Best products from r/CampfireCooking

>hi all, i just purchased this:
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>https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RWBS7S/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_asin\_title\_o01\_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
>
>i'll be hosting a decent amount of friends next week, and would look to do some hanging chicken, and maybe a roast of some sort
>
>it will be over a raised firepit, i'd love to be able to gather some more information on what this subreddit thinks might be the best ways to truss the chicken for hanging, hanging height of the fire, cook time, etc
>
>no shame in admitting im new at this but would like to do it right, I also have a lodge cast iron that I was going to hang under the chicken to catch the drippings, is that realistic? if so, what would be good to keep in the pan to mix with the drippings
>
>also what cuts of meat would be the best as I also bought the rotisserie attachment, but also happen to hang it too!
>
>hope this is the right area / posting format

thanks just posted there

Sazon Goya con Azafran is amazing. Old Bay is awesome, as is most any Cajun style seasoning- Tony Chachere's, Slap Ya Mama. TexJoy is also delicious and Tajin as well.

But salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and cumin will work magic too.

Adding in a jar dried holy trinity (Cajun mirepoix) base makes good stuff too- onions, celery, and green bell peppers.

Great idea I forgot these were even a thing, I'm pretty sure Dad has them in his garden. This one looks pretty cheap.

16 inches is pretty decent actually. That's split log size if I'm careful.

I've been dehydrating my own meals for almost 20 years for canoe outing of different duration (20 to 60 days). This very cheap book is the best we found on the subject, it has both methods and recipes. We use a classic American harvest dehydrator and a good old foodsaver vacuum sealer (any model will do) for preservation. If your camping trips are shorter you can do without a vacuum sealer.

The usual difficulty is dehydrating proteins. So we cook and dehydrate our own ground beef but we buy chicken and egg powder.

It's kind of a lot of work but it's WAY cheaper and taste WAY better than the ready made stuff. It also allows us to adjust portions size for what we need (or want :) ).

I used the book Lip Smackin Backpackin
https://www.amazon.com/Lipsmackin-Backpackin-2nd-Christine-Conners-ebook/dp/B00H32C9DY/

for ideas on drying food for camping. They use a combo of off the shelf food and dehydrated for recipes for back country. They also describe a system for long trips where you just bring base ingredients (potatoes, veggies, meat, beans, rice, lentils, etc.) and then cook meals from that instead of bringing pre-set meals. On longer trips it is a little more flexible with both taste and portions - if you find you are running short you can just make a little less for a few days to add a day or two to your trip.

Ovens work, and I think convection is the key - you need to have air flow. If air isn't moving stuff rots. Don't get a dehydrator that doesn't have a fan and uses heated air to cause air flow. It needs to have a fan.

I only use self dehydrated or instant meals now. It is soooo much better. I do cook and dehydrate things that may seem unnecessary, like beans. It saves field prep and cook time, and fuel. When I hit camp I put stuff in hot water, let it set for a while, then do any finish cooking that needs to be done and eat. It is pretty sweet.

A chain mail scrubber for your cast iron pans. Works amazing to clean them and not destroy the seasoning of the pan. Requires little upkeep and stores easy.

https://www.amazon.com/Amagabeli-Stainless-Chainmail-Scrubber-316HW001/dp/B01A51S9Y2/

Yeah even if you're just doing burgers or kabobs the keyhole thing is so controllable, it's a great way to cook.

> Well medival and realism can go out the window on food some days. Were more focused on good calorie packed food because after running around in the heat and layers all day we need the energy.

There are adjustable fire pit grates, basically drive a rod into the ground and hang the grate off it, can be set to any height.

https://www.amazon.com/Titan-Campfire-Adjustable-Cooking-Griddle/dp/B01D9JSPFU

Don't know about the quality of the one in the link, mine came from Ebay years ago and I don't remember the seller but the idea is fantastic and very practical. Fire gets too hot, lift everything up 4 inches, fire getting low, drop it down 6 inches. Up high to smoke, medium height to toast bread, down close for steaks.

Oh and maybe my most important tip - welding gloves are the best oven mitts.

I got very lucky and acquired the grill portion of a stand grill box very similar to one of these but I don't know where one would go about purchasing just that part without the box. In any case it is easily my favorite.

This was my trial run with it! I love it!

Here you go!

If you are interested enough to invest in a book, Cooking with Fire is a good general resource to get you started. My personal taste leans towards dutch ovens and potjies but those are both heavy to trek in if you are hiking and camping but if you are car camping or cooking on the beach or in your backyard those are both fantastic tools. Gonna be experimenting with open fire spit roasting this winter I think.

From my experience in scouts the only things that weren't shit were stainless and cast iron. There's such a weight difference that it's easy to know which to use based on what style of camping you're doing.

Currently using this bought it at target on clearence for less than 10 which was nice. Actually use it at home a lot for rice or when I'm too lazy to wash the real pots/pans

Mine melted right off!

She since replaced it with this so it's all good.

Your standard lightweight tomato substitute is either some sun dried tomatoes or Karen's Just Tomatoes for tomato chunks. Add a little extra water to your recipe and they'll re-hydrate some. And for tomato sauces, just Knorr tomato bouillon. To replace a can of tomatoes, I'd think you'd want both. It's probably not as good as canned, but definitely serviceable.

For short backpacking trips or consumption in the first few days: Fresh eggs will keep without refrigeration. You can probably pack 4-6 of them in the little plastic egg containers. And bacon - you can get the ready-cooked microwave style at the supermarket and pack that. Or, cook it a day ahead and reheat it the next morning for breakfast - fully cooked bacon won't go bad that fast as long as you keep it dry and sealed.

Potatoes: powdered, ready-to-eat hashbrowns, or precooked well-done hash browns. They'll keep for a couple days, just reheat.


Egg Container: http://www.amazon.com/Stansport-Camping-6-Egg-Container/dp/B004TEQSUY

This was my first time doing anything like this. It was really fun and I learned a lot. I followed the general guidelines from the Cooking with Fire cookbook. Greenwood spit made from a branch I pruned off a crab apple tree. Drilled two holes through it to skewer through the chicken. I was too nervous to burn the chicken so it took way longer than it needed to. Next time I'll be more aggressive with the coals. Although constant turning of the spit is unnecessary, somebody did need to hold the spit at all times. Next time I'll see if I can rig up something to hold the spit in place.