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[R96]Recipes For Campfire Cooking

by Abby Johnson, Abb

Cooking on the campfire has for many years been a popular way to cook great-tasting food with a minimum of hassle. It's quite a tradition for families to pack coolers with burgers and steaks and get ready to grill them on an open fire. The taste of food cooked on the flames can be exquisite, and many people from all walks of life enjoy it. Today, the kind of camping activity isn't much different than the kind done in the past, and while some people have replaced the campfire with modern stoves or other implements, nothing can really compare to an open fire. That's why it's remained popular despite its very ancient roots. People are using the campfire to cook an ever-larger assortment of foods and finding different ways to do it.

Our very distant ancestors probably discovered the virtues of cooking on the campfire when they realized that the taste of their food could be improved when it was heated and cooked. It wasn't much of a leap from there to hold food over the fire to cook it, and that's where campfire cooking came from. It probably took many attempts and failures before the practice became well-established, and eventually people worked out the best way to do it. Since then, campfire cooking has become a lot more sophisticated, while staying true to its roots. Nowadays it's possible to cook all sorts of different meats, steam vegetables, and boil water to cook other foods over the fire. Whole meals can be prepared on the flames.

Gourmet Campfire Cooking

Really, almost any kind of food can be prepared in the outdoors. It's just a matter of knowing how. But the best part is that it's not hard to do at all. Some flame-cooked foods are so delicious they would have a gourmet chef salivating—and they take very little effort to prepare. On campgrounds today, it wouldn't be out of the question to whip up a delicious filet mignon with an accompaniment of stuffed potatoes. People are learning how to steam vegetables on the campfire and how to give meat that perfect charred taste. It's not going to be long before many more people discover how versatile the simple campfire really is for cooking.

There's been a big evolution in cooking on the fire. An exciting development in the art of campfire cuisine has been preparing deserts, not just main courses. You can make tasty cherries jubilee as well as a number of other delicious deserts using the flames. Campfire cooking is no longer only the domain of seasoned campers “roughing it.” It's going to become a lot more mainstream in the future, and it will beckon those with gourmet inclinations to try some new recipes. It will be interesting to see how the cuisine evolves even further than it has already.

This can be done in several ways - buying a camp stove, kerosene, matches and all the rest or going the boy scout way and starting from scratch , building a fireplaces from stones, collecting kindling and wood and making fire. Fire pits, troughs and charcoal are other ways. Whichever way you choose you will need pots, heavy duty foil or a spit and something to support them. For large groups lay out charcoal in a long trough. Make a trough above ground by placing two rows of metal tent stakes every few feet with their tops about 5" above the ground. String metal wire between them, then form a trough with heavy duty foil, folding it over both wires.

Mankind has been cooking in the open air since pre-history ? though nowadays you may have to make sure that you are in an areas where cooking fires are allowed and there is no danger of forest fires. It should go without saying that when clearing up you should ensure that there is no possibility of the fire re-breaking out and the area should look as near as possible as if you had never being there.

Foil Parcels ? if heavy duty foil is not available use double layers of normal foil. Pack vegetables such as potatoes and onions into buttered foil packets and place in hot ashes or above a trough of charcoal You can do the same with fruit. Double seal the parcels by folding over ends and then repeating this. If you feel it necessary you can scratch the name of the contents onto the foil before cooking.

Lemon Chicken

One chicken joint per person, brushed with melted butter and having a squeeze of lemon on top. Place on buttered heavy duty foil. Add some lemon slices and herbs of your choice to the parcel. Seal and cook for about 40 minutes.

Ham Parcels

These make a meal in one packet. Cubed ham and potatoes with pineapple and sliced onions. You could replace the pineapple with some grated cheese. Just place enough for each person in individual parcels and cook for about 30 minutes.

Baked Stuffed Potatoes.

Rub one cleaned potato per person with oil to give a crispy skin. Split the potatoes and place a sausage and some relish in the split. Place in buttered heavy duty foil and make sealed parcels. These will take at least an hour ? a little longer if the potatoes are large ones.

Pop Corn

In the center of a square of heavy or doubled foil. It needed to be at least 18 inches square. Place one teaspoon of oil and one tablespoon of popcorn. Bring foil corners together to make a pouch. Seal the edges by folding, but allow room for the popcorn to pop. It is easiest if you then tie each pouch to a long stick with a string and hold the pouch over the hot coals. Shake well until all the corn has popped. Open your parcel and top with butter, chocolate, peanut butter or a mix of butter and brown sugar.

Corned Beef Dinner

Put a few thick slices of corned beef in the centre of your foil square. Top these with thinnish slices of potatoes, carrots, onions and anything else in the way of vegetables available.Coil up the sides of the foil before adding a couple of table spoons of water in which a little beef stock cube has been dissolved. Seal and then this can be placed in hot embers and cooked for about 40 minutes.

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Both Abby Johnson & Guido Nussbaum are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Abby Johnson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel and Leisure, Legal Matters and PDA Phones. Abby Johnson is a staff writer at and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including. Abby Johnson's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.

Guido Nussbaum has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cooking Tips, Finances and Cooking Tips. Discover the best and . Guido Nussbaum's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.