Campfire cooking equipment

[copper]

Ooooh, looks like a killer setup, BBQ Fish. What's that chicken recipe you've got going on that spit?

Actually, if you've got some fresh fish to eat, here's a fun recipe for you on the campfire:

Take 1 fish, gutted (and headless if you prefer) and totally de-slimed! Don't scale it though. This is best by far with trout/char/salmon. In the fish' body cavity, add some cilantro (or basil), garlic and a few slices of lemon. Place it in heavy foil, then add a few tablespoons of good olive oil to the bottom of the foil and over the top of the fish. Be careful now that the foil doesn't get punctured, double wrap it if you like. Cook it for about 10 minutes over a medium fire, a bit less over a higher fire. Open it, check the meat and flip it's sides _in the foil_, then cook some more until you think it's done. This can also be done in the bbq or oven with parchment paper instead.

This makes for an absolutely killer fish, that goes well with some wine and rice.

Oh yeah, campfire rice! For each cup of good white rice, toss in a single packet of chicken broth powder and 1-2 tbsp. butter. Make sure you stir the rice once or twice during it's cooking and it goes really well with the fish. This rice actually just rocks all on its own.

Also, there's some fried potatoes I make over the fire too. Take boiled potatoes, slice 'em well. Dice one or two onions, crush/mince some fresh garlic and cilantro. Also, add some bell pepper and green onion if you want. In a cast iron pan, add a few tbsp. butter and then fry it in the pan over the fire. Tastes sooooo good.

Heh, I remembered this off the top of my head...probably should make a recipe thread

As for my own equipment, it consists of a nice cast iron pot, a cast iron pan, a stainless steel pot for rice and a grate. Maybe a coffee pot for the morning too. And lots of aluminum foil. Oh yeah, a nice sealable pot with handles for making a dutch oven if you are allowed to. It rocks for steak or chili. Generally I find the cast iron to be most durable and also gives a good taste, but I don't hike for camping, it's usuall a shore lunch while fishing so it gets hauled on the boat.

 

[BBQ Fish]

For chicken on the spit all i do is put a few whole ones in a garbage bag with balsamic vinegar, 50 cloves of garlic some Bam and let it sit in a cooler for a few hours.

 

[vermontwebmaster]

Any one tried Hole beans.. I cook alot with my cast iron. This past summer I made hole beans for the first time.. It was an awesome experience.. Just some advise be sure the coles are completely covered with dirt or they will burn away to quickly.

 

[buckytom]

vtwebmaster, what are hole beans, and do you have a recipe? i'm guessing, you dig a hole, line with coals, and cook the beans in a buried in coals in a dutch oven?

 

[vermontwebmaster]

Bean Hole Beans


The ideal pot for full flavor is a cast iron kettle with a lid (often referred to as a Dutch oven). If you don't have one and can't borrow one, any sturdy pot with a lid will do.
1. Dig a hole in the ground large enough to hold the pot with two or three inches of clearance on all sides, and at least six inches of clearance on top.
2. Build a fire in the hole with dry firewood and let it burn down to large embers and ash while preparing the beans.
3. Parboil two quarts of dry beans until the skins wrinkle. Drain off the fluid.
4. Slice a large onion and place half of the slices in the bean bean pot.
5. Pour in half of the beans.
6. Add another layer of sliced onion and several large slabs of salt pork or bacon.
7. Add the remaining beans.
8. Measure one cup of dark molasses and pour over the top of the beans.
9. Add enough water to cover the beans.
10. When the fire has burned down in the bean hole, shovel out enough of the embers and ashes to make room for the pot, and place the pot in the hole.
11. Place a wet dish towel over the top of the uncovered pot and push the lid securely down over the cloth.
12. Place embers and ashes around the sides and on top of the pot, then cover these with the dirt you removed when you dug the hole.
Cook for approximately 6 hours for absolutely delicious beans.
Serves approximately four. Note: Many foods have enhanced flavor when cooked in a hole in the ground in this manner. If you dig the hole in an appropriate place, you can continue to use it for outdoor cooking.

 

[SLCKev]

You know what's really good? Soak Corn on the cob in water with the husks still on for and hour or more. Then wrap in aluminum foild and put them directly into the camp fire on the coals. Roll them to cook even. It takes a longer than boiling, maybe 40 minutes to an hour, but it's great and you don't have to boild water.

 

[buckytom]

thanks for the tip slckev. i grill corn on the cob at home over charcoal in the husk, but if you're not careful, it can dry out too much. the soaking idea might just do the trick.
i wonder if soaking them in another fluid, like stock, or wine, or herb infused water might be good?
hmmm, merlot and sage marinated grilled corn-in-husk. gonna try that.

thanks again.

 

[GB]

I used to soak my corn before putting it on the grill or over the campfire, but one time I was lazy and just threw them on without a soak and without cleaning them out first. It turned out to be the best corn I ever cooked. It did not dry out even though it was on the heat for a long time (we sort of forgot about them for a while by accident). They had a wonderful smoky flavor that I never got when I soaked them.

