For some, winter can be an intimidating season to head out into the backcountry. Everyone, at one point or another growing up, has heard horror stories about someone getting lost in a storm, frostbite, or hypothermia. These are relevant fears, for sure. But these shouldn’t deter you, or anyone, from missing an entire season of the outdoors, stuck inside until the groundhog sees his shadow. While there are plenty of activities to do out in the snow, like hiking and snowshoeing, backcountry skiing, cross-country skiing, and others, there is also plenty of fun to be had right at the camp, inside the tent. There really is nothing like spending a long, cold day inside a warm tent making an incredible meal on a tent wood stove. The crackling wood, only the necessities around you, it feels more intentional, and the food seems to taste better. Here is a guide to a few recipes and tips to make the best food for winter camping.
Table Of Contents
To Prep or Not to Prep
There are a few key considerations to keep in mind when packing a cooler full of food for a wilderness trip. There is the weight, how far you intend to hike into camp, or maybe it’s just car camping, but all of that is pretty standard. The other big topic is: How deep into your cooking do you want to get? If spending the day in the tent, or right around camp, is the plan, then there may not be a need to prep your food.
When camping, it’s best to follow a simple rule: make it easy and make it delicious. To do this, consider what vegetables go well together and get your favorite protein (beef, pork, chicken, or fish). Prep the veggies all in one container, cleaned and cut. Bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, and any other garden veggie will go great in a stir-fry or stovetop fajitas (recipe below). Similarly, marinating your meat beforehand will make the experience tastier and quicker when you get to cooking on your stove.
Another option is slow-cooking these veggies and meats in a Dutch oven. If you have the time and you find it enjoyable, no real prep needs to be done. Bring what veggies you like in their raw form and spend the day relaxing in your tent, cooking up a storm while the winter storm rages outside. It makes for a peaceful trip and adds some intentionality to the cooking process. There’s no rush, and cooking becomes the activity for the day.
A Kitchen a Yeti Would Love
One way to ensure you enjoy your winter camp and that you’re setting yourself up to make the best food for winter camping is to make sure you have the best kitchen for winter camping. This doesn’t mean you need to have an elaborate camp kitchen, but having a few designated items and a good space to cook makes all the difference. First: Consider the tent.
Unlike a summer camp, the kitchen and cooking must be done inside. For this, it comes highly recommended to acquire a proper tent. Winter camping can be unpredictable, and at the very best, it’s guaranteed to be cold. With inclement weather, impending winds, and the possibility of snowfall, a sturdy structure will ensure your safety and comfort. A canvas tent meets every requirement for a durable and versatile structure for a winter camp. Depending on the size of your group, a good Wall Tent or Bell Tent is ideal. White Duck offers large wall tents enough to comfortably fit a kitchen and sleeping space, with room to prep, meander, and mingle.
There are some key features regarding a good canvas tent that appeal to those looking for a good camping kitchen. They are durable, spacious, and most importantly, they accommodate a tent wood stove. Each of the tents from White Duck Outdoors features a stove jack through which the stovepipe fits. The airflow is adjustable through the pipe, so the temperature in the tent is just right for cooking and relaxing. Depending on the model of stove, it should come with a cooking surface and be more than just a wood stove.
Along with a quality tent wood stove, a solid foldable table will provide a little extra space to prep. Having the extra counter space makes cooking and serving much easier. Everything else, such as knives, cutting boards, plates, and silverware, is up to the user. But a canvas tent with a good tent wood stove and a foldable table as a work station are nonnegotiable.
The Basics
Not to get too deep into the nutrition side of things, but it’s immensely important to eat enough calories while in the wild. In winter, humans can burn 200-400 more calories per day, just in managing the cold weather. If you add backpacking or hiking, that number can range from 500 to 1500 calories/day. This is no small amount of food. Likewise, it matters what you eat. 1,500 calories of licorice and chips is not going to get you very far. Nutrient-dense food like vegetables and meats (whole foods, as they’re called) are ideal for this kind of setting. And since we have the time, here are some basics to any good meal, but ideal for the best food for winter camping.
