My husband and I are very interested in cooking a lot of meals over the campfire. Any tips? Do you do this often? Recipes? Resources? Equipment?
janieD said
06:57 AM Aug 4, 2010
I've just been investigating cooking with a dutch oven. There is a great yahoo group for it with lots of recipes. I haven't jumped in yet but it seems like an interesting way to go.
NorCal Dan said
03:14 PM Aug 4, 2010
Lot's of fire danger warnings this summer. Many CG's are prohibiting open fires.
The Bear II said
03:53 PM Aug 4, 2010
Just be careful of times and temperatures. The stuff can get burnt quickly.
We used to take hamburger meat and make a big paddy out of it. About the size of a potato.
Rip off six layers of foil big enough to wrap around the meat a couple of times. Lay the foil down and place the meat on it, add chopped onion, potatos, carrots, corn, bell peppers, seasoning and any other vegatables you want. Wrap everything up layer by layer to get a good seal.
Make up one of these bundles for each person.
Take coals from the fire and place in a hole. Add the bundles and more coals on top. Cover with dirt and/or rocks. Cook for about 15 minutes....this is tough to be exact so you may want to remove one bundle, peel away the top two foil layers and then cut through the rest to see if the meat is done. Cook for 5 more minutes if not done.
Another fun thing to do is get 1 1/2 to 2 inch round wooden doweling (like used for closets). Cut to 30 inch lengths. Put vegetable or olive oil on the top 6 inches of the dowel. Let the oil soak in, oil again or spray with pam.
Take the canned biscuit dough. Squish two biscuits together and roll the dough into a long rope. Take the rope and wrap it around the oiled portion of the dowel. Be sure to cover the top end of the dowel with the dough rope and lay the bottom end of the rope across a wrap to lock the end to prevent unraveling. You're forming a tube with a closed end.
Hold the dough over the fire just like you would a hotdog or marshmellow to cook it. Once the dough is dark brown, it should be cooked all the way through unless you had it too close to the fire. The closer to the fire the more chance you have of burning the outside of the dough, so try to keep it away from fire to regulate the heat.
Slide the cooked dough off of the dowel and fill it with.....whatever you want. Chili, sloppy joe mix, ham and cheese, scrambled eggs or dessert fixins like berries and cream, ice cream, pudding or cobbler filling.
desertnurse said
11:34 AM Aug 5, 2010
What a great idea!!! I mentioned this to my husband , and he has put wooden dowels on the next hardware store run. That sounds so cool!!
two travelers said
05:38 PM Aug 5, 2010
I took a campfire cooking class a few years ago.. There is a website called campfire cafe , they sponsered the classes.. I bought an iron outdoor cooking set up from them that I just love.. The number one rule with outdoor cooking is you are not cooking with flames.. just the bed of hot coals you make burning your hard woods... It is not a set it and leave it kind of thing. You need to watch your fires and temps of your pans to make sure things don't burn.
I always have a group of men from the campground that will end up staying at my site all day to watch me cook ..
As far as recipes I cook anything that I can think of over the fire...Mac and Cheese is one of the campground favorites.. along with Paula Deans Baked Spagetti..and my DSNL loves my chicken and ribs, it feeds a bunch..
Season your pans well.. I line mine with no stick foil and spray with a little pam before cooking anything... you do not want to have to scrub your pans or you will need to reseason them... the more you cook with them the better seasoned they get... patti
53 Merc said
06:41 PM Aug 5, 2010
Some of my friends do a lot of dutch oven cooking using charcoal briquets. I got some worn disc harrow discs and welded three 1/2 inch pipe collars on the bottom. They use 1/2 inch pipe about 18 to 24 inches long for legs, keeping the discs off the ground (easier on old backs). They prepare whatever for the dutch oven, start the charcoal in a separate pit and then put the coals in the disc, put on the dutch oven, then put more coals on top. Even when campfires are forbidden, they charcoal is still permitted. By using the disc harrow discs, there is no need for a firepit.
Man, some of the things they cook!!!!! I try to always be near them when it is time to open the oven.
If they act like they can't see me, I kinda whimper a bit, always works. I only had to threaten to take back the discs once.
http://eartheasy.com/play_campfire_cooking.htm
I would LOVE to get one of those solar ovens but they're pretty pricey.
Not 100% sure here, but I believe vie seen free designs to build your own somewhere online.