Northwest Fishing Reports

I am running a summer program for a local school district and one of the outdoor experiences we are going to teach some kiddos is campfire cooking. Does anyone have any favorite recipes they would share? Wanting to get families to think about quality time outdoors. Thanks in advance! Obviously gonna teach them about burn bans, how to make sure a fire is out etc, as well

No campfire cooking experience for youngsters (or adults) is complete without the use of Pie Irons at some point.

They can be had for $10 - $20 per set, but I recommend those with wooden handles as opposed to the more inexpensive irons with plastic handles - as they stand up to the heat whereas the plastic, not so much.

To make any type of 'pie' - you just need a couple of slices of bread (I prefer white) real butter, and filling.

After buttering the two slices, lay one down on one side of the iron, apply filling to the middle of the slice, lay down the top slice of buttered bread (buttered sides facing the irons) close down the iron, and clamp it shut at the handle end. This will nearly pinch off all of the crust area, which you can easily peel away before placing on the hot coals. 45 to 60 seconds each side should do.

As to fillings, and this is where one can get creative - you can use canned fruit pie filling for fruit pies, after cooked roll in sugar. These are good for dessert after breakfast.

FOR breakfast, lunch or whatever time of the day - Pizza pockets are easy - a bit of marinara with mozzarella and any type of thing one enjoys on pizza; pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, etc

My go to is ham and cheese, no need to explain this one.

Possibilities are endless, and these things turn out better than one could hope for. At least for me they do, but then when out camping I can usually eat a meal made for ten men. My wife thinks it is the fresh air, but myself - I think it is just my appetite.

onmygame

Another good yet easy one is campers stew. Take ground beef, potatoes, and whatever veggies and spices you want. mix all together in a doubled tinfoil pouch and throw on the rack. The kids can make their own, that is half the fun. No limit to what you want to add, I usually throw in some A-1 and cheese.

One of my earliest memories of campfire cooking was something my mom called hobo dinners. She'd spread out two layers of aluminum foil and fill it with chopped onion potatoes, carrots, corn and ground beef with some seasoning then wrap it up tight in the foil. These packets would get placed in the coals of a fire and have other coals spread on top. After about 20-30 minutes she'd dig them out, blow them off, and let them cool then we'd cut a slit in the top and peel back the edges to a nice hot hamburger hash. Nothing spectacular about the recipe, but I always remember it being so good.
In college my buddy and I took a group of Japanese students on a camping trip and made this dish. They thought it was the neatest thing since sliced bread.
For desert, cut a stout branch 3/4" to 1" in diameter and about 3' long. cut the end off square and strip the bark about 5"-7" up from the end (dry it in the fire). Take a tube of ready made biscuit dough and peel one biscuit off (easier than making your own dough like my mom used to). Stretch the dough out into a long strip and then, starting from the tip of the branch, wrap it back on itself up the branch until the end of the branch has a nice layer of biscuit on the end (try to prevent gaps in the wrapping). Toast that over the fire slowly until cooked through and golden. It'll now slide off the end of the stick and the hole can be filled with butter and jam. Different from your typical s'mores.

The foil idea sounds great, we've also done the same with rainbow trout many times when camping by a lake. Just clean it, put some butter/salt/pepper in and wrap it up in the foil. Pull it out of the coals and peel it apart and eat with a fork straight from the foil. I've also done corn on the cob this way.

One more is if you are able to get a pot of water boiling over the fire, making omelets in a ziplock bag is interesting. I first saw a guy do this on a camping trip and thought it was the dumbest idea ever. Until it was finished! We do this a couple times a year for family gatherings now (not on the campfire though). All you do is take two eggs and whatever else you want, diced ham, veggies, etc, toss it in the bag, mush it up by hand and zip the bag (make sure to get most of the air out). Drop in the boiling water for 20 minutes and you have a perfectly cooked omelet.

Something I used to do is put a whole large potato right in the coals. Make sure it is covered as well and leave it for (?) minutes. I confess to having forgotten how long, and it obviously depends on the coals and the size of the potato. Maybe 20 minutes? Big potatoes are best because the outer layer will charcoal. The depth of this layer depends on how long you leave it in. When you fish it out and cut it open with a knife, put at least some butter on it. Other fixings are optional. With the smoky flavor, it's hard to beat this type of cooked potato! Feedback here from anyone who tries it will be appreciated!

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks guys!