Cooking Utensils
When cooking outdoors over a campfire, there are some basic utensils you will need to have on hand. Cast-iron cookware such as Dutch ovens and frying pans cannot be beat when it comes to campfire cooking. Their weight and durability make them invaluable, and seasoned cast iron does not stick. Depending on your style of cooking, you will need a cooking tripod, a plain grill top, or a collapsible one with bendable legs. Grills give a stable surface to set cookware on, or the ability to cook food directly on it. Other basic supplies are aluminum foil, metal spatulas and forks, wooden spoons, potholders and skewers.
Deciding What Campfire is Best
There are several methods to campfire cooking. Use a tripod with open fire campfires. Fill the Dutch oven with food and hang on the tripod's chains, adjusting as necessary. This may take one or two adjustments for the pot to receive the appropriate amount of heat. Another method is using the campfire's hot coals to cook your food. Bury a Dutch oven in the ground into the center of hot coals. The coals will act like an oven and cook the food inside. Be sure to use potholders when lifting the oven's lid, as cast iron becomes extremely hot. Place a collapsible grill over the coals, or support a grill top by using rocks, bricks, or even piling sand around the edges of the fire to support the grill above the flames. You can also wrap food in foil and place directly onto the hot coals to cook. This method works well for potatoes.
Easy Campfire Cooking Recipes
cooking a roast pork image by Maria Brzostowska from
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An easy method to cooking on a campfire is wrapping your food in aluminum foil. Wrap a whole meal tightly in foil such as seasoned chicken and chopped veggies and place on the grill top, turning once or twice until done. Heavy-duty aluminum foil works best. The food cooks together in the sealed package, mixing flavors and there is little to no cleanup. Use the grill top and cook your meat directly on it, as well as grilling skewered veggies such as squash, potatoes, onions, tomatoes and peppers. Cook a stew by placing your meat inside of the Dutch oven, add desired veggies such as carrots and potatoes, season to taste and just cover the ingredients with water. Bury the Dutch oven into the hot coals and allow it to cook for about one hour. Use this same recipe when using the tripod. Hang the Dutch oven on the tripod chains, cook for one hour, checking periodically for doneness. When the meat is tender and the veggies cooked, your meal is ready.
