Camp Cooking Over an Open Fire
Cooking over an open fire is not about the recipe. It is about the fire. Control the heat and the food takes care of itself.
Build the right fire
A cooking fire is not a bonfire. It is a bed of coals with controlled heat. Start with a standard fire and let it burn down for 30-45 minutes until you have a thick bed of glowing embers with minimal flame. Hardwood coals from oak, hickory, or maple last longer and produce steadier heat than softwood. A bed of hardwood coals maintains cooking temperature for an hour or more. Flames are unpredictable. Coals are not.
The two-zone setup
Push coals into two zones: a hot zone for searing and boiling, and a moderate zone for slower cooking. A grate over the hot zone gets a cast iron skillet screaming for searing meat. The moderate zone handles simmering, warming, and anything that burns easily. You can also create a third zone with no coals underneath for holding food warm. This two-zone setup is the same principle as indirect grilling, just with wood instead of gas.
Cookware for fire
Cast iron is the only cookware that belongs on an open fire. Thin stainless warps. Non-stick coatings burn off. Aluminum melts at temperatures a hardwood fire can reach. Cast iron absorbs the heat, distributes it, and shrugs off direct contact with coals. A 10-inch skillet, a Dutch oven, and a coffee pot cover 90% of camp cooking. If you bring one pan, bring the skillet.
The Dutch oven
A camp Dutch oven has legs to sit over coals and a flanged lid to hold coals on top. This creates an oven: heat from below and above. The ratio of coals determines the temperature. More coals on top than below gives you baking heat for biscuits, cobblers, and casseroles. More coals below gives you simmering heat for stews and chili. A 12-inch camp Dutch oven feeds four to six people and is the single most versatile piece of camp cookware ever designed.
Cleaning at camp
Scrape the pan while it is still warm. Use hot water and a stiff brush. No soap. Dry it over the fire. Rub a thin coat of oil on the cooking surface. That is the entire process. At camp, the goal is to maintain the seasoning and remove food. A cast iron pan cleaned properly at camp is ready for the next meal in five minutes. Packing it out is simple: let it cool completely, wrap it in a cotton bag or newspaper, and it goes in the vehicle.
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