​Below is a guide to cooking some quick and easy snacks over an open flame campfire.
Building The Campfire
Before you can can start making these delicious treats you’ll need to make a fire. When family and friends plan a camping trip, there are many different fun activities that they can do together when they reach the camping site. Planning for these kinds of trips can be challenging since it’s important for people to pack everything that they will need for a successful trip. In some cases, the things that the group needs can only be found at the camping site. Check before hand and pack accordingly. With this said, here’s how to make the perfect campfire.
Create the Fire Bed
When an individual or a group is in the midst of building a fire, one of the first factors that they should always consider involves the safety of everyone who is around. For instance, it is important for people to make sure they are not starting a wildfire in any national park that cannot be put out.
So, when you are beginning to build a fire, they should choose a park that provides a specific fire area for those who want to use it. On the other hand, if the group is camping in a more rugged place that does not designate a fire site, you will need to be extra cautious.
Selecting the site must be done strategically because the site must not be near trees, bushes, or other types of plant material. The fire bed that the group builds should be placed on the bare earth instead of placing it on grass. Specifically, the fire should not be built on dead grass since it will easily spread.
If you can’t find a bare area, you can begin to make their own designated area by simply raking and away any type of plant materials. Campers should also pay particular attention and care in clearing away every type of dry plant material so they will not catch fire easily. Some common examples of materials that catch on fire and blaze quickly includes bark, branches and dry grass.
After you have cleared the appropriate area, you can start to make camp. To complete this task, your group should begin to gather a lot of extra dirt so that they can place it in the center of the area that was cleared. This dirt should be placed in the form of a platform, which is approximately 3-4 inches thick.
Time to Gather Your Wood
After the bed has been built, the next step in building the perfect campfire is gathering all of the wood. Finding the right types of wood is one of the essential keys to making sure the campfire is perfect.
The types of wood chosen will make a major difference in how the fire performs once it has been started. The three basic kinds of materials include fuel wood, tinder and kindling. All of which are needed to perform their distinct roles in making the fire. The wood that is gathered must be placed in a specific form.
Two of the most commonly known include;
The teepee fire lay
Read more about this fire here.
Log cabin fire lay
Read more about this fire here.
Building the perfect camp fire does not have to be difficult if the individual and the group knows what it entails. Creating the fire bed and gathering the right types of wood is one of the best ways to build this type of campfire.
How to Make and Roast S’mores on the Campfire
S’mores are the quintessential symbol of all that is good about camping. The warm, sweet, sticky treat brings people, young and old, around the campfire for an evening of fun and laughter. Often a playful competition breaks out between those who are roasting the marshmallows because everyone thinks they are able to cook the perfect one.
Shrieks of laughter can be heard as marshmallows burst into flames and the roaster has to blow on it with all their might to quash them. Then when the flames are gone a black squishy substance that looks like coal is left, leaving the roaster admitting defeat and grabbing another marshmallow to start all over again. This camping ritual is a lot of fun but there is actually a technique to roasting s’mores.
In order to roast s’mores you need to have a good camp fire, roasting sticks, graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. The marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers that you use is a personal choice. There is a great variety of all three of these ingredients in the store. Marshmallows can be regular sized or you can buy extra large ones specifically for roasting; as well as; square marshmallows that will fit onto the crackers perfectly. As for the chocolate; a thin bar is preferable as it will melt better under the heat of the roasted marshmallow. Read full Hershey’s recipe here.
The whole s’more roasting process start with the fire as it is important to get a good fire going. A good fire can make the difference between lots of lovely, golden marshmallows and blackened, inedible messes. What is a good fire? It is a fire that has been lit a while before roasting begins and the wood has burnt down to a bed of red-hot coals, giving out an even heat. A fire that is all flames makes for uneven and unpredictable roasting.
Once the fire is ready it is time to grab a stick and put a marshmallow on it. Sticks can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be homemade and also can be bought. Many people like to find sticks around their campground and whittle them into nice pointy skewer. If this is your preference just make sure you use sticks that have already come off the trees. Do not damage a living tree or bush. Store bought skewers are often metal and have two prongs on the end to better secure the marshmallow. They also fold down which makes for easy storage. No matter what type of stick you have the most important characteristic is length. It needs to be long enough so you can avoid being burnt.
