added to a packet pasta or couscous meal. If you can catch some small fish, just fry them up, chop off the heads and tails and add the flesh instead of salami.

Do read the instructions on the packets of pasta before setting out though. On my last trip I found I was supposed to add some milk to a macaroni cheese packet - not easy to find at Loch Callater bothy. We improvised by adding cheese and water, and it worked surprisingly well.

Please remember to gut the fish first! Cut from chin to anus and dig the innards oot!

[TaiGianni]

Good quality salami or saucisson sec from a a supermarket or deli makes an excellent addition if chopped up and added to a packet pasta or couscous meal. If you can catch some small fish, just fry them up, chop off the heads and tails and add the flesh instead of salami.

Do read the instructions on the packets of pasta before setting out though. On my last trip I found I was supposed to add some milk to a macaroni cheese packet - not easy to find at Loch Callater bothy. We improvised by adding cheese and water, and it worked surprisingly well.

Please remember to gut the fish first! Cut from chin to anus and dig the innards oot!

Fair enough. Is it just as simple as scooping it out? Or do you have to "dig a little"? Worried about scooping most out but missing something

[rgf101]

I reckon if you could freeze the meat, keep it in a cooler (with ice? frozen bottles of water, which might be lovely after a long walk?), and maybe keep the cooler in a handy chilly loch... well, I reckon I'd like to know the results of that experiment.

[TaiGianni]

I reckon if you could freeze the meat, keep it in a cooler (with ice? frozen bottles of water, which might be lovely after a long walk?), and maybe keep the cooler in a handy chilly loch... well, I reckon I'd like to know the results of that experiment.

I think that'll be an experiment for a future camp

[Arthurs Eat]

Good quality salami or saucisson sec from a a supermarket or deli makes an excellent addition if chopped up and added to a packet pasta or couscous meal. If you can catch some small fish, just fry them up, chop off the heads and tails and add the flesh instead of salami.

Do read the instructions on the packets of pasta before setting out though. On my last trip I found I was supposed to add some milk to a macaroni cheese packet - not easy to find at Loch Callater bothy. We improvised by adding cheese and water, and it worked surprisingly well.

Please remember to gut the fish first! Cut from chin to anus and dig the innards oot!

Fair enough. Is it just as simple as scooping it out? Or do you have to "dig a little"? Worried about scooping most out but missing something

Scoop it oil out and wash.

[Caberfeidh]

I was going to say, "bet there's something on YouTube about how to gut a mackerel", then I looked. You don't have to fillet them like this guy does, and leaving the tail on gives you a kind of handle to hold the fish with. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+how+to+gut+a+mackerel&qpvt=youtube+how+to+gut+a+mackerel&view=detail&mid=2EDB9ABD3649074633E72EDB9ABD3649074633E7&&FORM=VRDGAR

[TaiGianni]

Alright alright I didn't get a chance yesterday Thanks for the link nonetheless