cooking questions from a camping newbie

[sheisaeval]

Cooking-
What kind of camping stove is best? Butane vs propane? Pros/cons?

What about cooking over a camp fire - is it better to cook over wood fire or charcoal briquettes? Pros and cons? Do we need firestarter sticks, or can we use tissue/newspaper? Also, matches or a lighter?

What some good camping recipes that have little or no cleanup (like just wiping it down and don't need to scrub it with soap)? some I've thought about are boil in a bag rice, steamed vegetables, boiling pasta (and adding sauce in own bowl), grilling meats on foil, foil packet meals, hot dogs on sticks over a fire, any "add hot water" meals (instant oatmeal, instant noodles/soups, etc).

We like the omelet in a bag idea BUT we don't want to cook plastic, so can we do something like this with foil or something (aka pouring the mixture in a foil packet and sealing the edges, and submerging in boiling water)?etc.



Also some other questions-
Foam sleeping pad vs inflatable mats?

If you visit a state or national park and you want to explore the park area or go hiking, do you put up the tent and then leave the tent up while you go explore?

What are some MUST HAVE camping supplies people may forget about? What do you find the most useful in your camping trips?

[Smokey Mtn. Camper]

Everyone has their personal preference but I prefer the white gas Coleman stoves. Easy to maintain...quick start...easy to operate. I dont like messing with those propane canisters and the fact they are filling up the landfills is scary.

Cooking over a campfire is always the easiest but it is harder to control temps. I use my Coleman stove and a charcoal grill to cook all our meals while camping and we have some feats while we camp.

I cant help with easy to prepare items cause we usually cook and eat what we want without taking effort into consideration. However, even after our big feasts we usually only have a couple of pans and a few utensils to clean. Everything else we use is disposable so clean up is really not that big a deal.

As far as sleeping mats...IMHO, inflateable is the way to go. I have a Big Agnes inflateable and Thermarest and I prefer the Big Agnes. The quality appears to be about the same and the compfy of both are very equal. The Big Agnes was about 20% cheaper so that is what we now buy after a year of side by side comparison.

When I go camping, I set up my tent...my dining canopy...kitchen...hammock and all the other thousand items that we manage to bring and use that as my base camp. I eat and sleep there but when we have tons of activities, I am usually gone quite a bit of time. Most campers repspect other campers gear and privacy so all the years camping I have never had a issue with others messing with my gear while gone. It is just sorta the unwritten rule that 99% of all campers follow,

Outside of the most obvious items that you MUST bring, I find most people dont bring a stocked first aid kit. I also would be very nervous if I did not bring extra tarps...rope...guylines in case of tent failure or just the need for extra protection from the elements. Those items seem to be down alot of campers checklist and those are items that are not obvious.

By the way...Welcome aboard and if you have any other questions just ask. Most around here have an opinion and are not afraid to share it.

[Eaglebait Ranch]

Yes, welcome aboard sheisaeya. Great people here, all willing to help.

I think the easiest way to cook when camping is using cast iron or teflon coated pans. A cast iron pan has very even heat, and if cured before using is just as easy to clean as teflon; wipe it with a paper towel, and it is clean, period. Teflon pans are usually thin metal and do not distribute heat evenly.

With a Coleman stove, it is so easy to set the heat and cook with cast iron. On the same stove, with thinner pans, get used to adjusting the flame because of the poor heat distribution.

One of the easiest camp recipes, and there are others more expert on this site than me, is frying chicken pieces in Italian dressing, simple, quick, and very good!

Others will chime in with recipes, no problem there.

Anyway, that is my two cents worth, and again, welcome to our campfire.

[Christn2000]

Welcome, sheisaeval. West Tennessee says it. I am new only to this site. I feel comfortable with knowing 3 stles of cooking-propane stove, charcoal, and firewood. I will, on occasion, light some coals and pull out a dutch oven, get a campfire going and hang a DO from the cowboy cookset I made at my forge(I pretend to be a blacksmith, on rare occasion), or just use the stove because it's easiest. And the most indispensible thing to have is common sense based on good solid experience. And there seems to be a lot of good info floating around on this site. That's my 2 centavos.