Campfire Cooking

[ikesmom]

We are going to camp a lot this summer. Dh bought a nice CampChef cooking stove and I have plenty of cast iron skillets , but no dutch oven.


I know many of you love to cook and probably put the other campsite chefs to shame ..so hit me with your favorite camp meal recipe and any hints or tips that are handy.

[velochic]

Are you cooking with the fuel stove or over a (wood) campfire? If it's with the stove, then it's no different than cooking at home.

[StoriesInTheSoil]

If you're using a campfire to cook as opposed to a stove, my favorite meal when I was a kid was colloquially called a "hobo pack" (which I believe is not P.C. and I apologize for)

Each person takes a large piece of foil and then puts some meat (ground beef is easiest) and veggies (potatoes, onions, carrots, corn, green beans, whatever. I liked onions, carrots, and potatoes as a kiddo.) Add some butter and some seasonings (it's easiest when camping to bring just one seasoning jar like a seasoned salt blend) and put another piece of foil on top. Tightly roll the edges to seal. Maybe add another layer of foil for good measure. Toss it in the fire for about 30 minutes (give or take) and turn it once halfway through cooking.

[lakeruby]

I like to make pancake batter ahead of time and bring it already mixed, and keep it in a cooler. Eggs and bacon are also easy and keep well in a cooler. I guess those are mainly breakfast foods, but other things I like to do are make bean and grain salads (a couple of fantastic recipes in the Rancho Gordo cookbook come to mind...yum!) ahead of time and bring those, and also to cook things like mushrooms and onions and peppers (or any veggies) ahead of time and then they are easy to incorporate into an omelete, or just to re-heat and serve with beans or tortillas...

Now I want to go camping!

[Poodge]

We are going camping and I also need ideas!

[puffingirl]

Ah, camping food!!! Love it.... If you are using a camping stove, fresh pasta (the refrigerated kind that cooks in a just a couple of minutes) is a snap to make and toss with pesto and veggies for a pasta primavera. If you're going with the campfire, I love the potatoes in foil packets that someone above mentioned (we add onions, green peppers, salt and pepper). Meat will cook fine on an open fire. If you are looking for a vegetarian option, I remember doing stuffed zucchini boats (slice lengthwise in half, scoop out most of flesh, chop and mix with other chopped veg, some bread crumbs and spices and cook--in foil is easiest). Corn on the cob can be done right in the fire embers. Just keep it in the husk (take the silks out and wet the husks, butter and season inside if you're fancy)--toss it in and drag it out later. Best corn ever. I am most fond of the camping desserts though! Banana boats rock--leave banana in skin, but slit the fruit lengthwise, cutting only 1/2 way through; stuff with pieces of a chocolate bar; wrap it in foil and toss it in the embers, drag out with stick after a few minutes (or cook it over the fire on a grate). Open carefully and devour with a spoon. Cake in an orange is a neat trick (hollow out a thick skinned orange after cutting a little "hat" off the top, fill with a muffin mix, replace "hat", wrap in foil, toss in embers, poke around for a while, drag out and eat), as is bread on a stick (whatever your "bisquick" type mix is from home--bring your dry ingredients, mix with the wet to make it kind of thick, put some dough around a stick and roast it over a fire). Kids love that one.

I so need a camping trip soon...

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by tinyactsofcharity

If you're using a campfire to cook as opposed to a stove, my favorite meal when I was a kid was colloquially called a "hobo pack" (which I believe is not P.C. and I apologize for)

Each person takes a large piece of foil and then puts some meat (ground beef is easiest) and veggies (potatoes, onions, carrots, corn, green beans, whatever. I liked onions, carrots, and potatoes as a kiddo.) Add some butter and some seasonings (it's easiest when camping to bring just one seasoning jar like a seasoned salt blend) and put another piece of foil on top. Tightly roll the edges to seal. Maybe add another layer of foil for good measure. Toss it in the fire for about 30 minutes (give or take) and turn it once halfway through cooking.

Yup. We just call them tinfoil dinners, and I love them. I usually use ground beef, some onion, potatoes, and carrots....and I throw in some broccoli if I have any with me. I only use salt and pepper for seasoning. Soooo yummy.


My other favourite is a breakfast dish, and I do most of the prep at home. I take a Ziploc of kernel corn, chopped onion, chopped green pepper and chopped ham (I have a friend who uses some other meat, but I don't remember what). I cook that up in a fry pan with some has browns, then lay slices of aged white cheddar over top until they melt. We serve it with scrambled eggs. That will keep me going through a long, active morning.

[rhiOrion]

Pioneer Woman's potato packets can be done over a camp fire, and could probably be done on a camp stove if your pan has a lid.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2...otato-bundles/

[kathymuggle]

take a blob of dough. Hollow out the center and fill it with stuff. I used cream cheese, green onion, mushrooms and bacon last week and it was so good! pinch dough closed. Wrap in foil. Place near flame or in embers and cook for 15 minutes or so. Turn with tongs at some point.

