It鈥檚 funny how the days slip away from you. One minute an entire summer lies ahead, just ripe for the picking. Then you blink, and the focus suddenly shifts from beach vacations and hot-weather pastimes such as catching lightning bugs and throwing backyard barbecues to back-to-school shopping and sending kids off to听college.
Happily, there鈥檚 still time for summer fun before fall unfolds. May we suggest a campfire cookout?
Not only is it nice to get out in the warm, fresh air but also there鈥檚 nothing more satisfying than dinner cooked over a bed of hot coals or propane camp stove to a chorus of crickets.
Campfire cooking is fun because 1) it doesn鈥檛 demand a ton of work; 2) it usually requires only one heavy pan, making for easy cleanup; and 3) it鈥檚 a happy change from the everydayness of pulling together a meal in your kitchen.
So how do you go about it if your dad wasn鈥檛 a Boy Scout leader? It鈥檚 all in the planning.
Camp cookouts work best when you stay true to the Scout motto, 鈥淏e prepared!鈥� This requires not only thinking seriously beforehand about what you want to eat for each meal but also how to portion and pack the ingredients into containers that travel well and require the least amount of work on arrival.
That means prepping as much food as you can beforehand (chopping vegetables, washing fruit, mixing marinades and stirring together sauces), and putting the exact amounts you need for a certain dishes in small containers or sealed plastic bags. Why bring an entire bottle of red pepper flakes when a tablespoon or so spooned into a Tic Tac container will suffice, and do you really need a 22-ounce bottle of ketchup for four hamburgers? In addition, freeze what鈥檚 freezable the day beforehand 鈥� it听will act as its own ice pack.
Simplicity also is key. Good cookout recipes aren鈥檛 complicated, which is not to say they can鈥檛 be flavourful or hearty. All you need for a really good steak, for example, is a sizzling hot pan, some mushrooms and butter; breakfast can be as easy as chopped vegetables and sausage scrambled with eggs and crumbled cheese.
A few tools are essential. Along with a sharp knife, tongs and a heavy oven mitt to keep your own mitts safe when cooking food over coals, you鈥檒l need fireproof cookware. Cast-iron is your best friend here 鈥� you can cook just about anything in it, either directly on coals, atop a grate or on a propane-fuelled campstove, if you鈥檙e taking the easy way out. Aluminum foil, which can be fashioned into packets for roasting foods or shaped into a makeshift pan for frying, is another must-have.
A sturdy grill grate, either with听legs or without, also is a good idea as it will allow you to elevate food and pans over the fire pit. On听a recent camping trip, my partner rigged up a grate out of two old gas-grill grates bound together with wire, which we then propped on rocks. But you don鈥檛 have to get that creative 鈥� portable grates are cheap and easy to find even at tiny camp stores.
Loaded Campfire Pizza
Makes: Four servings
1 baked 12-inch baked pizza crust
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 large sweet onion, sliced thin
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 large green bell pepper, sliced
鈥� kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup homemade or jarred pizza sauce
1 1/2听cups shredded mozzarella, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, divided
4 oz. sliced pepperoni
鈥� Fresh basil leaves, chopped or cut into a chiffonade
Heat a charcoal or wood-fired grill to medium, or build a campfire and allow flames to die down, leaving mostly white coals. If using a campfire, set grill grates on rocks or wet green logs.
Warm a large heavy frying pan (I used an 11-inch cast-iron pan) on grates until hot, then pour 2听Tbsp oil into pan. Toast pizza crust in pan, pressing down on the听edges, until it is crunchy and golden brown on the bottom, about four to five minutes. Transfer to a听cutting board, and cover with foil to keep warm.
Pour remaining 1 Tbsp oil into pan. Add onions, sausage and green peppers, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until onion and peppers are soft, and sausage is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Remove mixture from pan into a bowl, and听set aside.
Place pizza crust in pan with toasted side up. (I had to smoosh the edges up the side of the pan.) Spoon the pizza sauce on top of crust, and top with 1 cup听of the mozzarella. Spoon on half of the onion/pepper/sausage mixture and sprinkle half of the Parmesan on top. Top with remaining mozzarella and onion mixture, then add pepperoni and basil on top. Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Return pan to grill, and cook, covered with foil, until the cheese melts and pepperoni gets crispy, about five minutes.
