A Thanksgiving Dinner in the Wild

In typical Hipcamp fashion, we do Thanksgiving a little bit differently.

So we asked our friends Aimee, Mai-Yan, and Emily from the outdoor cooking blog Dirty Gourmet how they would prepare a Thanksgiving meal in the great outdoors. We’re stoked to present what they came up with.

Tired of the same old Thanksgiving get together at grandma’s house? Spend this year’s great fall gathering together in the open outdoors, surrounded by loved ones, next to a crackling campfire. Just because there’s no indoor kitchen doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy a delicious holiday feast. Try out these inventive dishes which can be prepared and cooked from the comfort of your very own campsite. You might be wondering, why is there no fat, juicy bird listed on this year’s menu? Well, considering that you are out in the wilderness and it’s just that time of season…we thought we’d leave all that fun up to you!

A few tips:

• Plan a simple menu. Narrow down your most favorite sides, and try to pick those with only a few ingredients.
• Prep as much as you can at home. Even fully cook things if you can.
• Plan to use the Thanksgiving leftovers in your other weekend meals as new or refreshed recipes so you can limit how much you are cooking and carrying.
• Don’t forget to think about appetizers! Cooking outdoors can take longer than expected, so keep yourselves and guests happy while they’re waiting around the campfire.
• Make a hot drink to share, like our citrus spiced mulled wine.
• Have a plan for cleanup. Hot water is always our recommendation for luring dish doers away from the fire. Please think about Leave No Trace ethics while enjoying our wild places, and “pack it in, pack it out.”

Kabocha Squash Soup

Yield:

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 kabocha squash
• 1 14 ounce can white beans
• 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ small onions
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3-4 cups water
• 3-4 teaspoons boullion
• 1 tbsp harissa spice mix
• 8 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced
• chili flakes, to taste
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Wrap your squash in foil, then throw it in the fire (or your oven) and roast until tender, about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from fire with tongs and set aside to cool.

2. Slice one of the onions (save the extra half for the soup).

3. In a stock pot, add 3 tablespoons of the oil the sliced onion. Fry until crispy. Remove from pot and set aside.

4. Add 3 more tablespoons oil and fry the mushrooms until browned. Remove from pot and set aside.

5. Once the squash has cooled, unwrap the foil. Slice in half through the middle and scoop out the seeds. Discard or roast on their own for a delicious snack. Then scoop out the squash flesh and set aside.

6. Finely chop the remaining onion. Add the rest of the oil to the stock pot, and saute the chopped onion and the garlic until translucent.

7. Add the can of beans along with their juice, the squash flesh, water, bouillon, and spices to the pot. Bring to a boil, and then turn to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, until everything has melded together a bit.

8. Using a potato masher, mix up the soup to be a creamy mixture. Alternately, if you are making this at home and are looking for a really smooth texture, puree it with an immersion blender.

9. Spoon soup into individual bowls, and top with a pile of mushrooms and fried onions in the center.

Dried Plum and Caramelized Shallot Stuffing

Yield:

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• 6 dried plums, chopped
• 1 cup water or broth
• 2 cups stuffing mix

Directions:

1. Saute the shallots in the butter over low heat until softened and caramelized, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the dried plums and water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in stuffing mix.

3. Cover and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Campfire Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Yield:

4 servings

Ingredients:

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1-2 tablespoons chipotles in adobo, minced
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into fourths
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1, Wrap raw whole sweet potatoes in aluminum foil, and place them in your campfire, near the embers. Turn every 5 minutes until tender all the way through.

2. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, chipotles in adobo, and brown sugar. Mix together well.

3. Remove sweet potatoes from the fire and unwrap. Slice open longways and add one of the butter quarters to each sweet potato.

4. Add a quarter of the sour cream mixture to each sweet potato and mix in with the flesh.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Dutch Oven Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Yield:

6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pints strawberries, halved
• 3-4 stalks rhubarb, peeled and sliced into 1 inch pieces
• juice from 2 limes or 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 large biscuits, halved like buns
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Add the first seven ingredients to the dutch oven, and stir together to coat fruit.

2. Cut butter into pats, and distribute along the top of the strawberry rhubarb mixture.

3. Place biscuit halves around the top of strawberry rhubarb mixture until covered. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of biscuits, and cover with dutch oven lid, making sure there is a little space between the lid and the top of the biscuits. Take some strawberries out if necessary.

4. Place dutch oven on bed of hot coals, making sure it is stable and even. Shovel coals onto the top of the lid to make an even thin layer.

5. Open the lid and check the cobbler after 5 minutes, making sure not to get coals into the dutch oven. If one side is cooking faster than another, turn the oven. Check again every 5 minutes until the biscuits are golden and the fruit is bubbly.

6. Serve one biscuit and a spoonful of fruit per person, hot.

For more culinary adventures in the great outdoors, check out Dirty Gourmet.