Five campfire cooking essentials

You’re sitting around the campfire with the beautiful night sky sparkling above you. Conversation flows while you share some delicious campfire-cooked food with your family or friends.

 

It’s easy to produce great campfire cooking if you keep these tools on hand:

1.Cast iron frypan

Cast iron is heavy, but that’s the beauty of it. Cast iron cookware takes a while to heat up, but it distributes heat evenly and holds its heat well. It can also withstand high temperatures. If it’s properly seasoned, it’s also virtually non-stick.

2.Cast iron pots with lids and handles

Pots with lids are very versatile — they can be used to boil water for tea or coffee, or for preparing any kinds of liquid foods, such as porridge or stews. Make sure they have a handle because you’re going to need a way to remove them from the fire without burning your hands. Pots with handles can be removed from the fire safely using a long stick, or a pair of tongs.

3.Sharp kitchen knife

There’s nothing more frustrating than a blunt knife! Keep a good quality kitchen knife with your cooking gear and keep it sharpened so that you’re always prepared for chopping and slicing.

4.Wooden chopping board

If you’re preparing food outside, make sure you have a reasonable-sized chopping board that you can use to both chop your ingredients, and to rest hot pots and pans on when they come off the fire. A wooden chopping board is best for this, because plastic just won’t be able to cope with the heat of your cast-iron cookware.

5.Spatula, serving spoon and a pair of tongs

These should be metal with wooden handles if possible because they will stand up to more wear and tear. Wooden handles are safest for the spatula and spoon because they won’t burn your hands. These three tools will keep you covered for all food-serving eventualities. Use the spatula to turn the fried eggs, the serving spoon for stews, and the tongs for cuts of meat.

 

Happy camping.