Campfire Cooking: Our Field-Tested Basics
Cooking over an open fire feels like it should be complicated, but almost everything comes down to one skill: managing heat. Master that and you can cook nearly anything at camp. Here is how we approach the camp kitchen after a lot of trial, error, and the occasional charred dinner.
Cook over coals, not flames
The single biggest mistake new campers make is cooking over leaping flames. Flames are for warmth and ambiance; coals are for cooking. Build your fire early — at least 45 minutes before you want to eat — and let it burn down to a bed of glowing embers. A steady bed of coals gives you even, controllable heat, the same reason experienced grillers wait for the charcoal to ash over.
Build a two-zone fire
Rake your coals so they're piled deep on one side and thin on the other. Now you have a hot zone for searing and a cooler zone for gentle cooking or holding food warm. If something is browning too fast, slide it to the cool side. This one trick gives you most of the control of a kitchen stove with none of the equipment.
Cast iron earns its weight
A cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven is heavy, and it is worth every ounce. It holds heat evenly, shrugs off direct coals, and goes from searing sausages to baking cobbler. Preheat it on the coals, add a little oil, and you have a reliable cooking surface no matter how uneven your fire is. Wipe it clean while it's still warm and it will last for decades.
Foil packets are the easy win
When in doubt, make foil packets. Diced potatoes, onions, a protein, a pat of butter, salt, and pepper, sealed in a double layer of heavy-duty foil and set on the coals for 20 to 30 minutes, turning once. There's almost nothing to clean, everyone can build their own, and they're very hard to ruin. It's our go-to first night meal while the group is still setting up camp.
Prep at home, assemble at camp
The best camp cooks do their knife work in their own kitchen. Chop vegetables, mix spice blends, and portion ingredients into labeled bags before you leave. At camp you're assembling, not prepping, which means dinner is faster and your cutting board doesn't need scrubbing in the dark.
Respect fire safety and cleanup
Keep water and a shovel within arm's reach whenever the fire is lit, and never leave it unattended. When you're done, drown the coals, stir, and drown them again until they're cold to the touch. Pack out food scraps — even "biodegradable" ones — because they draw wildlife into camp and train animals to associate people with food.
Good camp food isn't about impressing anyone. It's a hot meal shared with friends at the end of a long day outside, and with a little heat management, that's well within reach on any trip.