Now put your skewered marshmallow over the flame, not directly into it, and slowly turn it as if it were on a spit. This will ensure even cooking and result in a golden-toasted outside with a nice gooey inside. Once the marshmallow is done to your satisfaction ask someone to put a piece of chocolate on one cracker and then take it and the other cracker, place them on either side of your marshmallow and using the crackers pull the marshmallows of the stick, and voila, you have a s’more!
How to Roast Hot Dogs Over an Open Fire
Most people consider roasting any type of food over an open fire a difficult task. This is somewhat true if you do not follow the required procedure. But if you have all the needed skills, cooking over an open fire can be easy and fun. Most camping enthusiasts will tell you that hotdogs roasted over an open fire is a perfect meal. Not only is it nutritious but also easy to cook. Here is a procedure on how you can roast your hotdog over an open fire.
Step 1
The hotdog you intend to roast should be sliced to the center of the meat. This will make it possible to skewer the meat unlike if you slice it all the way through. Remember to always expose the sliced parts to the fire to make it cook better.
Step 2
Place the hotdogs on the skewers or sticks. Just to make sure you don’t lose the hotdog to the fire when you are roasting, it is important that you press the meat down until it is secured on the wood.
Step 3
As you cook the hotdog over the fire, make sure you rotate the stick over and over again during the process to make it roast evenly. This helps the meat not to burn on one side. Since hotdogs are precooked, you won’t have to leave them over the open fire for more than two or four minutes. You will know the hotdog is ready when the outside is bubbling and brown. The aroma will also help you know how ready your hotdog is. Read the “cowboy hot dogs” recipe here.
Step 4
Your hotdog should be ready after the recommended time is over. Now use a knife or a fork to slide off the hotdog from the stick. If you have a bun, you can place the hotdog on it and top it up with condiments like ketchup, mustard or relish.
That said, it is important to note that hotdogs meant for roasting should always be cold until cooking time especially if they are reserved for a camping excursion. There are also precautionary measures that need to be taken when roasting a hotdog over an open fire. For instance, you should always stay safe while cooking the hotdog by keeping the meat a couple of inches away from the open fire.
If you are roasting your hotdogs over a campfire, never leave it unattended. You should also consider keeping away loose fitting clothing pieces to avoid accidents.
Roast the Perfect Marshmallows Indoors or Outside
Roasting marshmallows can be a very exciting cooking activity. We’ve all seen movies or TV shows where marshmallows are placed on the end of a stick and cooked over a fire. Although this method is a way to roast marshmallows, it is not the only one. There are a variety of ways to roast marshmallows, both indoor and outdoor.
How to Roast Marshmallows Indoors
Have you ever wanted roasted marshmallows but it’s storming outside or you simply do not have a fire pit? Marshmallows can be roasted using the stove in your very own kitchen.
First, one needs to gather the following items:
- a cookie sheet
- parchment baking paper
- marshmallows
Parchment baking paper is not required, however, roasting marshmallows in an oven can get messy once the marshmallows begin to melt, and parchment paper make cleaning up afterwards much easier.
After you have gathered your cooking materials, roll out and cut enough parchment baking paper to cover the cookie sheet. Lay the parchment baking paper across the cookie sheet, and then place the marshmallows on top of the paper.
Next, you should preheat your oven to 400 degrees. After the oven is fully preheated, place the cookie sheet into the oven and set the timer for five minutes. Once the timer sounds off, remove the cookie sheet from the oven.
Allow the marshmallows to cool off for a few minutes, and then you are able to enjoy roasted, fluffy marshmallows right in the comfort of your own home. Read more about cooking marshmallows indoors here.
How to Roast Marshmallows Outside
You’ll need to find a stick to place your marshmallow on that is long enough to reach the fire without burning yourself in the process. Our Marshmallow sticks are also good for roasting marshmallows over a fire because they allow you to rotate the marshmallow by simply twisting your fingers.
Now, push your marshmallow onto the stick making sure the stick goes through both ends of the marshmallow so that it will not fall off once it gets hot. You can place more than one marshmallow on the stick if you desire.
Next, place the marshmallow when it sits in or above the fire. Do not stick the marshmallow into jumping flames because the marshmallow will catch fire and burn.
Rotate your marshmallow so that it can be evenly toasted. After you have your ideally cooked marshmallow, remove it from the heat, allow it to cool down, then enjoy! For some camp breakfast ideas you might want to check out this post.