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BDAABAT
04-30-2021, 07:46 AM
Good day all! I'm reaching out to the Brethren for some ideas/suggestions for main meal during a Scout outing.

Our Scout troop is heading out of town in two weeks to go white water rafting. This is one of the bigger events during the year where we invite along siblings along with the Scouts and their parents. The program staff typically cook for the adults and siblings of the Scouts (the Scouts cook their own meals). A few of the program staff typically will stay behind to make something a bit more involved while the Scouts are on the river. I'm looking for ideas/suggestions for Sat dinner that would be tasty to a wide range of palates and relatively reasonably priced.

When I polled our group, the only definitive response that I got back was a suggestion for hearty sammiches. Umkay, I can work with that! I was thinking of doing something with pork for the primary protein to help keep costs modest...maybe marinate pork to do roast pork ban mi sammiches or perhaps Cubans.

Q: what method would you suggest for cooking at camp for a decent crowd of up to 20?

Would you drop the marinated pork into Dutch ovens and just let them go over a couple hours? Grill first, then Dutch oven?

Secondary protein will likely be marinated chicken thighs for those that may not be wild about pork.

If doing ban mi, will make up an Asian inspired slaw to accompany the sammickes.

Might also do a pear cobbler and a berry cobbler topped with camp made cinnamon ice cream for dessert, but am open to suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
Bruce

robertm
04-30-2021, 08:31 AM
I applaud your efforts and your dedication to the troop. If your cooking for adults then your ideas sound absolutely fantastic!

If it's for the boys then maybe something less adventuresome would better suit their pallets? Maybe just bbq beef or pulled pork sandwiches. Something along those lines. Could do bbq shredded chicken for those that don't want the red meat.

If there's one thing I know for certain, at the end of a long day out in the woods whatever you make will be devoured and you will be a hero for making it!!

smokeisgood
04-30-2021, 09:02 AM
Spent many years as a Scout Leader. If I were going to do it again, I would just be very tempted to smoke a pork butt at home, pull it, and put it in some ziplocks, then heat it up in a Dutch Oven with a little apple juice. Take some BBQ sauce with you and have pulled pork sammiches. You could also smoke some boneless skinless thighs and make some pulled chicken. And Blackberry cobbler and peach/apple (mixed) cobblers was always my go to desserts for camp.

BDAABAT
04-30-2021, 11:15 AM
Thanks for the responses so far!

To clarify: This is just cooking for the adults and the siblings of the Scouts. And, I plan on not going on the river...which means there will be opportunities to do more to prepare the meals. We tend to use this outing as a way to show the boys that you can cook anything on an outing, as long as you are prepared and have a plan. :wink:

In years past, we've made large batches of paella with shark, squid, chicken; shrimp/vegetable tempura; beef bulgogi; vegetable curry; and tres leches cake for dessert.

Bruce

smokeisgood
04-30-2021, 11:39 AM
Thanks for the responses so far!

To clarify: This is just cooking for the adults and the siblings of the Scouts. And, I plan on not going on the river...which means there will be opportunities to do more to prepare the meals. We tend to use this outing as a way to show the boys that you can cook anything on an outing, as long as you are prepared and have a plan. :wink:

In years past, we've made large batches of paella with shark, squid, chicken; shrimp/vegetable tempura; beef bulgogi; vegetable curry; and tres leches cake for dessert.

Bruce
Well then, I always enjoyed a good venison or beef stew in a Dutch Oven, with potatoes, carrots, onions etc. Or, you could take some cinder blocks and build an actual small pit and smoke right there on site.

robertm
04-30-2021, 12:48 PM
Thanks for the responses so far!

To clarify: This is just cooking for the adults and the siblings of the Scouts. And, I plan on not going on the river...which means there will be opportunities to do more to prepare the meals. We tend to use this outing as a way to show the boys that you can cook anything on an outing, as long as you are prepared and have a plan. :wink:

In years past, we've made large batches of paella with shark, squid, chicken; shrimp/vegetable tempura; beef bulgogi; vegetable curry; and tres leches cake for dessert.

Bruce


I applaud your efforts! Obviously you like cooking and I'm sure you find it rewarding to see people enjoy food together. Please know though these meals will make an impact on some of the boys and influence their interest and love for food in ways you'll likely never realize.

I had no real interest per se as a kid in cooking but meals with the scouts and the pride my dad took in making his Dutch oven peach cobbler every year resonate with me even now.

thirdeye
04-30-2021, 05:34 PM
Thanks for the responses so far!

To clarify: This is just cooking for the adults and the siblings of the Scouts. And, I plan on not going on the river...which means there will be opportunities to do more to prepare the meals. We tend to use this outing as a way to show the boys that you can cook anything on an outing, as long as you are prepared and have a plan. :wink:

In years past, we've made large batches of paella with shark, squid, chicken; shrimp/vegetable tempura; beef bulgogi; vegetable curry; and tres leches cake for dessert.

