Even the most simple meal tastes better when it comes off the grill. Whether you’re waking to coffee and cocoa at breakfast or firing up the coals for a hearty dinner, the grill is your gathering place for easy and fresh meals that satisfy the pickiest of appetites. Safety should always be top priority when cooking on an open flame at the campground. Never use gasoline or other highly volatile fluids to light the coals. Allow oxygen to circulate around the fire, and when you’re finished cooking, let the coals burn out completely, wrapping them in heavy aluminum foil for disposal.
Elevate your grill game with these contemporary crowd-pleasing dishes.
1. Greek Sliders with Tzatziki
Dress up your burgers with exotic spices and stop by a local farmer’s market near your campground to pick up toppings like heirloom tomatoes, Vidalia onions, butter, lettuce ,and mint.
Instructions: Get a head start at home and mix together ground lamb, minced garlic, marjoram, rosemary, kosher salt, and pepper. Freeze the petit patties and store them in ready-to-go containers. Tzatziki sauce, with cucumbers, yogurt, salt, garlic, and red wine vinegar, can also be made in advance. Cook burgers directly over hot coals and flip patties gently to keep preserve the lamb’s flavorful juices.
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2. Chorizo-Shrimp Mixed Grill
Showcase your grill master chops with a dish that requires varying heat intensities. A sour cream-based sauce with mayo, cilantro, jalapenos, lime, and salt can be made at home and chilled in a cooler.
Instructions: Set your grill up for two-zone cooking with two-thirds of the coals banked on one side and the rest of the coals scattered over the remaining space. Grill cabbage wedges over banked coals until charred and tender-crisp, then remove. Grill chorizo sausages over scattered coals until cooked through, while roasting lightly oiled asparagus spears until lightly charred over direct heat. Take care to turn spears perpendicular to the grill grate so they don’t fall through.
Toss cabbage and asparagus separately in a dressing of oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, honey, and salt. Place on a platter with sausage and cover with foil. Toss peeled and deveined shrimp in oil, chili powder, and salt, then cook through over banked coals. Add shrimp to platter and serve with lime wedges and sour cream sauce. Recipe inspired by Epicurious.
3. Pond to Picnic Grilled Trout
It doesn’t get any fresher than trout caught at the campground lake earlier in the day. Let the flavor shine with a healthy and simple treatment accompanied by fresh grilled vegetables.
Instructions: Partially cook bacon strips in a cast iron skillet and drain. Clean and dress whole trout, seasoning the cavity with salt, pepper, and sprigs of dill, parsley, and tarragon. Line each cavity with lemon and onion slices. Use kitchen twine to keep seasonings in place, wrap trout in bacon slices and wrap fish in a double thickness of heavy-duty foil or place in a lightly oiled fish grill basket. Cook until lightly charred then flip, continuing to grill until meat is flaky and opaque. Grill carrots, potatoes, and corn on the cob wrapped in foil packets dotted with butter.
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4. Smokin’ Hot Baby Back Ribs
Give your campground ribs that fall-of-the-bone tenderness and depth of flavor by stacking briquettes for a low and slow grill to smoky perfection.
Instructions: Rub ribs with lemon, then season with brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, cumin, mustard powder, and salt. While the meat rests in your cooler, prep the grill using the slow roasting snake method. This method works best in round grills, so create a bowl for briquettes with heavy duty foil if you’re cooking on a rectangular grill. Stack two rows of coals around half the bowl, clustering chunks of wood inches from one end of the snake. Light eight briquettes in a chimney starter to build heat quickly, then use tongs to transfer hot coals to the head of your snake. This ignites a slow burn around the grill perimeter, with a longer snake resulting in longer cooking time.
Place a disposable pan filled ¾ full of water in the center of the grill, insert the cooking grate, and place ribs on the grill above the pan. Replace the lid to cook at 250 to 300 degrees for several hours.
5. Brussel Sprouts Sunny-Side Up
Meatless variations on this healthy breakfast make it a good choice for meat-lovers and vegetarians. A blend of sesame seeds, thyme, and marjoram, called za’tar, spices things up for adventurous palates.
Instructions: Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over glowing embers. Toss thinly sliced Brussel sprouts in oil until cooked through with dark, crispy edges. Season to taste with apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper, then remove from heat and keep warm in a foil packet. Heat more oil in the skillet and gently fry eggs to desired firmness, seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve Brussel sprouts solo for vegan campers, or top with egg, za’tar-infused yogurt, lemon juice, and crumbled bacon.
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Check with your Local Government Organization
Many policies have been established to counter and control the coronavirus outbreak. State and local officials have been taking decisive action to stop the spread. The policies vary by state, sometimes to a great degree. When you book a reservation, make sure to review the park and state’s latest rules and regulations prior to your visit.
For COVID-19 updates, please visit our Impacted Park List and Reservation Guide for the latest information.