[TheKitchenSink]

I'm going camping for the first time next weekend. Anybody have any recommendations for campsite newb? What's good for cooking over campfire (aside from the obvious)?

[phatch]

You rarely want to cook over a fire directly rather you most often use the coals.

Great for a first timer are the variously called hobo/tinfoil dinners.

This link was near the top of a google search and has many good tips for foil dinners:
Tin Foil Dinner Tips - LDS Families

[KYHeirloomer]

There's really not much that you can cook at home that you can't make while camping. Depends mostly on how much time you want to spend cooking, and how much gear you're willing to haul.

For a beginner, especially, I would keep things simple. Steaks, burgers, etc.---the sort of stuff you'd make on the backyard grill---along with foil meals probably make the most sense.

We've recently run several camp cooking articles at Cheftalk. You can find them here: Camp Cooking - ChefTalk.com

You might also want to visit the outdoor cooking pages at www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com, where you'll find lot's of other tips and techniques.

In general Phil is correct. Most campfire cooking is done over coals, not over direct flames. There are exceptions, though. For instance, anything requireing boiling can be done over direct flames.

Cast iron makes the best cookware for campfire cooking, btw. But if you don't have any, don't sweat it. Just as at home, any pot and pan can be made to work.

Have fun!

[TheKitchenSink]

Thanks for your help guys

[Cristina7]

My brother and his fiance do a lot of backpacking and one thing they've done with good success is make soup at home, freeze dry it, and take that along with them. I think they've got a camping cook stove and a little pot so their general cooking method is just throwing the block of soup into the pot, adding water and rehydrating.

[KYHeirloomer]

Sounds interesting. But....how do you freeze-dry stuff at home???

[Cristina7]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

Sounds interesting. But....how do you freeze-dry stuff at home???

Haha! Wow, it sure must be Friday and my brain is a little fried. They dehydrate, they don't freeze dry. Sorry about that... Yeah, they've got a food dehydrator.

[TheKitchenSink]

Got back from camping yesterday afternoon. There were 11 of us and we stayed 2 nights.

I brought a cooler full of food and a friend brought a propane grill. Cooked some burgers and a tuna melt on there, but on Saturday I actually ended up cooking over the fire pit. There was some kind of grill-like device, which you could actually lean over the pit and I just tossed a pan on there. Grilled some cheeseburgers battered in Sarnac Irish Red beer and some hot dogs battered in some sort of Magic Hat (can't really remember). Everybody seemed to enjoy my cooking, but then again, everybody was pretty drunk by this point. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the hints of firewood in the flavor and nobody got sick, so I'd say it was a complete success.

[KYHeirloomer]

Glad you had a good time.

But be caution: Camping and wood smoke can become addictive.