Meals on your mac !! & Favorite convenient foods for boating

[vizwhiz]

We haven't cooked on our boat yet, but the admiral says she plans to prepare meals the way we do for camping, which is to pre-prepare everything, cooked at home, and then just re-heated when we are out. The only exception may be the grilling part, which we do when camping - the meat gets grilled, nearly everything else will have been prepared at home and just get a quick toss in a pot or pan over one eye (or wrapped in foil and stuck on the grill).
But our plans at the moment are for daysailing and one-nighters mostly...we'll see.

[Doug W]

That's what we do. Prepare much of the meals at home. Easy to pack and less garbage to clean up afterwards.
We love our grill! Shish-kabob's are awesome and easy to pre-prepare! We tend to cook most meals on the grill which helps prevent the cabin from getting even hotter in the summer.

[Highlander]

Yep
Prepared meals work great ahead of time pick-up the cell ph order your choice of food & say I'll have that delivered , have a scotch while setting the table & crack open a nice bottle of wine to breave, I beleive its called "take-out" , if the weather is not great walk to the local Tavern sit at table with nice view of the water front or beside the best looking Cougar's order food & wine of choice turn to the bar tender & say I'll have another Scotch Please !

J

[rtrinkle]

Now that just sounds too easy...

We tend to prep some foods, but also use a lot of canned food. Of course, dried fruits and nuts are great boat food between meals.... And nothing beats a freshly caught fish on the bay. Fillet it immediately, add a little spices, and throw on the grill.

How many cans of propane do you typically keep on board for a weekend trip if your anchoring?

[Timber Cruiser]

I know this is a little out there compared to beans and beer, but I have a waffle iron.

Even more out there. I bake bread. Bought a old pressure cooker, use a large coffee can as a baking pan (It just fits) and put three Mason jar lids under the can as spacers so it does not burn on the bottom.

I should come clean. I don't do any of the above............. My wife does.

[The Mutt]

Has anyone used a vacuum packer containing prepared meals that can be cooked in boiling water?

Glenn

[Gypsy]

We do most of our cooking over our Magma CHARCOAL Grill !
No stinking gas for us !

I bought the grill , over 20 years ago . It has been aboard all of our boats . I think on our various baots we have used about every kind of mount Magma makes .
In 2002 I bought new grills , knob , and fabric cover for her . Except for a little discoloration , the kettle looks and cooks good as new.

When we take our cruises , she is our main cooking source ,cooking both meat and vegatables , with the alcohol stove as backup .

They will pry the last charcoal briquette from Cold ,, Dead ,, Fingers !

[Jim Bunnell]

If you're holding the briquette, I doubt your fingers are cold!

[DaveB]

We have a propane skillet for Eggs,Bacon,Sasage and home fries (Fries come in a package of 1/2inch cubed patatoes)
We have cooked Sizzler stakes on it and 1/4 inch Ham. We use the Propane grill for thicker stakes but now only bring it to the WCTSS Camping were we have 20 or more boats and even than recent I set up a log fire on the beach with 3 iron stakes that support a 30inch porcelin grill and all cooks on it.
Our single burner butane stove does the coffee and vegies.
We do have most of our food pre prept.
Doing a 3 day cruise starting tommorow to Cayo Costa.

Dave

We haven't cooked on our boat yet, but the admiral says she plans to prepare meals the way we do for camping, which is to pre-prepare everything, cooked at home, and then just re-heated when we are out. The only exception may be the grilling part, which we do when camping - the meat gets grilled, nearly everything else will have been prepared at home and just get a quick toss in a pot or pan over one eye (or wrapped in foil and stuck on the grill).
But our plans at the moment are for daysailing and one-nighters mostly...we'll see.

[Gypsy]

We also have a small crockpot , that runs thru the inverter .
We have cooked stews and such in it , while the motor is running .

But our main cooking device is the Magma Grill .
I have cooked many a full course meal on our grill .

One of our best meals was at Steinhatchee River's Sea Hag Marina , where a teenage gave me a giant filet off his touranment winning grouper .

It was at least 1/2 " thick . I grilled it straight on the grill in a little lemon pepper ! AAHHH !

[Crikey]

Got a two burner Coleman from our camping days, inside. The Admiral seems to find few limitations with her efforts while I'm busy measuring out the next tot of rum in the command bridge (rank has its privileges!). She wants to try our pressure cooker this season. I still would like an outside grill for the fish fry's, and such. Doesn't take much to pooch up the interior with the catch of the day, especially if you're cooking for more than two!

Ross

[Berber Boy]

Cordon bleu dehydrated Mash potatoes in a packet are my specialty! When the Admiral isn't around that is!!

[Gypsy]

Food just taste so much better when cooked and eaten aboard the Boat !

[enufsed]

I thought it'd be fun and useful to start a message thread in which people could share ideas about their favorite foods to bring on-board their boats. Ultimately I'd like to use this to create a list of good ideas. Some of mine are adapted from canoe and kayaking trips.

Here's the criteria:

a) The food must be tasty and (hopefully) have some nutritional value.

b) Must be "convenient" on a boat -- in other words, need minimal or no refrigeration, and/or not be the kind of thing that drips juice or seeds everywhere (thinking of melon), or crumbs (thinking of potato chips).

c) You must provide some explanation to justify your suggestion.

Here are some ideas to get started:

1. Mennonite sausage: Here I refer to that thick, dense, dark smoked sausage that's somewhat like pepperoni (but bigger) that one normally finds in farmers markets and comes cured in its own cloth sleeve. This stuff is great because it stores well, doesn't need refrigeration, and tastes great (and is a good source of protein). You can eat it on its own with lunch, use it as meat for a sandwich, and also fry it up in a skillet for breakfast like bacon; it tastes similar or better than bacon, and is less greasy and messy to deal with.

2. Bagels: Bagels fulfill all the needs of regular bread but seem to stay fresh tasting for longer. Even when slightly stale, they can be returned to a palatable state via toasting over a grill. This is especially true of multi-grain bagels. (I avoid poppyseed bagels since the little black seeds fall everywhere.)

3. Tetrapak juice: I'm not talking here about the small juice boxes that come with the straw and annoying plastic wrap that always floats away; instead, I refer to the large quart-size boxes that can be bought a Walmart etc. very cheaply, require no refrigeration, and can be flattened to a very small size after consumption.

4. Cheese in cheese cloth: Did you ever wonder why they call it cheese cloth? I discovered years ago that transporting cheese in plastic makes it go soft and "slimy" very quickly. A brick of, say, old cheddar, stays firm and un-slimy for a long time when wrapped in cheese cloth.

5. Eggs (unrefrigerated): last year I discovered on a trip to England that they don’t refrigerate their eggs over there; even in the supermarkets they’re staked in aisles for sale, without any cooling. So eggs can be onboard for quite a few days without refrigeration.

6. Cooked meat and eggs. It’s also a great idea to cook certain meats and boil eggs before a trip, put them in the cooler and reheat for consumption (or unpeel for eating, in the case of eggs) as you go along. Food lasts a bit longer once cooked. You can also bake or microwave potatoes and yams before your trip, wrap them in tin foil and re-heat them in the BBQ.

[Dennis]

Whole Almonds, Whole cashews, Dried Apricots, Dried Cranberries, Dried Banana Chips Trail Mix for nutritional value and Dried Dates for fiber! My U.S submariner son-in-law adds "3 bean salad which I hate, jello, omelets with powdered eggs which aren't bad, pastas".