Transfer pizza to a cutting board, and slice. Serve hot.
Cheesy Campfire Scramble
This easy egg scramble goes from听pan to plate in about the same time it takes to brew a pot of听coffee.
Makes: Three servings
4 oz. sweet or hot Italian sausage
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 sweet onion, diced
6 eggs
鈥� kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 oz. hot pepper jack cheese, crumbled
6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half, or 4 campari tomatoes, cut into quarters
Handful fresh chives, chopped
Heat charcoal or wood-fired grill to medium, or build a campfire and allow flames to die down leaving mostly white coals. If using a campfire, set grill grates on rocks or wet green logs.
Place medium-sized, heavy frying pan (I used an eight-inch cast-iron pan) on grates until hot. Add sausage, peppers and onions into skillet and cook over medium-high heat until browned, breaking meat into small chunks, about five to six minutes. Remove, and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk eggs with a little water in听bowl, and season with salt and听pepper.听Pour eggs in hot pan and听cook, stirring occasionally, until they鈥檙e halfway set, about one to two minutes. Stir in sausage/pepper/onion mixture, crumbled cheese, Parmesan and tomatoes. Cook, stirring gently a听couple more times, until cheese melts and eggs are almost set, about two minutes. Stir in chives and cook an additional minute.
Serve immediately.
Campfire Potatoes
Makes: Four servings
1 1/2听pounds new red potatoes, diced
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
鈥� kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
鈥� red pepper flakes
鈥� chopped fresh chives
Place diced potatoes and onion on a large sheet of heavy-duty foil (not the cheap stuff). Top butter and olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
Fold foil over so potatoes are in an enclosed packet.
Place on hot grill grates, or on top of hot coals. Cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Garnish with chopped fresh chives.
听
Pan-Seared Delmonico Steak and Mushrooms
Is there anything more wonderful than a steak cooked over a campfire? This simple recipe requires just a handful of ingredients, but is elegant. Be sure to season the meat well, and start with a screaming-hot pan 鈥� you want the steaks to get a nice, solid char.
Makes: Four servings
听
1 lb. white mushrooms
1 1/2 tsp each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 boneless Delmonico steaks, each 12 to 16 oz.
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus a handful of thyme sprigs
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup salted butter
Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel, and trim to remove any tough stem ends. Cut into halves, or quarters if large. Combine salt and pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle steaks with fresh thyme leaves and half of the salt/pepper mixture, pressing seasonings into meat.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat on a camp stove or over hot coals. Add mushrooms, thyme sprigs and remaining salt mixture. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are tender and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, and tent with foil to keep warm.
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in pan over medium-high heat. Cook steaks on both sides, turning once, until browned and done the way you like, eight to 14 minutes, depending on thickness (110 degrees for rare on an instant-read thermometer or 130 degrees for medium). Transfer steaks to cutting board and tent with foil to keep warm.
Discard fat from pan. Pour wine into the same pan and cook until reduced to 2 to 3 Tbsp, one to two minutes. Whisk in butter until melted and blended. Cut steaks in half and set on plates. Drizzle with sauce and serve with mushrooms.
鈥� Adapted from Camp Sunset: A Modern Camper鈥檚 Guide to the Great Outdoors by the editors of Sunset (Oxmoor House, May 2016, $24.95)
Cookout Bananas Foster
No cookout meal is complete without some gooey goodness, and what鈥檚 better than caramelized bananas? The fruit travels well, and this recipe cooks up in minutes. You can leave out the alcohol if you like.
Makes: Two to three servings
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla
鈥� Couple dashes of cinnamon
2 bananas, slice in half crosswise, then lengthwise
2 Tbsp rum (optional)
鈥� Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream
鈥� Chocolate chips (optional)
Over a hot camp fire, melt butter in a small cast-iron skillet. Add brown sugar and vanilla and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is bubbly. Stir in cinnamon, reduce heat to low and add sliced bananas in a single layer.
Cook bananas, turning once, until softened and beginning to brown, about two to three minutes. Stir in rum, then cook bananas, stirring gently, another minute or so, until the sauce bubbles and is slightly thickened.
Spoon cooked bananas into a bowl, and top with sauce. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and serve with chocolate chips.
