The easiest way to cook over a campfire is to use a grate that sits over the fire. This allows you to put your cookware on top of it and to also grill food directly over the fire. Clean the grate well before laying food on it and get the fire nice and hot. Grill fresh fish fillets and steaks on top of the grill. To keep the food from sticking to the grate rub each side of your fish or steak with a little olive oil or butter, season well and then lay on the grate. If a grate is not available in the campsite you can bring your own, which are available at most sporting good stores.
Cast iron cookware is a good choice for campfire cooking because it heats up quickly and uniformly, and retains heat for a long time. Cast iron skillets can be used for preparing one dish meals like a layered egg, sausage and cheese strata for an energizing breakfast or frying and sauteing foods. Dutch ovens are commonly used for slow cooking large amounts of food like stew, chili and soup, and also commonly used to bake foods such as biscuits and cinnamon rolls by sitting directly in the hot coals of the campfire with a lid on, which holds the heat inside similar to that of an oven. Bring a saucepan for cooking foods (like soup or pasta) and heating water for washing dishes. Cast iron cookware should not be used to boil water or cook foods in boiling water as this ruins the coating.
Use heavy duty aluminum foil for cooking or baking by wrapping food in it and placing directly into the hot coals or around the edges of the campfire. Bake potatoes using this technique by wrapping a washed and pierced potato in a piece of foil, sealing the edges, and placing in the coals of the fire for approximately one hour. Also use this technique to make desserts such as chocolate baked bananas by slitting a banana lengthwise, filling with chocolate chips, then sealing in foil, and placing in hot coals for about 20 minutes. Skewers and roasting sticks are another way to cook your food and makes for easy cleanup too. Hot dogs are commonly roasted using a stick but also think about making shish kebobs with chunks of steak and vegetables placed on skewers and either held over the fire or placed on the grate to roast over the fire.
