Campsite Cooking
The perfect fire
takes five steps.
A campfire lights the site, boils the water, cooks the food — and is the secret
ingredient in every s'more. Here's how to build one well and stay safe around it.
Campsite Tips
How to build the perfect fire
A campfire is a necessary part of camping. It helps light our campsite up at night, boils water and cooks our food. Not only that, it’s the main ingredient in making s’mores, and it’s fun to gather around and tell scary ghost stories late at night!
Unfortunately, it is also one of the most dangerous elements of camping. So here are a few ways to keep the whole family safe.
Bunch up a ball of frayed bark, dried grasses, and tiny twigs from a pine tree, evergreen, or other available tree along with your fire starting materials if you have them.
Lay very small twigs and sticks—not much larger than the kindling—against one another and over the ball to form a teepee shape. Leave a small opening through which you can place the match to ignite the fire.
Continue adding more wood, gradually longer and thicker (up to the width of two fingers). Maintain the shape of a teepee at all times.
Once the teepee is built to your satisfaction, carefully strike a match, shield it from the wind, and place it next to the waiting ball of kindling to ignite it.
You may now enjoy your perfect fire with family and friends!
Campground Guidelines
Fire Safety
Always wear shoes. Stray embers will burn and can cause a serious foot injury.
Start with small twigs and gradually add larger sticks. Be careful not to plop larger pieces of wood into the fire, sending burning ashes and sparks.
Use pot grabbers with work gloves to remove pots.
Keep nylon clothing, tents, and sleeping gear away from the fire.
Family Supervision
Be very careful with children around an open flame. It is important to allow them to become involved with the building and maintaining of the campfire.
It is crucially important that they realize fire building is serious business and not something for play. If they cannot take fire building seriously and are apt to play with flaming sticks, take away their fire-helping privileges.
If parents set the proper example, the kids will develop a proper respect for the power of fire.
Campsite Safety
Cleaning up your fire
A campfire should be attended at all times. If you are going to bed for the night or leaving your campsite, the fire should be completely extinguished.
1. Preparation (One Hour Prior)
Refrain from adding additional wood to the flames approximately one hour before finishing the fire. Keep pushing the partially burned pieces of larger wood into the center or hottest coals of the fire. You may find that you need to add very small pieces of wood, twigs, and such, to keep the fire hot enough to consume any larger sections of wood.
2. Cooldown Assessment
Make sure your fire has completely cooled before you start the clean up process.
3. Ring Clearance
Nothing should be left in the fire ring but ashes. If there is anything but ashes, that debris should be placed in the garbage.
Every Which Way S’mores!
Original Ingredients
1 graham cracker (split half), 1 marshmallow, 1 chocolate bar (split half), 1 roasting stick.
Instructions
Roast your marshmallow over the open fire coals until warm and perfectly golden...
The 4 Pounder
Ingredients
4 lb. chuck steak, ¼ c. water, 1 ½ Tbsp. meat tenderizer.
Instructions
Mix all the marinade ingredients including honey, lemon juice, soy sauce, and garlic...
Vegetable Potatoes
Ingredients
6 large potatoes, 2 onions, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 pkg. dried onion soup mix, ½ c. butter.
Instructions
Slice all the vegetables cleanly. Melt the butter and toss with seasoning mix...
Campfire Popcorn
Ingredients
1 Tbsp. popcorn, 1 tsp. oil, 18" square heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Instructions
Cut 18" square foil into four pieces. Place oil and popcorn inside, crimp the edges tightly...
Campfire Boiled Egg
Ingredients
Fresh Eggs, Wax covered paper cups, Water, 1/4 c. butter, Campfire Metal tongs.
Instructions
For this amazing trick, place fresh cooler-chilled eggs directly inside water-filled paper cups...
Western Omelette
Ingredients
1/4 c. chopped ham, 1/4 c. chopped green pepper, 1/4 c. onion, 1/4 c. butter, 8 eggs, 1 10oz. can cream of mushroom soup.
Instructions
Take the ham, green peppers, onion, butter, and gently fold into beaten eggs with cream of mushroom...
Heavy Duty Foil Burger
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef, 1 garlic clove, 4 slices of onion, 4 slices of potato (thin), 4 Tbsp butter, salt & pepper.
Instructions
Season beef with salt, pepper and garlic. Form into 4 patties and layer onto foil with potato and onion...