4 Types of Cooking On A Campfire - Boil it, Bake it, Fry It, Grill It Over the fire. - Dan Wowak

YOU DON’T HAVE TO EAT FREEZE DRIED FOOD AT CAMP!
4 TYPES OF COOKING OVER A CAMPFIRE
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When it comes to cooking at camp or in the backcountry there is a much better way than simply adding hot water to a bag of freeze dried food. Imagine cooking anything, yes anything over a campfire. From hot wings to spaghetti to even a blueberry pie, it’s all possible. All that it takes is a few simple tips and tricks with the campfire and you can turn camp food into delicious gourmet backcountry cuisine.
Boil It, Grill It, Fry It and Even Bake It
It’s all possible outdoors
When it comes to camp cooking boiling, frying, grilling, and baking are all viable options. All that it requires is a little know how relating to campfire regulation and you will be set!
HOW TO BOIL OVER A CAMPFIRE
From soups and stews to pasta. Boiling is a great way to cook over a fire. It allows the camper to cook an entire meal in one pot with little to no calorie loss. I mean who isn’t drinking that broth!!
Keep the campfire high. Lots of wood and high flames means lots of heat and when we want to boil food that’s important
Once your food is to cooking temperature allow the flames to die down slightly. This will provide a simmer and allow you to slow cook the meal.
HOW TO FRY OVER A CAMPFIRE
With a little oil and a pot/pan wonderful and delicious meals can be fried up. Imagine eating mozzarella sticks on top of a beautiful overlook in the Rocky Mountains!
Start out with a low flame. High campfire flames can quickly ignite your oil.
As the flames grow low and embers appear in your campfire you should be right to fry.
Test your food by touching it to the oil. Immediately, there should be signs of the oil sizzling and frying the food.
Maintain your fire by feeding small sticks into it. If the oil seems to be getting to cool add a few large sticks for a quick supercharge.
HOW TO GRILL ON A CAMPFIRE
Steaks, fish, even corn on the cob can all be grilled over the campfire. Grilling offers an easy, and quick, way to prepare your meal. Before you start to grill get a large fire started. Keep the fire large for a generous amount of time as this will build a bed of hot embers.
Also Read: Chickpea Salad Recipe from Pow and Chow Book
Grilling is a fast processes and shouldn’t take long. It is important to keep a well regulated heat during this time. Embers, not flames, provide the most even heat when cooking.
Flames will char/burn the outside of your food and leave the inside raw.
Choose the wood you cook on wisely. It is important that you do not cook on wood that contains a lot of sap, such as Pine or Hemlock. This type of wood leaves behind a lot of unfavorable tastes.
HOW TO BAKE ON A CAMPFIRE
Pies, Stromboli, or just warming up some buns can all be accomplished by baking.
For this technique we can set out UCO Flatpack on its side and capture radiant heat.
Baking is a slow process and shouldn’t involve flames.
When baking over a campfire be sure to rotate the items often and flip them if possible. So instead of making a traditional pie made a folded turnover.
The same as grilling try to choose woods that don’t have a lot of sap content. Although the food isn’t being cooked over the flames/coals we don’t want to get too much of that black smoke all over our food.
Spice up camp life using these tips and tricks. You and your friends will not be disappointed. Making meal time at camp a memorable one!

[@cheswick617]

You left out roasting...like in an aluminum foil packet you make and put into or on the embers.

[@jacquelineclauson4891]

Aluminium puts poison into your food, I learnt this.

[@hezekiah5186]

He said primary cooking methods

[@renobailey8516]

i feel like kinda falls under baking cause the mechanics are similar

[@magnusvindaloo340]

Isn't "roasting" usually done like on a stick spinning? Like a rotisserie? Is "roasting" done in "packets"?

[@PleaseSeeThis]

Research cooking with aluminum foil . Doesn't sound too healthy for the brain.

[@dotty7789]

Thank you for this video! Super useful! I'm a city girl and am trying to learn the basics of camping and cooking over a fire.

