At one time open fires were our only means of cooking and this is still a favorite option for many campers. Whether you choose charcoal briquettes, flavor-imparting hardwoods or a coal bed from wood purchased at the camp store, open fire cooking requires some skill and patience. For those up to the challenge, the rewards are flavorful. The secret to campfire cooking is not to use fire, at least not until it has lost its flame and has become a smoldering coal bed. The ambient heat produced by the hot coals cooks food slowly and evenly. It’s a slower method of cooking but it has its rewards.
FIND YOUR FUEL
Start by choosing your fuel. Hardwoods and fruit woods are a great choice. Traditionally used for smoking food they will burn slowly and impart great flavor even over an open fire. If you don’t have access to fruit woods in the wild, you can purchase lump charcoal. Lump charcoal is wood that has been heated without burning in an oxygen tight environment. This process gets all the moisture, volatiles, hydrogen and tar cooked out of the wood. What you are left with is the ‘char’ which burns very hot and very fast. It’s a great option for people without access to dried out fruit woods. Finally, there is whatever wood or commercial charcoal is available at the camp store.
BUILD YOUR FIRE
The first step is to build a good fire in a steel ring, circle of rocks or a dug-out pit. Make sure there are no combustibles around the edges. As the first round of wood begins breaking down, add more wood until you have a good coal pit going. It’s important to allow time for this process and not rush it. The better the coal bed, the better your cooking experience will be. Once the bed is going, push some established coals to one side of the ring and keep adding small pieces of timber to the other side for more hot coals as needed. If you are using lump charcoal, start it in a chimney and transfer it to the fire ring. Keep a second chimney ready to go in case you need more heat before the food is finished cooking.
PICK YOUR POSITION
Arrange the grate that you plan to cook your food on over the coals and adjust the height according to what you are cooking. It’s best to let proteins come to room temperature before placing them on the cooking grate. Putting cold meat on a hot grill will cause it to lose its juices and you will end up with a finished product that is less flavorful and drier. For juicy and tender food, take meat out of the refrigerator at least an hour beforehand and season it on both sides. If you are cooking veggies, be sure to coat both sides with olive oil and season the same way you season proteins. Once you have placed it on the grill, resist the urge to move it around and poke it! Let the hot coals do their work. If flames flare up from fat drippings, tamp them down with a spray water bottle.
KEEP YOUR PATIENCE
You will know your main course is ready to be flipped over when it pulls off the grate easily. If you try to flip it with a barbeque fork and it won’t “release” from the grate, it’s not ready to be turned. Don’t force it but wait a few more minutes and test it again. As a rule, meat needs less time on the flip side than on the first side. Cook veggies to taste. Like proteins they will continue to cook a few minutes after removal from the grill. Once you remove your dinner from the grill, it is important to let it rest for at least ten minutes before cutting into it. Lay it on a cutting board and place a loose sheet of tin foil over it. There are few things more satisfying than taming flames for a campfire meal. Test out these tips on your next campout! Bon appetit!
HANDY TOOLS
There are a few great tools for open fire cooking that every campground chef should have.
An adjustable cooking grate that stakes into the ground next to your fire ring is ideal. Grill foods that cook quickly close to the coals – like burgers, hot dogs and vegetables. Cook other foods low and slow, like bone-in meats. The grate needs to be higher, creating more distance from the heat source. When they are finished cooking, move them out of the way. A grate that also swings left and right is good for foods you want to keep warm, away from direct heat.
A good set of long handled cooking tools is a necessity. Having the ability to turn food and remove it from the grill without your hands being in danger is just smart.
Add a pair of heat resistant gloves, which are handy for adding wood or coals to an already hot fire.
A good charcoal chimney allows you to get your coals going with just some crumpled-up paper. This is key if you don’t want to add starter fluids to your coals.
If you are going with a wood fire, a nice set of bellows is helpful when you are getting that fire started and for keeping it going if it starts dying out. Use a bellows if you want your fire to flame up for a minute to put a char on something.
A grill basket is a good option for things that are tender like fish and veggies.
This article on Open Fire Cooking was originally published in Girl Camper Magazine.
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