Campfire Cuisine: Delicious Dishes for the Outdoors

Camping is one of the best ways to detox from the madness of our lives. There's something about "roughing it" that rejuvenates our primal instincts and slows us down to a steady, cruising altitude. The key is in the preparation—put your sous chef skills to use! Prep meals at home in plastic containers; you can prepare everything from chopped veggies to steamed rice. A squeeze bottle is perfect for readymade pancake batter and will last for several days in a cooler. Precooking bacon or sausage saves time over the grill. Most importantly, don’t forget to prepare your campfire! Bring enough firewood to last at least four hours per night. Building a campfire is easier than you think, and once you accomplish that smoldering feat, it’s all too easy to enjoy an outdoor feast! 

Building the Best Campfire

Scratch a 3 foot circle on the ground with a shovel, removing all dry brush and debris. Place melon-sized boulders on the edge of the circle. Fill in gaps with smaller stones. Create a tepee of kindling in the center of your fire pit. Build a tepee of about 6 firewood logs over the kindling. Light kindling with a long match at all corners under the tepee logs. Voila! Fire! After about 30 minutes, the flame will burn down to a medium heat perfect for grilling.

On the inner edge of the pit, anchor the pole of your swivel grill. Be sure the anchor pole is at least 3 feet long for a secure base. Add small pieces of firewood every so often, but let the flame burn down if you plan on more grilling. Keep fires small and under control at all times, and have a fire extinguisher handy, just in case. Extinguish your fire by drowning out all embers. If you don’t have water, mix in dirt until coals are cool to the touch.

Once you have your fire, making delectable camping treats is a breeze! From brisket to beets, your grill can do it all. Not sure what to prepare? Here are some mouthwatering recipes to take with you into the wild. 

Applewood Bacon Brats and Polish Dogs

Starting at one end of your link, spear a toothpick through the tip of your bacon strip into the top center of your sausage. Swirl bacon around the link, ending at the opposite end and connect with the toothpick. Repeat with the rest of your brats and Polish dogs. Over medium heat, grill dogs for about two minutes on each quarter turn. Pay extra attention to the bacon grease and char that will develop. Remove from heat and enjoy with grilled onions and honey mustard. 

Meyer Lemon Herb Halibut in Parchment Paper

Season both sides of a fresh skinless halibut fillet with olive oil, granulated garlic, parsley, sea salt and pepper. Top with thinly sliced Meyer lemons and a pat of butter. Place in the center of parchment paper; bring sides of parchment paper together at top center and fold down. Then, fold ends under the fillet. Repeat with foil to cover parchment paper—this will protect your halibut from burning. Grill on medium heat for six to eight minutes. Remove from heat, remove foil and let cool.

Baked Potatoes, Grilled Sweet Onions and Corn on the Cob

Wash, dry and pierce all sides of your large potato. Season with sea salt and pepper. Wrap in foil; set aside. Repeat procedure with your corn on the cob, then set aside. Peel off the onion’s first layers until you reach a tender layer. Place onion in the center of a square piece of foil. Slice onion into 8 wedges, leaving the base uncut, and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Top with a pat of butter. Wrap the foil up and around the entire onion and close tightly at the top. Place the prepared potato and onion on grill for 50-60 minutes. Add the corn after 40 minutes, and grill for 20 minutes. All veggies will be ready at the same time.

S'Mores in a Cone

Super easy! Fill an ice cream sugar cone with mini marshmallows and chocolate chunks. Pack as many sugary treats in the cone as possible because the chocolate and the mallow will shrink with heat. Wrap the cone in foil and lay over a low heat grill for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool, unwrap and devour!