Camping-friendly main dish for 30 people - ideas?

[Anonymous]

+1 on hot dogs. So much easier and more fun for a camping. I’d rather eat grilled hot dogs than fire reheated homemade stew or chili.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many good ideas here, but one I haven’t seen mentioned is beef stew. We freeze stew meat in zip loc bags, and pre chop all the veggies (onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots), bring some frozen beans and corn, canned tomatoes, & pre-measure the spices (I use thyme, bay leaves, and some Cajun spice). Brown the beef (which will be thawing by the time you use it), throw in the onions and garlic, add veggies, tomatoes & spices. It’s a tasty way to get some veggies in the mix.

Beef stew is our go-to camping dinner, but I just make it ahead of time and freeze it in a big ziploc. Add crusty bread and some sour cream and yum.

[Anonymous]

Cooler for hot dogs and brats and impossible brats. Serve with a variety of buns - plain, poppy seed, gluten free, etc… Have ketchup, brown and yellow mustards, relishes, and several types of pickles (dill, gherkin, maybe pickled peppers, etc…).

Lots of chips of all kinds: plain, bbq, sour cream and onion, Doritos, pretzels, pita, etc…

Corn on the cob. Butter can go in the cooler.

Watermelon to cut on site. Other fruits if you can bring them.

Grape tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers and veggies that keep at room temp. Throw some dips in the cooler if they fit.

Cookies and brownies and s’mores.

Drinks - sodas, seltzers, juices, beers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taco bar - you can even brown up the meat in advance and reheat it in a large pot. Then just pack soft tortillas, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

A camp favorite version of this (although not the most healthy) is tacos in a bag. Put the meat and fixings in a bag of Fritos or Doritosch, break up the chips, and eat directly from the bag. That eliminates having a dish to wash.

That's called Frito Pie.

Or Walking Taco.

Gross. Just because you are camping doesn’t mean you have to eat garbage. This is high school concession stand fare.

I, too, thought walking tacos sounded gross until I had one at a girl scout camping weekend. Basically turkey chili in a frito bag with toppings. Absolutely, bizarrely, delicious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taco bar - you can even brown up the meat in advance and reheat it in a large pot. Then just pack soft tortillas, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

A camp favorite version of this (although not the most healthy) is tacos in a bag. Put the meat and fixings in a bag of Fritos or Doritosch, break up the chips, and eat directly from the bag. That eliminates having a dish to wash.

That's called Frito Pie.

Or Walking Taco.

Gross. Just because you are camping doesn’t mean you have to eat garbage. This is high school concession stand fare.

I, too, thought walking tacos sounded gross until I had one at a girl scout camping weekend. Basically turkey chili in a frito bag with toppings. Absolutely, bizarrely, delicious.

PP again - it was just canned Trader Joe's chili.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many good ideas here, but one I haven’t seen mentioned is beef stew. We freeze stew meat in zip loc bags, and pre chop all the veggies (onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots), bring some frozen beans and corn, canned tomatoes, & pre-measure the spices (I use thyme, bay leaves, and some Cajun spice). Brown the beef (which will be thawing by the time you use it), throw in the onions and garlic, add veggies, tomatoes & spices. It’s a tasty way to get some veggies in the mix.

Beef stew is our go-to camping dinner, but I just make it ahead of time and freeze it in a big ziploc. Add crusty bread and some sour cream and yum.

Beef stew outside in the hot humid weather does not sound appetizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taco bar - you can even brown up the meat in advance and reheat it in a large pot. Then just pack soft tortillas, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

A camp favorite version of this (although not the most healthy) is tacos in a bag. Put the meat and fixings in a bag of Fritos or Doritosch, break up the chips, and eat directly from the bag. That eliminates having a dish to wash.

That's called Frito Pie.

Or Walking Taco.

Walking Taco is appropriate if served in bag. Frito pie or a haystack if served on a plate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taco bar - you can even brown up the meat in advance and reheat it in a large pot. Then just pack soft tortillas, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

A camp favorite version of this (although not the most healthy) is tacos in a bag. Put the meat and fixings in a bag of Fritos or Doritosch, break up the chips, and eat directly from the bag. That eliminates having a dish to wash.

That's called Frito Pie.

Or Walking Taco.

Gross. Just because you are camping doesn’t mean you have to eat garbage. This is high school concession stand fare.

I, too, thought walking tacos sounded gross until I had one at a girl scout camping weekend. Basically turkey chili in a frito bag with toppings. Absolutely, bizarrely, delicious.

+1. The first time I was at a kids’ event that served walking tacos I mentally said, “Oh hell no” but my son nagged me to try them and they were so good. I had a lot of ground turkey and tomatoes and it was awesome and not the least healthy thing I’ve eaten at a kid’s party. But you might not want to spring these on a captive audience.

I’d definitely serve Applegate Farms uncured turkey hot dogs and old school tofu pups cooked on the fire or grill and everything else pre-made and pre-portioned (precut watermelon in a stick, fruit skewers, individual chip bags, canned drinks) to keep the line moving. I’d buy one good kind of bun and keep fixings to a minimum—again to make packing and serving efficient for a large group. S’mores for later. Definitely skip corn-in my experience it never gets eaten.

[Anonymous]

If you're a fan of walking tacos, you may like the nacho table.

https://bit.ly/3vwXMhm