[@retrotek0409]

Watch all the vids on his Coalcracker channel & you will be able to survive comfortably most anywhere. He is a deep well of information.

[@L4-295]

City girls down 100

[@jamespurchase4035]

You go for it. Just get into the country. Try something, and learn as you go along. Been camping for a lifetime, I still learn new and useful stuff. Thanks YT

[@henrybattaglia1657]

You can always do a foil pack as well. This is an under-rated method, but very simple. Did it as a cub scout, and still doing it as an adult. Fun, easy, and brings back good memories.

[@Kukkakukko]

Tin foil is the best outdoors cooking utility right after a good stick thats used for moving, stirring, piercing your food and/or poking the embers in fireplace and picking leftovers from your teeth after you ate with it. Me, too, learned this as a scout cub and ever since whenever I cook outdoors I'm still hearing that elder scout's scolding and teaching me about the perfect campfire building and not feeding it too much but not too little :D Good memories

[@ericthomas5394]

@@Kukkakukko 5n

[@ericthomas5394]

6hh

[@SupermanBB]

Cooking in aluminum foil is a horrible idea. Research the effects of aluminum leaching and it’s direct correlation with increased Alzheimer’s risk

[@MinimalistExplorerEDC]

Foil pack? Would that be to mainly boil food or could use to bake?

[@patcummins6036]

Interesting Dan that you didn’t touch on the Dutch Oven style of cooking. A little difficult if your hiking! Here in Australia the Dutch oven or camp oven as it is mostly known is probably the most popular method of campfire cooking. You can boil food, fry food, and bake with it. The downside is it’s bloody heavy being cast iron! I enjoy your posts and being “an old fart” I can never stop learning! Thank you.

[@thecampingcommunityclub4077]

Campfire cooking is absolutely the best

[@dereinzigwahreRichi]

Now this is what COOKING in the outdoors really means (imho), preparing food from real ingredients, not just boiling water and pouring it into some bag with dried stuff! Dan, thanks for the great video and for pointing out that you dont need any complicated stuff for this and it's actually easy. A good addition for anyone attempting to cook in the outdoors is a pair of heatproof gloves. Leather will do, some kind of Nomex or Kevlar (Aramides) is a bit better and easier to move in.

[@daebak7370]

New world order led by obama and pope francis is coming. Jesus christ is coming back for the rapture. Get ready. Dont believe the coming ufo alien abduction narrative

[@anthonybarker2087]

I use a keyhole fire especially in cold weather. I have a constant source of coals to drag into my cooking area. No dying down required. Also the big fire will keep me warm

[@steveo13757]

You can tell this guys educated the way he speaks, keeping in simple, clear and concise without over complicating things making it easy to understand. I came here to learn how to cook a can of soup over a fire without being it explained to me like trying to solve an Algebra problem and this guy delivered. I just subscribed to the channel.

[@suecollins3246]

Yes, I heartily agree! Being clear and concise isn't actually an inborn skill. And a _lot_ of KZbin people just don't have it.

[@oxfd611]

I just had a flashback to BSA Camp Hinds in Raymond Maine, earing my cooking merit badge and listening to the camp counselor on using each of these cooking methods. Fantastic refresher.

[@nataliescaglione6855]

I am so excited to learn campfire skills, but besides that I just want to say that you are such a talented teacher! You explain everything so succinctly and clearly!

[@daebak7370]

New world order led by obama and pope francis is coming. Jesus christ is coming back for the rapture. Get ready. Dont believe the coming ufo alien abduction narrative

[@juicyj3819]

@@daebak7370 huh?

[@villagevillage2400]

This video is crammed full of knowledge and clearly a lot of experience baking blueberry muffins out in the woods…!! Dude I can’t even bake at home let alone in the middle of bf nowhere 🤣🤣 well done!

