Equipment for Campfire Cooking
The right equipment transforms campfire cooking from a primitive exercise into genuine culinary satisfaction. Beyond basic skewers and a hot dog fork, consider these tools:
Cast iron: A 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet and a Dutch oven (4 or 6 qt) are the most versatile campfire cooking tools. Cast iron handles direct coals, grill grates, and camp stove use interchangeably. A Dutch oven with a flat lid allows putting coals on top, which enables baking and braising. Properly seasoned cast iron is essentially nonstick and cleans up easily.
Grill grate: A portable campfire grill grate that sits over the fire ring gives you a stable cooking surface at a controlled height. Many campsite fire rings have adjustable grates; bring your own for sites that don't.
Long-handled tools: Long-handled tongs, spatula, and a lid lifter for Dutch ovens. 16-inch tools keep your hands out of the heat.
Heavy-duty aluminum foil: For foil packet cooking. Buy the heavy-duty version — regular foil burns through on direct coals.
Managing Your Fire for Cooking
The most common campfire cooking mistake is trying to cook over flames. Flames are for ambiance and burning wood down; cooking happens over coals. Allow your fire to burn for 45–60 minutes to build a good coal bed, then push flames to one side and cook over the glowing orange coals on the other. Consistent medium heat from coals is far more controllable than variable flames.
For Dutch oven cooking with top and bottom heat: the rough rule is one coal per inch of Dutch oven diameter on the bottom, two coals per inch on the lid. A 12-inch Dutch oven would use approximately 12 coals on bottom and 24 on the lid for around 350°F. Add or remove coals to adjust temperature.
Foil Packet Meals
Foil packets are the gateway technique for campfire cooking — simple, flexible, and nearly impossible to fail. The basic formula: protein + vegetables + fat + seasoning + a splash of liquid, sealed in two layers of heavy-duty foil. Place directly on coals (not flames) for 20–35 minutes depending on the contents.
Classic hobo packets: Sliced potatoes, sliced onions, ground beef or sausage, butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 30 minutes on coals, flipping halfway. Open carefully — steam is hot.
Lemon butter shrimp packets: Shrimp, sliced zucchini, corn kernels, butter, lemon slices, Old Bay. 15–18 minutes — shrimp cook fast.
Apple cinnamon packets: Apple slices, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter. 20 minutes. Serve over ice cream brought in the RV's refrigerator.
Dutch Oven Recipes Worth the Effort
Campfire chili: Brown ground beef in the Dutch oven over the fire, add canned beans, diced tomatoes, onion, and chili seasoning. Simmer with lid on for 30–45 minutes with occasional stirring. Serve with cornbread baked separately or crackers from the pantry. A one-pot meal that feeds a crowd and improves on day two.
Dutch oven peach cobbler: One can of peach pie filling in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Mix one box of yellow cake mix with two cans of Sprite (no eggs, no oil) and pour over the peaches. Place lid on, 12 coals on bottom, 18 on lid, cook 35–45 minutes until top is golden. This consistently produces gasps from people who expect camping food to be terrible.
Breakfast casserole: Layer crumbled cooked sausage, hash browns, shredded cheese, beaten eggs with milk, salt and pepper. Cook with lid on over coals for 25–35 minutes until eggs are set. Feeds 6–8 people with minimal morning effort if you brown the sausage the night before.
Fire Safety and Leave No Trace
Use established fire rings only; build fires only when fire restrictions are not in effect (check the campground and local fire agency before building any fire). Keep fires manageable — you're cooking, not building a bonfire. Extinguish completely with water when done — ashes should be cold to the touch before you leave the site.
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