Throwing a beach-themed party with companions can be magical in and of itself, but when you add cooking to the mix, it becomes much more so. It’s fine to treat a beach visit like a regular picnic and bring sandwiches from home, but why not render a great and memorable experience by cooking at the beach? There’s something raw and at the moment about harnessing the power of fire to prepare food in a natural environment like the beach.
If you’re going to be camping on the beach for several nights and days, cooking is a must. Here are tips to help you cook successfully at the beach. There are some challenges to consider when cooking at the beach such as it can be a challenge if you need to breast feed versus using a bottle at the beach. The bottle can be harder to keep cold for a long cook out.
Basic Equipment You’ll Need
Before we get into the specifics of how to cook at the beach successfully, let’s make a list of what you should bring. You’ll need these must-have cooking essentials regardless of the type of food you’re cooking.
Storage
A high-performance beach cooler is required to keep raw food safe and cold until cooked. Select a cooler that can keep items cold for several days, and be especially cautious if you’re bringing raw meat. Cook the meat in the first one to two days of camping to be safe, and ensure it’s thoroughly cooked (not even medium-rare).
You will also need a few containers with tight lids to store portions of the cooked meals or other ingredients for later use. To avoid future contamination or soiling, ensure that each dish container closes airtight.
Basic Cooking Utensils
Consider how you will handle and stir your food while still in the cooking dish. Whatever method you use for beach cooking, you’ll still have to move the food about or flip it from one side to another.
Bring at least two items: a stirring spoon, cooking tongs, a spatula, and a small ladle. If you intend to make something liquid, such as a stew or soup (which is not impossible, even on the beach! ), a ladle is more than optional; it is required.
Eating Utensils and Serving Dishes
Also, consider the number of individuals in your group and bring enough plates, spoons, forks, and so on for everyone. Include at least one large serving platter and paper napkins on your shopping list.
Once a dish has been cooked, you should place it on something after it has been removed from the heat so that everybody can help themselves to a serving. Like most cases, a dish cannot be served in the same location where you prepared it.
Other Necessities
You’ll also need cooking foil, which you can use directly in the cooking process at the beach or as a convenient wrap for ingredients and food.
Tips for Cooking at the Beach
Location
Check that you are permitted to light fires on the beach whenever you visit your favorite beach. If in doubt, double-check. If they don’t want you to have fires, there are generally signs saying so.
Consider the wind direction, including who is around you. Don’t start a fire in the wind just a few feet from the lovely group who has set up camp and been savoring the beach all day before you arrive. It’s not pleasant to be smoked out by your sausages, no matter how delicious they smell.
Keep an eye on the tide. Setting up camp right on the water’s edge may appeal to romantics. When you realize the water is rapidly approaching your half-cooked feast, you will forget all romanticism in the chaos of attempting to shift burning logs much farther up the beach.
To avoid stress, purchase a tide table or download an app. Going towards the high watermark on the beach (usually flagged by a row of seaweed and other flotsam) should put you in a good position.
Equipment
Have a large container with everything you need to prepare a meal. Fill it with cutlery, cups, plates, wooden spoons, Swiss army knife, pepper, salt, oven gloves, wet wipes (required), bin bags, and anything else you’ll need for your day out.
When you get to the beach, take what you need from the container and place it in a smaller bag that you’ll bring with you. It means that there is less preparation at home to gather everything, and because there is less preparation, you do it more frequently because it becomes easier.
It also entails that you can dash back to your car and retrieve it if you forget something. If you’re cooking a meal for a large group, you can always bring the entire bucket with you.
Consider purchasing high-quality, eye-catching plastic plates, wine glasses, cups, and so on. A good Swiss army knife will also replace at least four to five other tools, such as a bottle opener, knife, corkscrew, scaler, scissors, tin opener, etc.
Have several blankets on hand in your car at all times. Please make certain that it has a waterproof bottom.
Invest in a gas stove and a camping kettle. Wet wipes are excellent for wiping down plates and cleaning hands before putting them in a bag to take home and properly clean.
It wouldn’t hurt to have a roll of cling film with you as well. You might not finish all of the food you brought with you to the beach. Having some cling film on hand allows you to wrap it up and put it straight back in the fridge when you get home, instead of it being full of sand and going in the bin.
Ingredients
Reduce the barriers to outdoor cooking by making it as simple, easy, and enjoyable as possible. Plan out your meals for your trip, making a list of all the ingredients you’ll be using and any specific utensils you’ll require.
Before you leave, cross everything off your list as you stuff it into your backpack or cooler. You can usually get by with a few things forgotten, but no one wants to be remembered as the person who forgot a key ingredient for a campfire dinner.
Something is rewarding about preparing an entire meal from scratch. So, if you insist on incorporating only fresh ingredients, try to do as much of the preparation in your kitchen as possible.
Examine the ingredients for your meals in the privacy of your own home. Do they specify chopped onions or something more complex, such as pulled pork for sandwiches? If so, you can do these things at home and freeze or bag them before throwing them in a cooler.
While you can prepare almost anything on a portable stove over a fire, the key part these portable stoves lack is true control over heat output, which can make cooking a meal difficult at times.
An excellent way to bypass this is to practice several recipes at home before going to the beach. See what doesn’t work and what does; simple things such as boiling water for pasta will never be a problem, but searing a steak to perfection is unlikely.