[@whitedragoness23]

This video has survival skills I need, this is the guy who will be having a great meal when SHTF situations

[@The214thRabidFangirl]

This might not have been the best video to click on when I'm hungry and procrastinating going food shopping. Very interesting though

[@sueciviero3866]

Thank you for these tips. Once heard, it all makes so much sense. We aren't born with all the skills you have learned. I appreciate your teaching ability.

[@Flashahol]

Very few people explain this, thank you!

[@hannahe.9220]

THANK YOU! I’m cooking on a campfire for the first time in a few days and most videos I watched were either way too complex or people literally sticking a pan straight into the flames, which didn’t seem right. This was perfect. Wish me luck!

[@sandsock]

Fried\baked some calzones a couple days ago, with my picky eating nephew. That just loves to camp

[@nathanvalentine8136]

I'm in the mood now for some grilled groundhog!

[@jamespurchase4035]

Recreating.. ..my vocabulary just expanded by one word...I think. Great content btw, keep up the good work and God bless you.

[@paul6894]

Interesting video, cooking outside is a skill and it gets better with practice.

[@johnleonard4261]

Next skill level includes using cast iron. Skillets, griddle and of course Dutch ovens

[@Nunyabidness20]

The sap burning was exactly the reason i started researching which wood is safe to cook over thanks!!!

[@danielfoster3564]

Been doing it all my life. Practice Practice.

[@debbiehill1422]

Propane is in short supply. We have a fire pit with a grate and this is the summer it’s going to get used. Thanks for the tips!

[@CyborgTeam]

flatpack looks awesome. might take that to work and grill a steak at lunchtime

[@em0_tion]

🔥 Soap, ljutenica, potatoes, skewers... Sweet childhood of mine. 👌😛

[@cubgsan]

Good day to you! I am a senior rider on HONDA motorcycle from Japan. I am enjoying camping ,touring and upload video. Your cooking video is so nice! Awesome! Full supported ! Have a nice day my friend!

[@asmith7876]

Plains Indians cooked with buffalo chips. I don't even want to know what that tastes like! LOL I'll take pine resin taste any day! I also love cooking on a flat rock, love hearing that sizzle, feel like a cave man!

[@g3cwi_Radio_Adventures]

Probably the best video on this subject that I have seen. Just starting on outdoor cooking. Thanks!

[@amydickerson2145]

You can also use an all metal stock pot as an oven. Slip a small bush craft grill inside and set it in the coals. A Rock will keep the lid on.

[@wagstag89]

I only need to take 1 deer this year to top off the freezer so I'm planning to spend a lot more time camping and cooking outdoors this fall / winter and really enjoyed the video. I just so happened to buy that UCO grill last year and the over trick gave me new ideas. Thanks!

[@luciefischer8486]

Great video! Thank you for sharing!

[@logiconabstractions6596]

IME, the main reason I prefer hardwood is that it makes better coals. They last longer and feels like they just hold more energy/are hotter. The flavor bit as well, though unsure if it actually matters for, say, tinfoil wraps.

[@stevenhall1097]

Thanks for the great info. Been a long time get to the woods.

[@mahalaleelyahawadah658]

Nice quality video.

[@abchappell01]

That was just fantastic! Thank you so much 😊

[@tony7106]

I did not know that pack grill did that. That's slick.

[@domogeneric1186]

Loved the video man ! Really helped me out in understanding how to cook some basics on my camping trip!

[@MouseOfVirtue]

Fantastic explanation

[@katherinepalmer6404]

Going on my first ever camping trip tomorrow, and taking as many notes as I can! Thanks for posting these tips!

[@shouldhavenotshouldof2031]

How did it go?

[@katherinepalmer6404]

@@shouldhavenotshouldof2031 it went well! I got to start a fire using a fire starter that came on my knife, and maintained the fire enough to boil noodles, cook steak, and fry asparagus 🥰 it was a lot of fun!

[@tatytarasmous1655]

Hi Uco good video

[@shayb1701]

Thank you so much your video was very step-by-step and informative. We are planning to cook outside with our grandkids and we needed some instruction of which you provided.

