MommyMakes
Tue Mar 21, 2006 11:29 am
Recipezaar Groupie
One of the most common, and easily accessible forms of cooking while camping is over a campfire. Depending on your resources you can cook elegant, complex, and gourmet meals at your campsite.
The first necessity when cooking over a campfire is the ability to start a fire.
Fire Starters can be made at home and carried with you for emergencies, however everyone should know the basics on
How to build a Campfire.
Once your fire is going and you have control of it, you must make the decision of wther you are going to cook over a grate, in the coals, or by suspending a dutch oven over the fire. Using a tripod to suspend a pot is a more old fashioned method of cooking which requires you to limit your recipes to one-pot meals such as
Dutch Oven Chili or
Grandma's Campfire Stew. It also requires the ability to carry heavy equipment, including pots and a tripod.
If you have the ability to cook over a grate, or have a camp stove, a packable grate, or a small charcoal grill you can cook almost anything that you would cook at home. As long as you have a fresh ice supply or are only camping for a few days (using fresh meats and eggs first).
To cook in the coals requires a dutch oven, coffee can, or heavy duty foil. Potatoes are an excellent addition or meal that can be cooked completely in the coals.
Easiest Campfire Breakfast or
Easy Campfire Potatoes are good examples of this. One great technique is to wash, peel, and chop the potatoes at home then pack in a ziplock bag. At the campsite give everyone a sheet of foil and set out different toppings: butter, chives, bacon bits, cheese, cajun seasoning. Drain any liquid from the potatoes and alow each person to make their own potato bundle to place in the coals while the rest of the meal is cooking.
Below is a typical menu for one of our weekend car-camping trips. We usually carry a campstove, have a fire with grate, bring several coolers, and have a fresh ice supply from the bait shop. Still, we plan the menu and clean, chop, prep and freeze everything we can before hand. The we use fresh meats and eggs first, working our way down to dry goods and shelf-stable foods. Everything below has been served to our large extended family while camping, but for a more kid-centered topic, visit the
Kid-Friendly forum for more tips.
Day 1: Lunch on the way, or looking for a campsite
A variety of sandwiches, packed in ziplock bags (we've learned plastic wrap won't keep them dry
).
Trail Mix is a great snack, just pick one without too much candy. No one wants to be sticky around dirt and bugs without a reliable handwashing station.
Night 1: Dinner
Cumin-Rubbed Grilled Pork Chops, or similar recipe, prepped and placed in the marinade at home. Simply grill in a skillet over flame or actually on the grate over the flame. Also
Campfire Potatoes, preping and preparing as I said before, and
Skillet Cornbread With Bacon and Chives , prepping the dry and wet ingredients into separate ziplock bags at home. For dessert
Grilled Banana Splits, since you wouldn't expect the ice cream to last well past the first night.
Morning 2: Breakfast
Breakfast Tacos or
Camper's Breakfast Hash or even
Ziploc Omelettes (Omelette in a Bag), the idea is to use your eggs, bacon, or sausage up first.
Day 2: Snacks
Ranch Pretzels or fresh peelable fruits like bananas and oranges.
Day 2: Lunch
Chili Dogs, by preparing
Chili Sauce for Hot Dogs at home or bringing a can
. Open the can and remove the label and it can be set directly on the fire grate to heat. Grill the hot dogs and top with shredded cheese, chopped onion or whatever else.
Evening 2: Dinner
Beef Fajitas from the Freezer should be thawed enough to grill now. Prepare
Pico De Gallo at home. For dessert
Dutch Oven Campfire Cobbler.
Morning 3: Breakfast -Last day!
Just Add Water Buckwheat Pancake Mix
recipe #130824 or just pack along the package of pancake mix you just add water to. The idea is to use the last of your cold stuff and rely primarily on dry goods. Use up any leftover bacon or sausage at this point.
At this point you should have no cold ingredients left. You should have plenty of fruit, trail mix, granola bars and other shelf-stable goodies to finish your trip home.
