CAMPFIRE COOKING
Camping parties are ordinarily multi-day events. Coordinating a reunion, anniversary or birthday party away in a camp environment presents its challenges. A reunion camping party can be likened to a combination of a destination event and a beach party! It requires a good deal of preparation and homework!
Campfire cooking can really be a lot of fun. Preparing foods should be easy and require little clean up while using few pots and pans.
While our family enjoyed grilling seafood for dinner when up in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, at the end of the night, though, no camping trip would be complete without toasting S’Mores or Banana Boats using Hershey’s Syrup and Hershey’s Chocolate Bars!
Some favorite camping out meals can be created using pudgy pie makers (additionally referred to as a pie iron). The ones we use are made of cast iron, but they can also be made from aluminum. Most have long handles. Our family uses pudgy (or pudgie) pie makers to make delicious treats for lunch and dinner. Bread is the staple ingredient in making a pudgy pie.
Pie Iron
In preparation for our camping trip family reunion, we bought a pie iron. To make a pudgy pie, you will first need a pie iron, commonly referred to as “the pudgy pie maker.” Think of the camping pie iron as a sandwich maker on a stick. It is basically two cast iron or aluminum pieces that fit together with a hinge. Each piece has a handle, and the handles can be latched together. Pie irons can be purchased where outdoor camping gear is sold.
1. Build a campfire. Pudgy pies do best over a hot bed of coals. Try to start your campfire an hour early to let it burn down.
2. Build your pie. Butter a piece of bread and lay it on the iron, butter side down. Cover your bread with any filling you choose. Butter the second piece of bread and lay it on the filling, butter side up. Bring the top of the iron over the bread and filling until it meets with the bottom iron. If your pudgy pie maker has a latching device, latch it now, if you choose.
3. Cook your pie. You can cook your pudgy pie much like a marshmallow; just hold the pie maker over the campfire. Or, if you have a grate over a fire pit, lay the iron over the grate. Cooking time varies depending on the temperature of the fire. Cook your pie for one minute, flip it over and cook another 30 seconds. Open the iron and take a peek. If your bread is toasty brown, it’s ready. Remove it from the iron, let cool, and enjoy!
Use some creativity. Add whatever ingredients you want to your pudgy pie. Add pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni and make a pizza pie. Toss together some eggs, ham, and cheese and you’ll have an omelette pie. Add some apple pie filling and make an apple pie…pie. If you’re on the last day of a camping trip, add leftovers and make a surprise pie. The sky’s the limit.
Easy clean-up with these Handmade Dish Cloths from my Moomettes Crochet shop!
I’ll be sharing our favorite family camping trip dessert recipes that we used at our camping trip at Cape Cod that can be easily be cooked over an open campfire.
I hope that some of these recipes will become your family favorites and traditions too!
© Frugal New England Kitchen
