Do you love camping
Would you like to find out how to easily cook delicious meals for your family and friends?
Welcome to my website which is designed to help you find all the information you need on camp cooking ideas including types of cooking equipment, tips and recipes. If you look through the site I’m sure you will find it of value.
Everyone loves holidays and what better way to relax than camping trips. It’s a great time to forget about the stress of daily living and to sit back and spend time with family and friends.
Camp oven (Dutch oven) cooking is great fun; you just can’t beat sitting around a campfire at night and cooking delicious meals for yourself and your family. You can use simple methods such as wrapping potatoes in alfoil and placing them amongst the coals but what better way to do it but in a camp oven. Camp ovens are fun and a time-proven way to cook a variety of food including breads, roasts, stews and casseroles.
Camp ovens can be made from cast iron or spun carbon steel. They come in various sizes such as 10 inch, 12 inch, 16 inch etc or are measured in volume capacity such as 7.5 litre, 12 litre or 4.5 quart, 6 quart, 9 quart etc.
The shapes can be round or oval. Some camp ovens have a flat lid surface suitable for placing hot coals for the cooking process. Click here for camp ovens and accessories.
Your cooking equipment is designed for extended use and not just a once off camping trip. So buy it carefully and look after it. If you have cast iron or spun steel cookware (camp oven, saucepans, frying pans), they need to be cleaned and looked after to prevent rust and corrosion. Before using a camp oven and to prevent rust it needs to be “seasoned” however you will find nowadays that many camp ovens come pre-seasoned for your convenience. In cleaning the oven NEVER use detergents, they will enter the pores of the oven and you will forever have the lingering taste of soap.
You will need a few extra campfire implements to make removal of pots from the fire safe such as: a long strong hook to lift the lid of your camp oven to check on cooking progress and to remove the oven from the coals, leather gloves to handle hot pots, a brush to dust coals off lid of camp oven, plus your regular cooking utensils such as long and short handled tongs, metal spatula, wooden spoon etc. Click here for camp ovens and accessories.
One of the most popular cooking methods is to cook with coals from the campfire. Be aware that too much flame will over heat the camp oven and will usually cause the contents to be burnt. Ideally the cooking should be done on a bed of coals – with some coals spread on the lid to even out the heating. It will take a bit of practice to get enough coals in the right place to avoid burning and to cook the meal to perfection. Too much heat will cause evaporation of liquids inside the camp oven. An alternative to camp fire coals is heat beads. Some people prefer to use them as you don’t have to gather or cart wood, they are easier to control and they hold their heat longer. Whichever method you choose to use will require some trial and error on your part to get it right.
Damper is one of the most popular foods people cook while camping. The damper recipe below is a great family favourite to try next time you go camping. It’s easy for the kids to try too. For more recipes click here.
DAMPER
Ingredients
2 cups self raising flour
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon salt
approx 1 cup water
1/4 cup milk
Method
Ideally, sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Rub the butter through the flour until you get a ‘crumbly’ mixture. Gradually stir in water and milk. Cover hands in flour and knead the bread on a floured surface until fairly smooth. Shape into a ball and flatten slightly.
Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes.
Put a piece of greased aluminium foil in the camp oven and place the damper on it. With the lid on securely, place coals on the lid. (this will give even heat distribution). Cooking time is approximately 30 minutes – It will be a nice golden brown colour when ready. Give it a ‘tap’ on the top and bottom. It will sound hollow when cooked.
Note
Damper may be ready sooner, or take much longer than 30mins – check at 20mins and every 10mins after that. (Temperature control is not always easy when camping!)
Stale damper or bread can be ‘revived’ by moistening with a little water, wrapping it in foil and heating in the camp oven.
I hope this webpage is of assistance to you. It is continually being updated to provide you with the most up to date resources and information.
For more recipes click here.
Happy camping
Peter
For another great site see Routines for Babies