Summer is a great season for camping and cooking outdoors. There are many different types of food that can be cooked outdoors using a variety of methods. Simple, one- or two-ingredient items to casserole meals can be cooked on an outside campfire. Of course, use caution when building a fire.
Camping
Most camping facilities provide you with a campfire pit at your individual campsite. The floors of these pits are usually made of sand or dirt with walls made of rocks to prevent the fire from spreading easily beyond the pit. You can use this simple campfire pit to cook delicious meals outdoors.
Methods
You can cook almost any food on a campfire. Place your favorite camping fare on the end of a stick and place it over the open flames. Heat up some coals in a fire pit to cook more complicated meals in a Dutch oven. Rest a metal rack over your campfire to create a grill. More creative chefs can make baked goods using a wine box oven heated with hot coals.
Foods
Hot dogs, dough boys and marshmallows are traditionally cooked over an open campfire using nothing but a simple stick. A cast iron Dutch oven is a pot that can be placed amid hot coals to cook almost any kind of meal from casseroles, chili, and baked beans to cobblers and cakes. Using the grill rack, you can make hamburgers, grilled chicken, steak or shish kabobs. Cook your favorite baked meal inside a wine box oven, where six hot coals can reach a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Food Storage
Most outdoor cooking recipes require you to use perishable foods, like raw meats and dairy items. When camping, you can store these items in a cooler full of ice, a refrigerator that can be plugged into your car or other outlet source. Coolers will need to be restocked with ice at least once a day to keep the temperature of your perishables at a safe level. Blocks of ice will melt slower, thus lasting longer than the smaller cubes.
Fire Safety
Outdoor fires can easily spread into forest fires. Do not build your campfire near low-hanging trees, along a steep slope or near dry grass or leaves. Extra wood that you plan to use for your fire should be stored well away from the pit area. Keep precautionary items, like a bucket of water or sand for tossing onto the fire in the event that the fire extends beyond the pit. Try to keep your campfire as small as possible.
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