Campfire Cooking Tips

Campfire cooking has always been a fun part of camping for us.

I would like to share with you some cooking tips we have learned that has helped us to have success in preparing some really delicious food.

Part of cooking successfully over a campfire requires the right kind of cookware.

Share Your Favorite Campfire Recipes!

I like to use cast iron for all my campfire cooking.

A large skillet and a dutch oven with a rimmed lid are my favorite two pieces to cook with. A cast iron mountain pie maker is always handy to have with you.

How To Take Care Of Your Cast Iron Cookware

If you have a new set of cast iron you will want to season it.

My favorite method to season cast iron is to coat the items with olive oil and place it in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes.

I have found the best way to clean cast iron is to just wipe it out with hot water. If I have something that has cooked fast to the bottom, I use a scratch pad. Never use soap or you will have to re-season your cookware.

After I have cleaned the item, I put a light coating of olive oil on and put it away till the next time.

I like to store cast iron in a paper bag because the outside turns black from the fire.

Best Kind Of Fire To Cook Over

If I want to fry something, I like to have a small fire started with a small bed of hot coals. I usually want to have a fire started about 30 minutes before I start cooking.

If I'm cooking something in the dutch oven, I will start a fire an hour before I cook. I like to have enough wood burned down to provide a nice bed of hot coals.

A dutch oven works well to set it down in the bed of coals and place some of the coals on the rimmed lid. I usually pay close attention to how things are cooking. If my fire is too hot I may have to move my skillet or dutch oven to a cooler spot or pull the coals away.

Baked Potatoes are a favorite of ours and it's really easy. All you do is wrap each potato in heavy aluminum foil and place them on hot coals for about 30 minutes. Depending on the potato you may have to bake them longer.

Our Favorite Breakfast is to fry bacon in a skillet. After the bacon is done, I drain some of the grease off. Then if we have any baked potatoes left over from the evening before we cut the potatoes into slices and brown them. Then we fry some eggs, we like scrambled, in some of the left over bacon grease.

Now this probably isn't the most healthy meal, but it tastes so good that it's worth doing once or twice a year while camping. Oh, the smell of bacon frying at the campsite in the morning!

Mountain Pies always go over big with our family. They are a lot of fun to make and you can use your imagination in coming up with what you like in them.

One of our favorite mountain pies is to use two slices of bread filled with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni.

We always butter the outside of the bread and spray non-stick oil on the pie maker to keep it from sticking.

Some Easy Favorites Using A Stick

• Hotdogs
• Marshmallows
• S'Mores - Put a roasted marshmallow and piece of choclate between 2 grahm crackers
• Kabobs - Shrimp, Hot Sausage, Cherry Tomatoes and Mushrooms make a great snack

Campfire cooking really is a lot of fun. These are just a few things that we have done. But if you feel a little adventurous there really isn't anything you can't make if you have a dutch oven.

More Meal Ideas You Can Make In A Dutch Oven

• Chicken, Potatoes, Gravy and Biscuits
• Casseroles
• Roasted Chicken
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake
• Peach Cobbler

I hope this has given you some ideas for cooking over a fire on your next camping trip to the Outer Banks.

Share Your Favorite Campfire Recipes!

If you have been camping much I know that you must have a favorite food or meal you prepared over a fire that your family must have every time you go camping.

We would all like hear a new idea from you that we all can try the next time we go camping

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