Favorite on the boat meals (simple and ideally fresh out of the water)

Don’t wanna rain on any parades, but keep it simple. Maximize your time on the water and do your food prep ahead of time with frozen meals like you’ve mentioned. Make your breaky/lunch/snacks in the morning and put each persons in a food bag for the day. You may have periods where the weather allows for some cooking/sandwich making, but don’t count on it in Quatsino & offshore. Plus heading below deck to rummage through bins for food, creates a messy and unorganized boat fast in my experience. This is your big trip, so it’s up to you if you want to be fishing or cooking. Spend a full day out on the water working gear in some weather, come back and process fish & tidy up the boat, you’ll pretty much eat anything. Having said that, here’s my cooking set up. Some elk stroganoff on the troll once off Browns Bay and some soup & grilled cheese while letting the traps soak off Cortes Isl. Note the water conditions.

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I bring food that I can eat if I don't get lucky to catch something tasty.
I make up batches of frozen spaghetti sauce in a large yoghurt container. So easy.

For the fresh stuff, well it's fresh, you don't need to mess around too much.
Seasoning salt, pepper, olive oil or butter, garlic, herb au provence, carrots and potatoes.
I also make rice on board, simple recipe, put rice in pan, fill with water until in covers the rice by first knuckle of index finger, bring to boil, cover with tea towel then lid. Take off heat and sit for 20, while cooking whatever you are putting on top of the rice.
I also keep a selection of fast food condiments, soy, ketchup, mustard, in the small packs.

Leftover rice for breakfast, fry rice with garlic and any leftover meat, put a fried egg on top with hotsauce, wake up yo'face!
 
Gong Show said:
I bring food that I can eat if I don't get lucky to catch something tasty.
I make up batches of frozen spaghetti sauce in a large yoghurt container. So easy.

For the fresh stuff, well it's fresh, you don't need to mess around too much.
Seasoning salt, pepper, olive oil or butter, garlic, herb au provence, carrots and potatoes.
I also make rice on board, simple recipe, put rice in pan, fill with water until in covers the rice by first knuckle of index finger, bring to boil, cover with tea towel then lid. Take off heat and sit for 20, while cooking whatever you are putting on top of the rice.
I also keep a selection of fast food condiments, soy, ketchup, mustard, in the small packs.

Leftover rice for breakfast, fry rice with garlic and any leftover meat, put a fried egg on top with hotsauce, wake up yo'face!
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A buddy of mine brought these "just add water" mushroom rice things last trip. I hate to say it, but they were fantastic. We had that with a bag of prewashed salad and grilled up some sausages. Five star in five minutes.
 
N2013 said:
Don’t wanna rain on any parades, but keep it simple. Maximize your time on the water and do your food prep ahead of time with frozen meals like you’ve mentioned. Make your breaky/lunch/snacks in the morning and put each persons in a food bag for the day. You may have periods where the weather allows for some cooking/sandwich making, but don’t count on it in Quatsino & offshore. Plus heading below deck to rummage through bins for food, creates a messy and unorganized boat fast in my experience. This is your big trip, so it’s up to you if you want to be fishing or cooking. Spend a full day out on the water working gear in some weather, come back and process fish & tidy up the boat, you’ll pretty much eat anything. Having said that, here’s my cooking set up. Some elk stroganoff on the troll once off Browns Bay and some soup & grilled cheese while letting the traps soak off Cortes Isl. Note the water conditions.

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Nice pics! I hear ya and am definitely on the same path of keep it simple… I’ve got more than ample opportunity to cook when I’m at home lol.

Fresh seafood is a must, and basic nutrition, however the plan is to fish, fish, fish! Also, as you suggest this also keeps packing and boat storage straight forward. The guy I’m going with and I have done enough mountain hunting to understand the importance of pre-planning and how much one actually needs.

That said, I am digging the discussion and this is giving me good ideas for family camping days where the atmosphere is a bit more chilled.
 
