By Cheri Sicard
In the video below from Vintage Lifestyle USA [80K subscribers, 14.5M views, just since joining YouTube in January], we take a trip down Memory Lane with 20 mostly vintage camping foods that your grandparents and great-grandparents ate on their camping trips. I say mostly because the video title is misleading as, spoiler alert, most of the “forgotten” camping foods are still delicious and regularly consumed today. Others, like the walking nachos, are not even all that old. But still, there are some excellent camping food recommendations here.
(Side note: I know the video title says 20, but I counted 21.)
21 vintage camping foods:
Be sure to watch the video for fun facts and trivia about each of the vintage camping foods.
#1 Roasted hotdogs cooked on a stick: What campfire would be complete without them?
#2 S’mores: Hardly “forgotten,” but still delicious. While the first written recipe for S’mores appeared in 1927, the camping food was already popular and in use by that time.
#3 Fresh-caught fish: Back in the day, it was common to catch your dinner, and for some folks, it still is.
#4 Dutch oven biscuits: A cast iron Dutch oven is a multi-tasking camping cooking vessel that bakes amazing biscuits. Here’s a good recipe.
#5 Walking nachos: Mix taco toppings into a bag of tortilla chips, and you have portable nachos. The video shows you how.
#6 Campfire chili: The video shares trivia and shows you how to make a simple campfire chili.
#8 Campfire potatoes: Yummy foil-wrapped, buttered, seasoned potatoes cooked on a campfire make a perfect side dish.
#9 Bean hole beans: Delicious bacon-enhanced baked beans from a recipe popular in the 1920s.
#10 Hobo beef stew: A hearty beef and vegetable stew for cold nights.
#11 Cornmeal mush: This delicious nostalgic snack is especially good fried in a cast iron pan over the campfire and topped with butter.
#12 Pancakes on a griddle: The campfire does breakfast duty for these delicious pancakes.
#13 Bacon and eggs in a paper bag: Yes, you can cook your entire breakfast in a paper bag over a campfire. The video shows you how.
#14 Grilled trout: I don’t know why this was not included in the fresh-caught fish entry, but the video covers how to season and cook fresh trout separately.
#15 Campfire coffee: This unique and satisfying cup of Joe requires specific techniques. Also known as “cowboy coffee,” check out this post for a detailed tutorial on how to make it.
#16 Grilled corn on the cob: The video shows seasoned, foiled-wrapped corn on the cob that looks delicious!
#17 Fruit cobbler in a Dutch oven: Cobbler is an easy dessert to make while camping. Put the ingredients into a Dutch oven and let it bake in the coals.
#18 Bushcraft bannock bread: A simple bread that can be cooked in an oven or even over a fire. See the video for details.
#19 Campfire pizza: Yes, you can cook pizza over a campfire, and it is delicious. While I have made pizzas directly on the grill, it can be tricky. Next time I try it, I am going to try the video’s technique of using a cast iron skillet.
#20 Campfire stew: A yummy one-pot complete meal with meat and vegetables, it’s the perfect fare for chilly autumn nights.
#21 Skillet cornbread: Another cast iron classic, skillet cornbread goes great with a variety of meals.
##RVDT2482
What happened to #7?
It fell through the grates?
Thanks, Skip. Yeah, that’s what happened to #7. It fell through the grates after I proofed it.🙄😉 Have a great day. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Most of these are still on our menus. All our meals are cooked over a fire whenever it’s permitted. We largely choose our camping venues based on whether or not they allow fires.
Sorry Cheri, there’s just 20. You skipped #7 and went straight to 8!
Oops. And I totally missed that when I proofed it.😱 Too busy thinking about all of that delicious food. Have a great day, Vince. 😀 -Diane at RVtravel.com
Well, at least we know you’re not a robot! If a robot had written it, it’d be perfect, right?! Now, if you believe that, I can get you a great deal on this old bridge…..
Thanks, Al. Sometimes I think my intelligence is artificial, especially when I goof. Funny you should mention the bridge. I have a good friend, since 1965, who is moving this weekend to Lake Havasu City. We’ve always lived less than 5 miles from each other, so this will be very different. But he also has some property on Hood Canal, where he’ll stay when it’s warmer up here in the Pacific Northwest. But the dry weather in Arizona will help ease the aches and pains from injuries sustained in Vietnam, for one thing. And his doctor told him swimming would be good for him. So, like Jim said, he bought a swimming pool, and it just happens to have a house to go along with it.🤣 Have a very Happy Thanksgiving, Al. 😀 –Diane
stew twice and fish twice
You don’t need a campfire to make my favorite camping dessert, key lime pie. I’m allergic to eggs so my recipe is modified, For deepdish double ingredients. 1/3 cup key lime juice, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, crumb crust. 2 hrs prior to dinner stir lime juice and condensed milk together, scrape into crumb crust, put somewhere coolish until dinner.
you can also make orange eggs. Cut a top into an orange, scrape orange flesh out and eat it. BE VERY Careful to NOT pierce the skin. Break an egg into it, put lid on, push into coals, wait 10 minutes or so till egg is firm.
Back when I started camping out in a wall tent..a dutch oven was a staple since modern no stick junk was unavailable where I lived. Cast iron pans and a dutch oven…worked for generations.
Thank you, Cheri! 🙂 I am sure that foil-wrapped potatoes cook and taste wonderfully, unless someone inadvertently steps on them. 😉 At least the solitary time I went tent-camping that is what happened. I crushed my potato and scraped bits of it from between the layers of foil in order to eat it. That was the height of my experience and ultimately led me to “RVing” rather than “camping.” 😉 Have a great day and safe travels! 🙂
S&W canned brown bread.
I still make a few of these. I prefer to use cast iron, but decided to try a lighter weight dutch oven and skillet (aluminum). Don’t know how that will go.