[@whoever6458]

Good info considering I'm about to be homeless and I want to survive on beans and rice/corn.

[@SpamMusubi308]

Tomato ketchup soup from packets; 6-8 ketchup package, package of sugar, 1 cup hot water, coffee creamer,salt and pepper to taste. Combine ketchup, sugar, coffee creamer, pinch of salt and pepper in a cup or bowl add ½ cup of hot water mix well slowly add more water as needed. ATB

[@KnifeCrazzzzy]

That little flat pack grill is dope!

[@whitemorphius4496]

The thumb method. I love it.

[@capefearcapt4679]

Cool, maybe I will try some campfire baking!?

[@mhpreach]

Reminds me of my time in the USAF and being deployed on Bivwac. (Sp?)

[@likeargamanflaming940]

Excellent video!!!!!

[@shelleybender7154]

Thanks Dan!! Awesome. Gonna go get in the woods.

[@J_GoTTi]

WHAT IS THAT NEAT LITTLE FIRE STARTER YOU USED?! That is so cool!

[@dukethebrute4557]

Learning and relearning things from all ur episodes on all ur channels. Thank you thank you thank you. Now. I'm formally inviting you to come to missouri to camp. After covid 19 is settled

[@TheOctapodi]

Great teaching here!

[@411Outdoors]

Such a great video! Subbed

[@DouglasTuret]

Thank you Dan! We’re both really looking forward to learning from you, this coming summer!

[@urbansurvivor360]

Thankyou I learnt something within the first 3 minutes. Something I look for in a youtuber. Subscribed

[@esstee5888]

Not sure if it has been mentioned here yet, but another advantage to boiling is that it retains all the nutrients. This is only a real advantage if your are on a long trip with limited supplies or in a survival situation. Great video!

[@Foxtrotalex]

I mean if u drink all the water after. If not it takes the most nutrients out, so not really sure what u mean

[@esstee5888]

@@Foxtrotalex It sounds like you know what I'm talking about. Yes, drink the water after. I am just pointing out that in extreme circumstances, boiling would be the way to go.

[@campfirecooking7416]

Love this! Just started making some campfire cooking videos! I just love cooking in the outdoors 🔥🏕

[@ErichRahm-Gaming]

I live in Colorado and the majority of trees out in the mountains are pine...

[@GrantFoxOfficial]

very helpful thank you

[@TheCaringstar1]

thanks very informative!

[@jasongarling20]

Do another refresh on this subject! Show Dave, Shawn, and Andrew how to cook.oops, no more Shawn, but you get my point! This is all 100% positive!

[@breannjoseph3490]

Thanks for the vid it helps alot

[@dukeofbanfe]

Crazy to me that 90+ years ago most teenagers new how to do this stuff. Now hear I am a 27 year old army veteran still trying to Learn a lot of this stuff for the the first time.

[@GoMandiMartin]

This video is great! Thank you so much! I can't wait to try the stick-meat cooking :)

[@troybranaman316]

Wow i learned a lot from this video !!! Thank you so much for posting!!! Take care and stay safe my friend !!!

[@fyremanjef]

Came here to show my boys campfire cooking Noticed the UCO strike able tender Went to the blog Bought the ice cream ball. Doh. Lol

[@timmetoyer470]

Awesome video. 👌 New subscriber.

[@EdwinDueck]

Very good info, thanks.

[@garrybrooks4451]

I'll remember next time I am recreating

[@RetiredEMT96]

Thanks Dan!

[@irascibleaardvark]

This was cool as heck! Very informative!

[@FNHot]

I personally invented my own way to bake on the fire, that requires no flipping, no heat reflector, and is much easier to set up than this. I hope to film it and post it this summer.

[@juanbarturen2726]

It would be good.

[@MinimalistExplorerEDC]

Your comment is now 2 years old, so I’m wondering if you have done a video on your method? I’d be very interested in viewing it. If so could you place a link here?