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sly_karma said:
You should collect Littleneck and Manila clams rather than Butter clams. The latter are larger, deeper and tougher. Littlenecks are only 2-3" below the surface and are perfectly tender once steamed open.

Collect Littlenecks and Manilas on gravel and shell beaches, not sandy beaches. The latter will mostly have Varnish clams, which are shiny brown with purple inside the shell. They're less numerous and tend to retain some sand. No one likes gritty clams, so give them a miss.

Look for a beach that is mostly gravel, pebbles and broken shells. When conditions are right, the clams are unbelievably prolific; a tiny cove only 10-15 m wide could feed you an entire summer and be just as bountiful next year. In inside waters, there will often be oysters sitting on the beach surface. Scrape away the surface pebbles and shells; the clams will be directly below, a couple of inches at most. You'll know you're too deep when you start finding the much larger Butter clams. If an area the size of a kitchen sink doesn't turn up a couple of dozen clams, try moving up or down the beach. There's a certain elevation with the right balance of tidal coverage and exposure that makes the clams, well, happy.

Conservation notes:
- only take clams that are the size of a loonie or bigger. Leave the little guys and eat them next year.
- no need to pick an area clean, so what if you miss a few? They'll be there for later.
- return the areas you expose back to their natural state. Re-fill the holes made, then rake the surface pebbles and shells back over the area.
- only take what you can eat in the next day or two. More food safety issues arise with stored seafood than newly collected. Fresh clams will be there waiting on the next low tide.
- observe DFO daily limits. Manilas and Littlenecks in most areas is 60 per day per licence.

Link with identification chart for common clam species:
https://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/docs/clams-intertidal-palourde-intertidale-pub-eng.html
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Really great information Mr Sly, I appreciate you taking the time to write this and the above post up - concise and factual.
Will definitely give these little guys a try!
I’ll soak off the side of the boat overnight and then steam until opened.
 
Soak in fresh water. Sprinkle some oatmeal on top, it will help collect the grit the clams expel and prevent reingestion. Rinse it off before steaming.
 
the force said:
Nice pics! I hear ya and am definitely on the same path of keep it simple… I’ve got more than ample opportunity to cook when I’m at home lol.
Fresh seafood is a must, and basic nutrition, however the plan is to fish, fish, fish! Also, as you suggest this also keeps packing and boat storage straight forward.
That said, I am digging the discussion and this is giving me good ideas for family camping days where the atmosphere is a bit more chilled.
Click to expand...
Gong Show said:
I bring food that I can eat if I don't get lucky to catch something tasty.
I make up batches of frozen spaghetti sauce in a large yoghurt container. So easy.

For the fresh stuff, well it's fresh, you don't need to mess around too much.
Seasoning salt, pepper, olive oil or butter, garlic, herb au provence, carrots and potatoes.
I also make rice on board, simple recipe, put rice in pan, fill with water until in covers the rice by first knuckle of index finger, bring to boil, cover with tea towel then lid. Take off heat and sit for 20, while cooking whatever you are putting on top of the rice.
I also keep a selection of fast food condiments, soy, ketchup, mustard, in the small packs.

Leftover rice for breakfast, fry rice with garlic and any leftover meat, put a fried egg on top with hotsauce, wake up yo'face!
Click to expand...
Haha, this is a good one. I agree, don’t need much for the fresh fish as it is sooo good. Also, even at home I’m real ****** at cooking rice… can only do it in the instant pot w/o burning it…. might just try your trick. Definitely a nice easy one for the boat.
 
My go to is called a boat sandwich
Portuguese bread buns cut like the old subs and in the valley first cream cheese then a length ways sliced cucumber thin on top of that jagwurst meat slices at least two thick or more then thinly sliced tomatoes and a skiff more cream cheese on the top side of the bun and there you go oh ya season with salt and pepper on veggies lightly
Best cold cut sandwich I’ve ever had
No mess and no cooking and all yum !
 
Take a couple pounds of sticky rice precooked with fixins and make fresh sushi or just sashimi oh my !!
 
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