Bruce

So the adults and siblings are sharing the same camp as the Scouts? And are they there the full two weeks, or just for a night or two?

I think it's good to have the Scouts cook for themselves. That was part of the fun when I was in Scouting. As for feeding the adults and siblings I'd have a couple of campfire or Dutch oven meals (or sides), but how about turning it up a notch with steak fingers or grilled fish?

One thing I do when cooking at hunting camp, fishing camp or for a non-packing-in camp.... is to make unexpected meals. I cook them at home and freeze them in foil pans. I'm talking enchiladas, lasagna, chicken and rice, meatloaf, chicken pot pies, steak fajitas etc. It's amazing how good these typical 'home' type meals taste when simply reheated on the edge of your cooking fire. One time I served a shore lunch to 15 fisherman and had deviled shrimp salad and a smoked cheese tray for an appetizer, then grilled sausages, chicken wings and potato salad.

BDAABAT
05-01-2021, 08:28 AM
For further clarification: this will be a weekend camping outing. We'll leave for camp at Ohiopyle State Park on Friday evening and depart Sunday morning. So, we need the following meals: breakfast Sat, lunch Sat, dinner Sat, breakfast Sun.

Breakfast for us Sat is typically: breakfast burritos! scrambled eggs, home fries, medley of peppers and onions, fatties that I've cooked at home and brought to camp, home made salsa, tortillas, shredded cheese. Coffee is made with a couple large French presses that I picked up from REI several years ago. After having crappy coffee from percolators that were over boiled, moving to a French press has profoundly changed the coffee camping experience!

Sun breakfast is typically pancakes, smoked sausages or kielbasa, eggs, home fries.

Sat dinner is where we tend to go a little bonkers. Not only is this a nice way to share a great time with the families that are joining us (many of whom are new families that have just joined the troop...we're trying to make a good impression!), it's also an opportunity to show the boys that you can do anything if you plan and prepare. And, it creates an incentive for boys to run for senior leadership (SPL, ASPL). The boys who take on the responsibility to serve as Senior Patrol leader don't have to cook or clean during the outing. They are too busy managing the boys to take on those tasks, so they eat with the adults. For many of our boys, this is a major incentive. Nearly all the boys want to eat with the adults.

What's really cool is that some of the boys not in senior leadership positions want to compete with the adults. They see what the adults are doing and they want to showcase what THEY can do! We've had boys who have made fresh donuts on outings, who have created their own Doritos, who have made their own Mountain Dew (minus the caffeine), who have done fabulous pork tenderloins, etc. All in all, it's a really cool experience!

Am looking for suggestions mainly for Sat dinner, and looking to do something sort of involved, something that can be done at camp with a bit of planning, but different than what we've done in years past.

So, what's been done in years past you ask? Paella was done for several years:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-TXTzCH3/0/0e2dc333/M/IMG_0480-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-TXTzCH3/A)

https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-T3RX5hz/0/edd96ed9/M/IMG_1010-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-T3RX5hz/A)

Home fries in the discada:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-9tMtNS5/0/2dbabe40/M/IMG_1015-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-9tMtNS5/A)

Dutch oven chocolate cake made with Twinkies inserted into the batter and then "topped" with cherry pie filling:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-WwmJDWW/0/d4284be4/M/P5180054-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-WwmJDWW/A)

Poke appetizer:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-69sTXSW/0/581ae1b8/M/IMG_1282-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-69sTXSW/A)

Smokey rotisserie chicken (one of the adults brought along a rotisserie and hooked it up to a car battery via an inverter) along with some romaine that's waiting to be grilled:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-9tnQMxg/0/fb745d40/M/IMG_1289-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-9tnQMxg/A)

Tres leches for dessert:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-Z9M3Cx9/0/8ae0135e/M/IMG_2181-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-Z9M3Cx9/A)

Another paella with some basmati rice:
https://photos.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-svjmhQx/0/86a38665/M/IMG_0353-M.jpg (https://bdaabat.smugmug.com/Rafting-treats/i-svjmhQx/A)

We tend to eat well on Scout outings. :becky:

Am wondering about doing a couple roast pork shoulders. Saw that Costco had pork butts for 1.99/lb. Could grab a couple, trim most of the fat/connective tissue, create several chunks that could be marinated in a citrus-cumin-garlic marinade (and some reserved to be cooked more basically, just in case the siblings aren't wild about the flavor), then either roasted in a Dutch oven or perhaps smoked (thanks smokeisgood! I like the idea of bringing along some cinder blocks!). If the meat is broken down into chunks, the marinade will be able to penetrate even with a short soak and the pieces will cook relatively quickly. Then create ban mi sammiches.

Could also do some chicken thighs...season then either Dutch oven roast or grill, then glaze to finish.

Mmmm....


Bruce