- Knowing your Numbers and your Budget
- Knowing your Audience
- Planning a Delicious Meal
- Sticking to your budget
- Making a Shopping List
- Grocery Shopping
- Meal Prep; pre trip or event
- Preparing food at home
- Packing your food
- Packing your kitchen
- Cooking your Meal (Finally!)
- Clean-Up
Knowing your Numbers
When planning a
meal for a large group it's sometimes hard to know your final head
count. People can easily be added or not show up but having a reasonable
estimate will really help with your planning. It is also important to
know your budget up front so you can realistically feed x amount of
people for y amount of money. For this example we'll plan on a group of
20 people, +/- 2.
Knowing your Audience
Perhaps
you are cooking for an international group from the Middle East, so
many of your participants won't eat pork. Or maybe you're cooking for a
group of Dad's and daughters between 5-7. The kids aren't going to want
to eat fish, but they will definitely eat spaghetti. In a professional
setting you will be expected to know and cater to allergies to foods
like nuts or milk. For this example we are going to feed 20 people; 3
families, a variety of ages but with no allergies or special food
needs.
Planning a Meal
This
is probably my second favorite part of meal logistics, where you get to
be creative. However, this probably isn't the best time to try a new
recipe that you found on your favorite blog or website. It's good to
stick with things that are tried and true. Messing up in the outdoors is
not very forgiving, there usually are no Wendy's or Subway's.
One
of the most important aspects of group cooking is sticking to your
budget. Even if you are making a big meal for your friend and family
it's good to set a limit to what you're going to spend, even if it's
$75/person. It's very easy to get carried away. For a normal, healthy,
tasty dinner, it's reasonable to budget about $2-4/person, less
for breakfast or lunch. For this example, the budget will be $50 for a
dinner or about $2.50/person.
Recap:
We are going to prepare a meal for 3 families of 20 people, varying
ages with no allergies or special food needs for $50. Let's also say
this is a FHE outing for a Monday night up the canyon.
Write down some meal ideas that you have for this group.
A Couple Ideas:
Chili
Chili
Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce
I'm going to choose Chili. To make this a more rounded meal I'm going to plan on having frito chips, shredded cheese, fresh veggies with ranch and dutch oven cobbler for dessert.
I'm going to choose Chili. To make this a more rounded meal I'm going to plan on having frito chips, shredded cheese, fresh veggies with ranch and dutch oven cobbler for dessert.
Recipe and Shopping List
Let's make a shopping list!
I like to use an excel spreadsheet. I use the first column for specific dishes, then the second column for a grocery list, third for prices, and any beyond that for quantity, price, etc.
Let's make a shopping list!
I like to use an excel spreadsheet. I use the first column for specific dishes, then the second column for a grocery list, third for prices, and any beyond that for quantity, price, etc.
My recipe for Chili is as follows
1 Onion, diced
1 lb Ground Beef
4 cans chili beans
4 cans tomato sauce
24 oz tomato juice
3 T Chili powder
3 T Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
Brown the beef and onion. Add the entire cans of beans, all the tomato juice and juice. Add the cumin and chili powder. Heat entirely and then let simmer.
1 Onion, diced
1 lb Ground Beef
4 cans chili beans
4 cans tomato sauce
24 oz tomato juice
3 T Chili powder
3 T Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
Brown the beef and onion. Add the entire cans of beans, all the tomato juice and juice. Add the cumin and chili powder. Heat entirely and then let simmer.
As
you can see, we are far under budget and this should feed everyone.
Obviously if you have a larger group or are using a more strict recipe
you'll need to consider portions.
If you are extra organized then you can split your ingredients into areas in the grocery store or by food groups like 'dairy', 'fresh produce', 'canned' etc. This is a relatively short shopping list, since we are only cooking one meal, but if I were planning many meals and if I were shopping with others, then I'd make a very detailed shopping list.
For example:
Grocery Shopping
This is pretty self explanatory. Go to the grocery store and grab a cart!
Meal Preparation
There are some things that can be prepared ahead of time to make your outdoor cooking experience a lot more pleasant. In this situation, our chili and veggies can be prepared ahead of time. For the chili, I'd just make the soup and take it in a large pot to the site. The vegetables can also sliced and put in either a tupperware, ziplock or the like. The dip can be mixed beforehand and left in the cottage cheese container. You can prepare other things ahead of time, like slicing onions or measuring small amounts of things like spices or pasta, just keep in mind, a range, stove and kitchen are much easier than a park grill or picnic table.
If you're going on a wilderness excursion you'll need to think ahead about keeping things cool, air tight or from getting moldy etc. For our example we'll need to keep the chili from splashing around in the back of the car. I would probably place it in a box in my trunk. I'd pack a small cooler with the cheese, ranch dip and veggies.
For trips that are a little more extreme you'll have to consider how to keep your food cold in coolers. Consider using ice blocks or even dry ice. Have a list of food contained on the outside of your cooler, so you can avoid opening it as much as possible. You don't want thawed chicken making your eaters ill. You can divide your frozen stuff by the day/meal it will be eaten or by food groups like dairy or meat. It's good to keep your dry goods by day, it makes your food easier to divide out and prepare. Don't store perishable items in hot places.
