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Campfire Recipes And Open Fire Cooking Tips

No matter how beautiful the weather, how breathtaking the scenery, or how much fun you have fishing and hiking, it seems that the best part of camping out is the food cooked over the campfire. Whether it be something as simple as roasted hot dogs or an entire meal, nothing seems to taste better than the flavor of wood-fired foods prepared in the great outdoors. This page offers campfire cooking tips as well as some of our favorite open fire recipes. If you have a favorite recipe that you want to share, feel free to send it to us. We'll post it here for others to enjoy!

Preparing And Setting Up Your Camp Kitchen

Seasoned campers know all too well the importance of having the right tools, cooking equipment, spices, work space, and everything else that is needed to be a successful camp cook. When you are out in the middle of nowhere in the middle of fixing dinner, it isn't a good time to realize that you should have brought certain items along to make the job easier. Just think about all of the stuff you use at home when preparing a meal to eat around the dining room table. It's no different in the woods, except for one thing....your kitchen cupboard could be a hundred miles away, and the nearest store might be too far to be worth the trip. Being prepared ahead of time takes the hassle out of camp cooking tips and ensures that everyone will enjoy great meals.

The first thing you should do is put together a "Chuck Box" (also known as a grub box or patrol box) that you keep all of your camp kitchen equipment in. The only requirement for a chuck box or grub box is that it store the items you need for your camp kitchen. This saves you from scrounging around your home kitchen for place settings, cooking tips, spices, and everthing else you'll need every time you want to go camping. In the strictest sense a sturdy cardboard box could be used as a chuck box. Also nowadays there are many large, varied and inexpensive plastic containers that can serve the same function and have the added features of seal, easy stacking and they are water proof.

If you go camping much at all, you soon learn that it's not enough just to have everything. You also need work surfaces for cooking cleaning and food preparation. Camping table space is at a premium when you are doing outdoor cooking. Some hard-core campers prefer to build a chuck box from wood that can provide an actual portable kitchen with many features found in the home kitchen. A well made chuck box will setup to give you work surfaces and utility features for your camp kitchen.

What all this really means is that once you have a well outfitted chuck box, whether it be a simple box full of utensils, spices, & other necessities, or a more elaborate design, your once lengthy camping checklist turns into only a few items with the grub box being one of them, so the getting ready to go camping hassle is gone forever. And you won't forget any key items anymore because things are always there in your grub box just waiting for you. Once in the field you find the work surfaces and utility features are an absolute delight. So the real bottom line is you go camping more often!!!!

Get Ready to Cook

• Wash your hands with soap and water, and dry them well.
• Carefully read through the recipe. Then, gather all of the ingredients you will need to prepare the recipe.
• Make sure you have enough of each ingredient in the recipe.
• Make sure you have a timer handy in case a recipe needs to cook for a certain amount of time.
• If you will be making messy food, wear an apron and old clothes.

Keep it Safe for Everyone

• Always check with a parent or guardian before you begin any cooking project.
• Be careful with knives. Ask an adult to help you pick out a knife that is safe to use.
• If you are using an oven or stovetop, always make sure the dials are turned to the "off" position when you are finished.
• Make sure you roll up your sleeves and tie back any long hair.
• Turn all pan-handles toward the middle of the stovetop so you don't bump the pan when you walk by.Always use potholders to remove anything from the oven or stovetop.
• Ask an adult for help any time you have a question or can't do something on your own.

Cleaning Up

• Put away all of the leftover ingredients. And, remember to recycle your steel cans.
• Wash and dry all of your dishes.
• Leave the kitchen extra clean, and make sure you wipe the counters and stovetop (after it has cooled).
• Clean up any spills so no one slips and falls or tracks food around the house.

Please visit Firepies to get your more cooking tips.

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