Camp Cooking
What is it about camping that make food taste so good? Is it the fresh air of the outdoors, the thought that it might be your last meal, or just the fact that every meal involves bacon? It could be a combination of all...
In planning our meals for camp, the scouts will request menu items that are usually not prepared at home due to most of the meals being cooked in dutch ovens. One of their absolute favorites is one called Mountain Man Breakfast. This delicious creation involves a pound of sausage, two pounds bacon, hash-browns, cheese, and 4 dozen eggs all in one dutch oven... it's no wonder the scouts always request it. The only problem is that after you eat this amazing meal, you tend to want to go back to your tent and hibernate until next spring.
When planning you meals for camp, you want to plan nutrient/energy packed meals. My opinion, Mountain Man Breakfast is not the best meal when planning on an activity/hike in the morning. First, it takes a very long time for this meal to cook as you need to have some hot coals/briquettes for the dutch oven. Second, it is extremely packed with so much starch, grease and fat that it will physically slow you down rather than give you the energy that is needed. Through experience, the best breakfast I have had while camping is granola with almond milk poured over and fresh banana's sliced into it. It's not extremely full of fat, but sticks with you until lunch and gives you the energy needed during your hike.
I am not saying to never make Mountain Man Breakfast... because it truly is a delicious breakfast. But, while working on the Cooking Merit Badge, plan your meals accordingly to the activities you have planned. If backpacking through the Uintas, do not plan any meals that involves a dutch oven (very heavy to pack in and out). And, if cooking for twenty scouts at your week-long scout camp, you probably do not want to use your backpacking stove to cook your group meals on. Use the right tool for the right job and always be prepared.
Cooking up breakfast