Take anything you want from these lists and pair them together. It’s pretty tough to go wrong:
Start with the Veggies
- Bell peppers
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Green onions
- Avocado
- Garlic
- Squash/zucchini
- Carrots
- Celery
Add a Protein
- Chicken
- Pork Chops
- Bacon
- Sausage
- Steak
- Ground beef
- Ground turkey
- Salmon
- Tilapia
- Tuna steaks
Don’t Forget a Starch or Carb
- Rice
- Sourdough bread
- Tortillas (corn and flour)
- Pasta
- Potatoes
- Quinoa
- Lentils
- Beans (red, pinto, black, white)
- Barley
Don’t Forget the Seasoning
- Salt
- Pepper
- Oil/butter
- Garlic salt
- Onion salt
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne paper
- Red pepper flakes
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Sage
If you’re not sure what to make or don’t know what you or the crew will be in the mood for, just start with this little outline. From here, there are dozens of directions you can go to make tasty meals that are packed with nutrients and will keep folks fighting for seconds. Along with the items on these lists, it’s smart to have designated spices set aside in your camping kitchen. The above spices will get you pretty far and ensure that everything is tasty. It should be noted that these are just the basics. A good idea is that when you add a new spice to your home kitchen, go ahead and get another bottle and throw it in the camping kitchen.
Good ‘n Slow
Let’s consider the list of ingredients above. If you’re hanging out all day and just having a good cook-in, then propping a large cast iron on your tent wood stove’s cooking surface will give you a good low temperature to slow cook all day. Here is a recipe for the best beef stew that every camper will love.
Ingredients:
- Steak (cut into 1-inch cubes)
- Potatoes (cubed)
- Carrots (chunked)
- Celery (chopped)
- Onions (diced)
- Mushrooms (quartered)
- Garlic (minced, 3-4 cloves)
- Salt and pepper
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Beef broth or water (4-6 cups)
- Flour (2 tablespoons, for thickening – optional)
- Oil or butter
Instructions:
- Season 1-1.5lbs with salt and pepper. Brown in batches in the Dutch oven, being sure not to overcrowd the meat. Set aside.
- In the same pot (with all the good stuff left in), saute onion, carrots, and celery until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for another minute.
- Return the beef to the pot. Add potatoes, mushrooms, thyme, and rosemary. Pour in just enough broth or water just to cover everything.
- Bring everything to a boil if you can on the tent wood stove. If not, just let it simmer for 2-2.5 hours or until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally.
- If the meat gets tender and you still want the stew thicker, dissolve a few tablespoons of flour in water and make a slurry. Add it to the broth while constantly stirring to avoid clumping.
Serve with sourdough bread for dipping.
This is a phenomenal and easy recipe. People will tell the stories of your legendary camp stew for decades to come. Others will write songs about you. But the truth is, it’s very simple. It’s really the process to consider here. If you want to make some green chili stew, swap out the carrots and celery with Anaheim or Hatch Green Chilies, remove the potatoes, and use pork instead of beef. It’s really the same principle.
It Only Takes a Minute
Understandably, not everyone wants to hang around camp all day cooking. For those who like to get out and do some snowshoeing while the sun is out and still keep a banging meal, here are some great Camp Fajitas to cook on a tent wood stove that will knock everyone’s winter socks off.
Ingredients:
- Chicken (sliced thin against the grain)
- Bell peppers (sliced into strips)
- Onions (sliced into strips)
- Garlic (minced, 2-3 cloves)
- Salt and pepper
- Smoked paprika
- Cayenne pepper (optional, for heat)
- Oil
- Flour tortillas
- Avocado (sliced, for serving)
Instructions:
- Season the strips of chicken with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes (if you want some kick).
- Heat oil in a large cast-iron or preferred pan. Cook the chicken in batches and be sure to cook it all the way through (we don’t want anyone getting sick). Remove and set aside.
- In the same pan, add a bit more oil if needed, and saute bell peppers and onions over high heat until peppers are slightly soft. Add garlic at the last minute.
- Return the chicken to the pan and saute everything together, incorporating all the flavors.
- Warm tortillas directly on the tent wood stove.
Serve when tortillas are hot with sliced avocado (and hot sauce, if you can handle it). Keep the high heat through the whole process, and you’ll be surprised how easy it is to make incredibly delicious fajitas that everyone will love.
Get Creative, Eat Well
You can already see how some of the steps here are repeated. The idea is getting some good veggies, your favorite meats, and pairing them all with some carbs or starches to keep you fuller longer and ready for whatever the next day has to throw at you. Stay on the hunt for good camping recipes, but when it’s time to hit the road, and you’re not sure what to do, grab a few from column A, some more from column B, and don’t forget the spices. You’re sure to have some delicious meals and keep you and the crew eating the best, even as the temperatures drop.
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