Christmas dinner in camp.

[Ted]

Sounds like a number of you will be hitting the road for the week between Christmas and New Years. Do you cook anything special for dinner either of those holidays? We usually do Eggs Benedict for breakfast on special occasions, but I'm trying to come up with an idea for dinner. Any suggestions?

 

[DirtyDog]

I think you need to get out of the camper and roast something over some charcoal. Chicken? Maybe a nice fat turkey breast? I'll get Marc to post up his recipe for dutch oven beans its GOOD!

 

[Desert Rancher]

A 3-4 lb. turkey breast is awesome over the coals. Git some mesquite.
Cook it slow and you will drool over the results. Left overs are just as good.
Doesn't need much-a bit of seasoning is all that is needed.

 

[SunMan]

Maybe double wrap a small ham in foil with some honey or maple syrup or whatever suits your tastes and kick it around in the coals of your camp fire for an hour or two. Maybe do the same thing with some yams with some brown sugar, honey and marshmallows (or dutch oven them). Make sure the outside gets good and crispy. Add some Dutch oven bisquits maybe? Lots of options. Damn, I'm making myself hungry.

 

[Ted]

Hmmm, good ideas. We did a turkey breast on the grill for Thanksgiving. Rubbed it with garlic, rosemary, sage, and lemon zest. It did turn out quite well and would be worth doing again. Had not thought of doing a ham. That has a lot of potential, too.
We do not have a Dutch Oven (DD keeps pulling the wrong name on the rewards) but do have a Coleman stovetop oven. We used that to do crescent rolls for Turkeyday and cookies at the Warner Mountains rally. Not sure if they would be worthy of a Christmas dinner, but I'm thinking I need to try making pizzas in it. Don't think I've ever had a pizza in camp.

Sunman, are we helping? You better get something to eat. Or meet us in camp, I'll bring extra.

 

[BSS]

You gotta get a dutch oven. I'd like to get one of those nice aluminum ones someday, but I don't think they'll season like an iron one.

If I wanna go big, I go with the old dutch oven pot roast; potatoes, carrots, dumplings, etc. Maybe even a Bison or Elk roast to really get festive. Reindeer?

Quick prep before leaving home and very little cleanup.

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

You gotta get a dutch oven. I'd like to get one of those nice aluminum ones someday, but I don't think they'll season like an iron one.



I was skeptical to using the Aluminum Dutch oven.
But I have to say that thing worked pretty good. You don’t season them like an iron one.
I made a batch of beans in it and they came out great. The best part is that those ones are easy to clean. Similar to a non stick pan.

I don't have a pic of the finished product. Maybe someone else did take one. Was Busy!!

I started out by cooking the onion; garlic and celery in the hot oven. See pic
Then you add your spices.
Add the soaked beans ( I soak them overnight; drain them and put them in a zip lock bag in the fridge); cook them a few minutes in the onion mixture..
Add tomatoes and Chicken stock ( the cube ones work or just plain H2O)
Add a little salt to them.
Cook
Season the beans after they are done with more salt.


Enjoy!!

 

[BSS]

Looks delicious!

To me though, half of the point of using cast iron is the flavor that the pan itself adds over time. I think I might miss that with aluminum. Although the no mess thing is a real bonus.

 

[Nimbl Vehicles]

That is true; but the flavor was pretty darn good. I think the biggest advantage is the light weight and the easy clean up.
As for a cast iron pan;I don't think any thing would beat it since it does retain the much needed heat to sear meats.

 

[DirtyDog]

I'm all for using cast iron skillets but the aluminum dutch ovens are just much easier to transport and work with - especially if you are using more than one.