[@FNHot]

@@MinimalistExplorerEDC Every year I mean to film it, and your reply has motivated me to finally do it this year. I will post videos on it this year around June, as I will film it in May.

[@MinimalistExplorerEDC]

@@FNHotexcellent! I’ll look forward to seeing it!

[@huntercarnell617]

Have you filmed this video?

[@johnnycash7612]

Wish we could go camping together someday..

[@johnwyman5939]

Awesome idea !!🇺🇸🇺🇸🪓🔪👍👍

[@ryanblystone5153]

Thank you

[@maxcontax]

A cast iron skillet and a camp dutch oven and the vagaries of the fire and its wood type and flames vs coals are greatly reduced.

[@clementenua2313]

We do it differently in da islands but good on brother... very entertaining

[@CrazyCajun66]

Where I'm at I use cedar. I love it.

[@carvedwood1953]

Easier oven solution....dutch oven. Or any pot really with another smaller container inside of it and raised off the bottom so it doesn't get conduction.

[@ROUGUEDRAGONCRAFT]

Exactly what I was looking for ❤ thanks

[@embersash9204]

Great tips bro🤙 the rig looked dope🔥

[@preparetothrive9871]

I have that uco n im gonna try that!

[@tobynoe6149]

I can cook great over a camp fire. My problem is packing everything to the woods. My favorite cookware is a 14 inch cast iron skillet and a HUGE Dutch oven. Can I Bushcraft out the back of a pick-up truck lol

[@markc121070]

Cool video dude. Greatly appreciated knowledge.

[@brodatywoczykij1137]

Thank you. I appreciate. Greetings.

[@garyp4374]

create flame for cooking or light.... please have a look you will Love it .when is pouring with rain and your wood is wet you can still cook no gas required no fuel other than candle wax and toilet paper

[@WeekendAdventurer]

I have used a reflector baker numerous times and HATE THEM. I always end up with an icing of ash and "trail spice". They also take forever and are flimsy. I have most more than one coffee cake in the fire. My go -to for baking is the Dutch oven. They are heavy and bulky but do an amazing job. You can get a 10" aluminum version but even then I reserve them for base camps or canoe camping when weight isn't as big a concern. I love your vids man and thank you.

[@AratosAya]

thnks.i.will.follow.your.instructions.ser .step.by.step

[@thothheartmaat2833]

i have a little cast iron pan and put some coals out of the fire and put it on it and it just got luke warm..

[@nunyabiznaz833]

Very useful info. Thanks!

[@petercurrier525]

In place of the back rock with baking oven wouldn't a Y stick work?

[@othergary]

Flames for boiling. Coals for broiling.

[@philbertoneriver5923]

Is that a home made V-neck?

[@l3onorg]

I approve. Cutting up shirts is a satisfying addiction

[@jplamb77]

Great Video Dan,,,, Hopefully you can do other videos that go into detail,, in each of your 4 categories,,,ie the infamous hobo tinfoil meal,,,!!!! Blessings to You and Your family,,, Joshua

[@robertoweilviso]

Very useful info. Thank you

[@BurkenProductions]

Well what if all forests are mostly pine then... I guess you have to stack up on a lot of fire wood then.

[@dcar144000]

Nice video! Especially the part about cooking with a split stick. I want to try that. I have one concern though, regarding possible splintering getting into the meat.

[@BibleSamurai]

can image if u owned property with a small 1 acre forest or so. :)....or if u property bud up against a state park or something

[@gillbt]

Thank you!

[@juanbarturen2726]

Great video One question, The Hemlock you spoke about. That is poisonous????

[@suecollins3246]

It killed Socrates...

[@WoodsboundOutdoors]

Hemlock the tree, not the plant.. 2 different hemlocks

[@juanbarturen2726]

@@WoodsboundOutdoors well Hell. What the truck?

[@MantraHerbInchSin]

boil'em mash'em stick'em in a stew