7 Campfire Cooking Tips
And Information.

If you've never done any campfire cooking or camp cooking before, one of the things to be aware of is that you'll need to monitor food closely from start to finish because it can burn quickly.

Here are a few different ways, along with some ideas for cooking over a campfire...

1. Probably the easiest and most common way to experience campfire cooking is by placing a marshmallow or hotdog on the end of a good stick and holding the food at just the right distance from the heat.

Some prefer to use the flames while others like the heat from the coals. Either way when you first start out be prepared to lose a couple of marshmallows to the campfire, because sometimes a few inches can mean the difference between cold food and a marshmallow torch... :-)

2. Open-flame cooking can also be done on a cooking grate/grill that the food or cookware rests on. Grates are nice because they stabilize the food and make it easier to control the heat as do campfire spits.

How to start a campfire.

3. Hobo pies made with pie irons, are another popular way of cooking over the campfire. A pie iron is a piece of camping gear made by attaching two halves of a metal mold together with a hinge. Each mold half also has a long metal rod that serves as a handle to keep the pie iron closed, and your camping food inside. Hobo pies are made by placing a slice of bread on each half of the iron, and then spreading one slice with the topping of your choice. This could range from tomato sauce and cheese, to pies with BBQ chicken, to dinners that would almost qualify as gourmet. Once the filling has been added, both halves of the pie iron are closed and it's heated in the fire.

4. Some people wrap their food and bury it in the earth just under where the campfire is to be built. This can be handy if you're looking to go light on backpacking or hiking equipment. The fire and coals heat the soil which in turn cooks the food. Although I'm sure this can work well with practice, I don't like the idea of digging up the food to check on how it's coming along and then having to re-bury it if it's not done. I like the idea of keeping it simple by using a pot, pan or by doing some Dutch oven cooking so that you can check on it easily.

If the grate you're using is too far away from the coals to cook it properly, or it's cooking so slowly that you're not going to enjoy your dinner until breakfast, here's a quick tip...

6. Once you've got a nice bed of coals, find something stable to straddle them with and to set your pan on. Sometimes similar size pieces of wood will work, but avoid moisture-laden rocks as they can explode from steam pressure as they heat up. Also avoid setting the pan directly on the coals, as the lack of air will quickly snuff them out.

One of the disadvantages to campfire cooking is that cookware gets much dirtier than it does camp cooking with a stove. Soot can be a bit of a challenge to remove. So most likely campfire cooking will require more clean-up.

7. Although campfire cooking can take a little more time than simply firing up the stove, it's more rewarding. A campfire is primal and at the same time relaxing. There's just something about staring into the fire as it serenades you with its light, warmth and color that a stove can't duplicate, but a stove does have its advantages too...

If you're starving and want to eat now, fire up the camp stove for a quick hot meal. If on the other hand you're in the mood to take your time and enjoy the experience, campfire cooking can be relaxing in a way that a stove can't begin to match. Either way works well, it's just a choice between convenience and romance, and honestly sometimes I think you need a little of each. :-)