If you like hot dogs, put one on a stick, cut it from the top down into quarters - do not cut the pieces off - just make cut marks. As it cooks it will flower open (it looks like string cheese - only hot dog)

[LoveLife]

Camping in a few weeks. I love these ideas... Subbing.

[luv-my-boys]

we like stews because frankly they are quite easy and pretty filling after a long day of outdoor activities. I usually pre prep at home for instance I use large gallon size ziplock bags put in my veggies,seasonings,cut up beef/chicken and then I freeze them. When we go camping I just throw them into our cooler and take them out to defrost as needed at the campsite...plus to it is that it helps keep our cooler cold without so much soggy ice.

[sunnysandiegan]

Our last morning is always breakfast burritos. Cook some bacon in a cast iron skillet. Works over a campfire with a grate or using a campstove. Leave the bacon grease and scramble up some eggs and potatoes and other veggies from other meals. (We purposely have cut-up potatoes for dinner the night before, usually in the pocket meals described above except we roast locally-made sausages like hot dogs for the protein, and save a whole packet of veggies. Cooked the night before, and refrigerated in the cooler overnight.) Toss it all in tortillas. YUM!

We premix dry ingredients for all meals and store in labeled ziplock bags or jars. Takes up a lot less space and saves some time in meal prep at camp. We tend to put ice from our freezer (icemaker) into previously used gallon-size ziplock bags (from those premixed packs, since we rarely use ziplocks outside of camping) in order to keep the sog-factor much lower in the cooler. Also, packing the ice on TOP of the food tends to keep it colder, longer. That, and keeping the opening of the cooler to a minimum. We tend to only bring water to drink, but friends often have a separate cooler for drinks versus food for the sole purpose of keeping the food cooler closed as much as possible.

[ikesmom]

These are great ideas!

The reason we bought a stove is because DS is in cub scouts and they usually don't allow fire rings at the campsite..and it is just too hard to try to cook a family meal at the community fire ring with all the people. I am excited to let the kids help out more with the meal prep too.

I do hobo packs at home on the grill when we BBQ and put zucchini, onions, and peppers in them as sides..because it is less clean up with foil and stays hot. Once I cut up pineapples, apples, and bananas in them with a little brown sugar.


I just pulled a pork butt out of the freezer to smoke ahead of time for lunches of sandwiches or pitas. I would like to have some things prep'd ahead of time just for convenience. When DH and I first met and went camping he wanted to take canned stew and chili..which I totally understand is great for easiness , but I don't really like the taste of instant food. We have a food sealer system that we bought at a yard sale and only used once..so this is the perfect opportunity.

Breakfast burritos are a favorite with sausage, egg, and potatoes. They don't usually take to long to cook either.

I didn't know I could take the pancake batter wet..I think we will try it this time..I only use a non stick pan for them at home , but will try on the cast iron.

The stuffed biscuit sounds REALLY good..Kathy..we need a drooling smile!

I frequent the Pioneer Woman site..I love her recipes because they are not too fancy..just basic ingredients.

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by kathymuggle

take a blob of dough. Hollow out the center and fill it with stuff. I used cream cheese, green onion, mushrooms and bacon last week and it was so good! pinch dough closed. Wrap in foil. Place near flame or in embers and cook for 15 minutes or so. Turn with tongs at some point.

If you like hot dogs, put one on a stick, cut it from the top down into quarters - do not cut the pieces off - just make cut marks. As it cooks it will flower open (it looks like string cheese - only hot dog)

So, for the blobs of stuffed dough, do you need to grease the foil at all before you wrap and cook them? That sounds fun.

The dough on a stick sounds fun, too. I'll have to try that!

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by luv-my-boys

we like stews because frankly they are quite easy and pretty filling after a long day of outdoor activities. I usually pre prep at home for instance I use large gallon size ziplock bags put in my veggies,seasonings,cut up beef/chicken and then I freeze them. When we go camping I just throw them into our cooler and take them out to defrost as needed at the campsite...plus to it is that it helps keep our cooler cold without so much soggy ice.

This is one of the reasons I pre-prep my breakfast "skillet", as well. The more foods I have frozen in the cooler, the longer everything keeps, and the less water I have to deal with.

[Storm Bride]

Originally Posted by ikesmom

I do hobo packs at home on the grill when we BBQ and put zucchini, onions, and peppers in them as sides..because it is less clean up with foil and stays hot. Once I cut up pineapples, apples, and bananas in them with a little brown sugar.

I usually do apples stuffed with sugar (just a little) and cinnamon (quite a lot) the same night I do the tinfoil dinners. I find them soooo yummy...even better when I remember to put a blob of butter in the middle, as well.