 

[Chaplain Kent]

We love to cook over the campfire. I found on eBay a camp kitchen which folds out to have all your utensils at the ready. When we pack up it folds into a neat little box. The best part is that it is aluminum which matches out vintage motor home.

 

[Claire]

Damp Charcoal, you brought back memories. I used to use double thicknesses -- the one roasting pan went on the coals/wood, then I'd use a new one for each meal. I'd forgotten that trick!

 

[Claire]

I also consider a musical instrument and you voice to be an important bit of campfire equipment. Unfortunately hubby and I are not musically inclined. Daddy used to play the accordion, sis the guitar. On the road we ran into musicians around the fire. We'd grab a bottle of wine or six-pack to share, gather around their fire, and enjoy. This is where tent camping has it all over RV camping. People stay more to themselves in RVs, and are much more llikely to socialize in tents. I'll never forget waking up one morning to take my walk in Kentucky, and hearing a soaring, stage quality voice belting out "Oh! What a Beautiful Morning". Daddy trying to be modern (circa 1972) by learning "Hey, Jude" on the accordion (and yes, a bunch of hippies grabbed their jugs of wine and gathered around our fire to sing along ... the Beatles were a huge hit, but he also had a repetoir of folk music that went over well). Comaraderie is the best part of camping.

 

[BreezyCooking]

Okay - this is "small potatoes" camping, but my husband & I did 3 weeks of camping in upstate NY (& hit the NYS Fair in the process), & we dined pretty ****ed well.

Had a 2-burner propane stove + cans; non-stick skillets & a few other small pots & pans, & 2 big Coleman coolers.

We had bacon & eggs or cheese omelettes for breakfast every morning - & you-name-it for dinner every night. I made everything from turkey burgers to Turkey Piccata & a lot of good stuff inbetween.

There's no reason why you have to eat horrid "camp food". If you have coolers & have places to stop for ice & fresh provisions, you can not only enjoy the stars & the water, but enjoy them with Chicken Marsala under your belt as well - lol!!!

 

[buckytom]

agreed breezy. cooking over an open fire, and enjoying good food under the stars is half the fun.

whenever i go backpacking, the first day out is always the worst.

my pack has been known to weigh upwards of 150lbs + when we start out, including a soft cooler full of beer and marinated steaks, pre-baked spuds wrapped in foil, corn in the husks, and cans o' beans.

 

[Chaplain Kent]

This is where tent camping has it all over RV camping. People stay more to themselves in RVs, and are much more llikely to socialize in tents. .

please don't lump us all together. Our RV is a restored vintage model which actully attracts people to our camp site. After the interior tour they will gather outside around the camp fire. During a heavy rain or if temps are below zero we do tend to stay indoors and of course we get to sleep on comfortable beds. However, almost all of our cooking is done outside over the fire. We have a new three burner range which rarely gets used. One luxury I do use inside is my counter installed NU-Tone Food Center, what a great thing to have for meal preparations while camping.

 

[Robo410]

camp fire cooking...a large campfire dutch oven (little legs and griddle lid) 12-15 qt., a small dutch oven 5 qt, a cast iron skillet 12", and a double hibachi. sometimes I'll put the grills on the camp fire, sometimes I'll put some of the fire into the hibacchi. If I can't cook a great meal with that, I need to go home!

 

[Claire]

Oh, it isn't that we didn't run into a lot of friendly people and make a lot of impromptu freinds. In three years we had a lot of good times am met a lot of wonderful people. I think the most discouraging thing was that we often found ourself driven into the camper by the fumes and noise of people who would run their diesel rigs for a half hour, usually just when we were settling down to a cup of coffee in the morning, or dinner or drinks in the evening. But we never lacked for company on holidays, sometimes had people come look for us from camp site to camp site, ran into some of the most fascinating and diverse personalities. Everyone was willing to help out with problems. I wouldn't dream of full-timing in a tent. In full-timing, though, we did run into a lot of people who were destination-oriented and irritable I guess, too, that I tent-camped in a different era from when we full-timed, so my memories are llike most good memories from years past. We loved our time on the road. Wouldn't do it again, but will always think of it fondly.

 

[Mimi820]

Has anyone ever cooked cornbread in an electric skillet? We are going camping and I was just wondering

 

[Chaplain Kent]

The electric skillet will not pass the muster as a campground ccoking utensil. You can cook your corn bread in a cast iron skillet, dutch oven, or even pie irons right over the fire for a real camping experience.

 

[Gretchen]

A heavy duty grate to go over the fireplace you have built with river stones from the creek next to your tent. Then there is the dutch oven for baking cobblers with the freshly picked wild blueberries on the hillside you hiked on. A pair of channel lock pliers to remove the grate, the cast iron griddle or the top of the dutch oven.
A cast iron griddle to cook the bacon or sausage and then the pancakes that the kids make by drizzling the batter in shapes.
A lightweight non-stick aluminum saute pan with a folding handle for the morning omelettes.
A set of long handled cook tools gathered together in a homemade drawstring denim bag.

 

[Dutchess]

Has anyone ever cooked cornbread in an electric skillet? We are going camping and I was just wondering

Sorry, I never have. As far as I'm concerned, cornbread is meant to be cooked in cast iron.