Finally, just like cooking at home, you need utensils and pots or pans. When making a shopping list, I included items that are needed in preparing my chili meal. The only things I'm going to bring to my outing will be a dutch oven and the various items I use with that, a large serving spoon, can opener, the pot with chili and a ladle and normal serving spoon. DON'T FORGET YOUR PLATES AND SILVERWARE. It's really important that people have something to eat out of. If you decide to go with washables or paper goods, just make sure you remember to bring that stuff.
I like to keep my kitchen items in a separate bag or box, just so it's like having a mini-kitchen. We also need to bring a camp stove to keep our chili warm. If you don't normally use a gas range, keep it on low because you can easily burn your food and then you're stuck eating only veggies.
Cooking Your Meal
So, your car is packed, your family is buckled, you are ready for your outing. You get to your site, unpack your items and get your stove set-up. Heat your chili, lay out your chips and cheese, veggies and dip and get bowls, plates and spoons ready. Enjoy your meal!
Clean-Up
Depending on what kinds of dishes you choose you'll have different clean-up techniques. If you choose reusable wares, bring either a way to wash up or a place to put the dirties, to be washed at home. If you bring paper goods, then remember a garbage bag. It's good to bring one of these no matter what. If you decide to wash on-site, bring soap, pots to wash in, and bleach is always a good idea. Bring sponges, towels, paper towels etc.
Outdoor, large meal cooking is just like your kitchen at home, but its outside. You can still feed many people, make tasty food and have fun doing it. Of course it's successful, but once you've succeeded, you'll be able to easily do it over and over and who knows, maybe soon you'll have a new tradition!
If you are extra organized then you can split your ingredients into areas in the grocery store or by food groups like 'dairy', 'fresh produce', 'canned' etc. This is a relatively short shopping list, since we are only cooking one meal, but if I were planning many meals and if I were shopping with others, then I'd make a very detailed shopping list.
For example:
Grocery Shopping
This is pretty self explanatory. Go to the grocery store and grab a cart!
Meal Preparation
There are some things that can be prepared ahead of time to make your outdoor cooking experience a lot more pleasant. In this situation, our chili and veggies can be prepared ahead of time. For the chili, I'd just make the soup and take it in a large pot to the site. The vegetables can also sliced and put in either a tupperware, ziplock or the like. The dip can be mixed beforehand and left in the cottage cheese container. You can prepare other things ahead of time, like slicing onions or measuring small amounts of things like spices or pasta, just keep in mind, a range, stove and kitchen are much easier than a park grill or picnic table.
If you're going on a wilderness excursion you'll need to think ahead about keeping things cool, air tight or from getting moldy etc. For our example we'll need to keep the chili from splashing around in the back of the car. I would probably place it in a box in my trunk. I'd pack a small cooler with the cheese, ranch dip and veggies.
For trips that are a little more extreme you'll have to consider how to keep your food cold in coolers. Consider using ice blocks or even dry ice. Have a list of food contained on the outside of your cooler, so you can avoid opening it as much as possible. You don't want thawed chicken making your eaters ill. You can divide your frozen stuff by the day/meal it will be eaten or by food groups like dairy or meat. It's good to keep your dry goods by day, it makes your food easier to divide out and prepare. Don't store perishable items in hot places.
Finally, just like cooking at home, you need utensils and pots or pans. When making a shopping list, I included items that are needed in preparing my chili meal. The only things I'm going to bring to my outing will be a dutch oven and the various items I use with that, a large serving spoon, can opener, the pot with chili and a ladle and normal serving spoon. DON'T FORGET YOUR PLATES AND SILVERWARE. It's really important that people have something to eat out of. If you decide to go with washables or paper goods, just make sure you remember to bring that stuff.
I like to keep my kitchen items in a separate bag or box, just so it's like having a mini-kitchen. We also need to bring a camp stove to keep our chili warm. If you don't normally use a gas range, keep it on low because you can easily burn your food and then you're stuck eating only veggies.
Cooking Your Meal
So, your car is packed, your family is buckled, you are ready for your outing. You get to your site, unpack your items and get your stove set-up. Heat your chili, lay out your chips and cheese, veggies and dip and get bowls, plates and spoons ready. Enjoy your meal!
Clean-Up
Depending on what kinds of dishes you choose you'll have different clean-up techniques. If you choose reusable wares, bring either a way to wash up or a place to put the dirties, to be washed at home. If you bring paper goods, then remember a garbage bag. It's good to bring one of these no matter what. If you decide to wash on-site, bring soap, pots to wash in, and bleach is always a good idea. Bring sponges, towels, paper towels etc.
Outdoor, large meal cooking is just like your kitchen at home, but its outside. You can still feed many people, make tasty food and have fun doing it. Of course it's successful, but once you've succeeded, you'll be able to easily do it over and over and who knows, maybe soon you'll have a new tradition!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteIndeed a good post, And I believe having a dutch oven in our all important kitchen is crucial it helps us cook the best food for our family,, so that's why we need the best dutch oven, and recently I have purchased one of the best dutch ovens available, because i want to make best food with the best dutch oven.
By the way, Keep up the good work.
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