Camp Cooking
How twelve people eat well for a week without one person doing all the dishes.
Table of Contents
- The System: Shared Dinners, Crewed Mornings
- Our Cooking Equipment
- Make-Ahead Is the Secret
- Packed & Portable Meals
- Cooler Strategy (food safety in the heat)
- A Smooth Group Dinner
- Campfire Treats
- Coffee for the Crowd
The System: Shared Dinners, Crewed Mornings
With twelve people, the simplest approach is:
- Dinners are group meals with a rotating host family each night. One family plans and cooks; a different family cleans up.
- Breakfasts are crewed (assigned setup/cook/cleanup teams—guys vs. girls and the like), since the big cooked breakfasts need owners, not just a menu.
- Lunches are light, self-serve, or packed to eat on the trail or at the beach.
Who-does-what for every meal—plus the coffee station, snack pantry, and cleanup schedule—lives on the Camp Jobs & Chores page. The food itself is in the Food Plan: the schedule, the make-ahead prep, the shopping list, and each family’s preferences.
Our Cooking Equipment
Between three rigs we have a serious camp kitchen. Know what each can do so we cook on the right tool and don’t overload a circuit:
| Source | On / from | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| RV propane stove + small oven | Large RV (Older Smiths/Harris) | Boiling, simmering, baking, biscuits |
| RV outdoor kitchen + awning | Large RV | Shaded prep & serving hub |
| Butane grills | Square pod (Younger Smiths) | Quick grilling, searing, galley cooking |
| Electric griddles ×2 | Younger + Older Smiths (electric sites) | Pancakes, bacon, eggs, grilled cheese, burgers |
| Electric air-fryers ×2 | Younger + Older Smiths | Crisping, reheating, chicken thighs, fries, fast kid food |
| Group camp stoves (propane) | Shared | Workhorse burners at Group HQ |
| Cast-iron + big pot | Shared | Fire cooking, pasta, corn, mac & cheese |
| Fire ring / grill grate | Shared | Hot dogs, brats, foil packets, s’mores |
Watch the electric load. Air-fryers and griddles are big draws. On the powered sites, don’t run two high-watt appliances on the same circuit at once (plus the A/C and fans) or you’ll trip the pedestal breaker. Stagger them, and lean on butane and propane for simultaneous cooking.
Fuel check before the trip: propane for the RV and group stoves, butane canisters for the pod grills, and the electric appliances need the powered sites. Bring spares.
See the full Packing kitchen list.
Make-Ahead Is the Secret
The less you cook at camp, the more you enjoy camp. Before the trip:
- Pre-cook and freeze the heavy proteins (pulled pork, taco meat, the Younger Smiths’ vacuum-sealed seasoned meats). Frozen food doubles as cooler ice and thaws over the first days.
- Pre-portion dry mixes (pancake mix, dehydrated mashed potatoes), pre-chop veggies, pre-make burger patties, hard-boil eggs for egg salad.
- Pre-mix seasonings and marinades in labeled bags.
Step-by-step in the Meal Prep guide.
Packed & Portable Meals
Some meals are better eaten on the move—a trail lunch, a beach picnic, or a simple packed lunch on the cave day trip so we skip cooking in the heat. Build a few of these:
- Sandwich kits: PB&J, turkey/ham, and corned-beef wraps made that morning; pack with chips, fruit, and carrots in a soft cooler.
- Walking snacks: string cheese, applesauce pouches, trail mix, granola bars.
- Beach picnic: sandwiches + watermelon + a drink jug, in the shade by the swim beach.
- Cave-day lunch: keep it cold and simple—premade sandwiches eaten in town or at a shady stop, with dinner out afterward.
Pack smart: a dedicated day cooler/soft bag, ice packs, plenty of water, and trash bags (pack out everything). The snack-pantry manager loads the day bag before we leave—see Camp Jobs.
Cooler Strategy (food safety in the heat)
July is hot—food safety matters.
- Two+ coolers: a drinks cooler (opened constantly) separate from food coolers (opened rarely). Every time the lid lifts, cold escapes.
- Block ice + frozen jugs last far longer than cubes; pack bagged ice for drinks.
- Raw meat on the bottom, sealed, so nothing drips on ready-to-eat food.
- Keep coolers shaded and closed; refresh ice in Troy on the way in and mid-week.
- Keep cold food ≤ 40°F. When in doubt, throw it out—nobody wants a sick kid at camp.
A Smooth Group Dinner
- Host family preps their station; others bring sides, drinks, and chairs.
- Kids first—feed the little ones a touch earlier to avoid meltdowns.
- Two-bin dishwashing: wash bin (hot, soapy) + rinse bin; air-dry on a towel/rack.
- Cleanup crew ≠ cook. The host cooks; another family cleans. Rotate.
- Lock up food before the campfire winds down.
Campfire Treats
- S’mores, obviously—stock extra; the kids will lobby nightly.
- Banana boats: split a banana in the peel, stuff with chocolate + marshmallow, foil-wrap, warm on the coals.
- Foil packets: sausage or chicken + potatoes + veggies, sealed and set on coals.
- Roasted starbursts / campfire cones for a fun kid night.
Coffee for the Crowd
Several adults run on coffee (the Younger Smiths flagged it). We run a daily coffee & morning-drink station with a rotating owner—setup, stocking, and teardown details are on the Camp Jobs page. Bring a percolator or big pour-over and pre-measure grounds; first one up starts the pot.