Campfire Cooking Help

[Roadster]

Happy Thursday!

At the end of the camping season last year, my neighbors were a wonderful couple who showed me a very cool little tool. You insert two slices of buttered bread and some toppings, press it together, put it over the fire and KAPOW!... you have a feast of campfire deliciousness. Being a totally inexperienced campfire cooker, I thought this was a revolutionary cooking concept! Wow!!!

My camping neighbor surprised me by tracking me down at work and bringing me my own sandwich presser thingy-ma-bob. It was such a wonderful surprise. I was so delighted that I brought it to my workstation and showed all of my co-workers this innovate campfire cooking tool.

They responded probably the same way you are responding as you read this... that those thingy-ma-bobs are pretty basic campfire cooking stuff. Boy Scouts use them. They are in every camping isle of pretty much every store. Welll.... as I said, I'm pretty inexperienced.

So, as you can tell, cooking over the campfire is NOT my thing. More details: http://cuontheroad.net/what-not-to-do/

But I would like to get better. Any hints or suggestions to help me to improve my skills and results would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much!
Chris (Roadster)

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Roadster

Happy Thursday!

At the end of the camping season last year, my neighbors were a wonderful couple who showed me a very cool little tool. You insert two slices of buttered bread and some toppings, press it together, put it over the fire and KAPOW!... you have a feast of campfire deliciousness. Being a totally inexperienced campfire cooker, I thought this was a revolutionary cooking concept! Wow!!!

My camping neighbor surprised me by tracking me down at work and bringing me my own sandwich presser thingy-ma-bob. It was such a wonderful surprise. I was so delighted that I brought it to my workstation and showed all of my co-workers this innovate campfire cooking tool.

They responded probably the same way you are responding as you read this... that those thingy-ma-bobs are pretty basic campfire cooking stuff. Boy Scouts use them. They are in every camping isle of pretty much every store. Welll.... as I said, I'm pretty inexperienced.

So, as you can tell, cooking over the campfire is NOT my thing. More details: http://cuontheroad.net/what-not-to-do/

But I would like to get better. Any hints or suggestions to help me to improve my skills and results would be much appreciated!

Thanks so much!
Chris (Roadster)

Ours are 'Tonka Toasters'. We've been using them for MANY years. Guess that makes them (and me) 'vintage.'

Once, DW and I made cheese sandwiches in them, but I put in too much cheese. We called those 'Cheese Volcanoes' as the cheese spewed out everywhere.

Ah... good times.

[Tunce the traveler]

This is what I use just for the beach ( California and Oregon coast ) roasted oysters and shrimp this day with cheese and crackers and wash it down with a bottle of wine. Tunce is waiting for the cheese and crackers and yes I do have a steak for her but it takes up the whole grill.

[Tunce the traveler]

My wife makes this sauce and then freezes it in 4 portion size bags to use over say a grilled chicken and side pasta meal. We're gone for usually 2 months at a time so once every other week or if a camper shows up it's all gone!

[Tunce the traveler]

This is the basket I use for roasting vegetables in over an open fire and a butane burner we place on the picnic table for say rice or a sauce reduction.

[frieed]

sounds like a pie iron to me...

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by oldmanAZ

Ours are 'Tonka Toasters'. We've been using them for MANY years. Guess that makes them (and me) 'vintage.'

Once, DW and I made cheese sandwiches in them, but I put in too much cheese. We called those 'Cheese Volcanoes' as the cheese spewed out everywhere.

Ah... good times.

Mmmmmm..... Cheese Volcanoes! What's not to love? The nice neighbors told me about all of the good stuff I could put between the bread... pizza toppings, apple pie filling, sausage and eggs.... and yes, cheese!

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

This is what I use just for the beach ( California and Oregon coast ) roasted oysters and shrimp this day with cheese and crackers and wash it down with a bottle of wine. Tunce is waiting for the cheese and crackers and yes I do have a steak for her but it takes up the whole grill.

Just trying to get a good look at it... is it a cooking grate that has legs?

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

My wife makes this sauce and then freezes it in 4 portion size bags to use over say a grilled chicken and side pasta meal. We're gone for usually 2 months at a time so once every other week or if a camper shows up it's all gone!

Trunce, you and your wife are campfire cooking GuRu's!!! This looks yummy!

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by frieed

sounds like a pie iron to me...

A pie iron! That's what it is! A bit more descriptive than a sandwich presser thingy-ma-bob!

[Roadster]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

This is the basket I use for roasting vegetables in over an open fire and a butane burner we place on the picnic table for say rice or a sauce reduction.

Do you put the basket on the campfire's grate?

[jayfowler]

Our favorite is what we call Fried Pies. All you need is roll of pre made packaged bisquits and pie filling of your liking. Spray each pan with cooking spray, put a bisquit on each side, add your pie filling, close together and heat over the fire till golden brown. Goes really good with homemade icecream.

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by Roadster

Do you put the basket on the campfire's grate?

Yes

[Tunce the traveler]

Originally Posted by Roadster

Just trying to get a good look at it... is it a cooking grate that has legs?

Yes

[silverark]

You might try a Camp Dutch Oven. I use one as much as I can. deserts, breakfast casseroles, chile, and biscuits.

[DocBrown]

We started with a little gas grill. Then used the metal sticks and burger cookers over the fire. Then we bought a tripod which we used for many years.

Then last year, we bought an Automatic Chef. It's a tad pricey (we paid less than the web site price), but by far this is the coolest, easiest way to cook over a campfire.

[Broken Wing]

If you go on pintrest there is a ton of camping food ideas. We put pilsbury cinnamon bun in the pie irons, also the pizza crust to make pizza pockets in the pie irons. When we were on the coast we get crab meat and put it in with the Tillamook herb and garlic cheese, I am making myself hungry! lol They were so good! I can hardly wait for this summer, going back to the coast.

[dewey02]

We call them pie irons. But when we had a girl scout troop, the scouts called them Tonka toasters. (Never saw a Tonka truck in one, though).

There are several small cookbooks that have all kinds of recipes for pie irons.
We love to have a late breakfast or brunch in ours. Pre-brown some sausage, add egg, cheese, or whatever you like. Instead of bread, we use crescent rolls (the kind that come in a refrigerated tube).

For a good dessert, use crescent rolls, and either chocolate or cinnamon chips. Yumm.

But really, you can put in just about anything that you want and it comes out great. Breakfast, lunch or dinner menus. Just check the done-ness several times as you are holding over the fire, because a burned treat is no treat at all! Enjoy!

[Snake Plissken]

We butter the outside and put pizza sauce on the inside of the bread, pizza cheese, pepperoni and anything else you want. It then becomes a pizza sandwich.

http://www.amazon.com/Rome-Industrie.../dp/B000FNLXWG

[Snake Plissken]

I also bought a couple of these over the holidays.
http://www.amazon.com/Buggz-Fishing-...ng+marshmallow