Guide to Campfire Cooking: Stews and Roasts

Long ago, when the world was not worried about pollution and you could actually drink from a stream, there was a breed of people that marched their way across the prairies and plains and over the vast mountains. This was a very hardy group that was bound and determined to find a better life out west. One of the things that got them there was the cook that traveled with them. These adventurous souls would combine any number of odd ingredients to create some of the best tasting and original stews and chili that the world has ever known. These same feasts can be easily enjoyed by you, your family, and your friends the next time you are out in the Great Outdoors. It is actually very simple and will allow you to let your imagination run wild. This style of cooking never gets old either. It means that you have to take more supplies with you, but you can make the flavors different every time. There is no end to the different combinations that you can create using this medium.

Whether you are planning on making this on a camping trip or in your own backyard, there are a few things that you will need for this stew recipe. The key to the entire process is a cast iron pot. The bigger the pot, the more ingredients you can add and the more people you can feed. The best one that I have found is the King Kooker 5 gallon jambalaya pot for a lot of people, or their 12 qt dutch oven for just the family. This thing is great and even comes with hooks to remove the pot from the fire. There are smaller ones out there as well. The other thing that is a must for this recipe is a place to start a fire. No electric or gas burners or ovens will do this stew justice. You need a fire. That is one of the best parts of this meal. With the right fire, the preparation can be a family affair and it is just as easy as a crock pot. These two things are the only must haves for this recipe. The rest is up to you.

You can make this vegetarian, carnivorous, or a mixture of both. You can use any type of meats and vegetables and toss in any spices that you might like and some that you have yet to try. The fun of this is that there is no set list of ingredients. One thing that you will need is starches. No stew is complete without corn meal or flour and chunks of potatoes. Corn meal tends to work really well with this. The corn meal and the cast iron mix together for a real authentic, wood fired flavor. You will also want some other vegetables to throw in. Using some wild vegetables will add to the authenticity of this dish. Celery, carrots, corn and green beans are good selections, as well as green or white onions. These may not be found wild near your area, but are easy to pack in. If you are planning on using wild vegetables and herbs for this, make sure you are certain of the plants. There are similar plants out there and some may be poisonous. It doesn't hurt to do a little extra research. If you are unsure, don't use it. It is really hard to get poison control out in the wilderness. Now you want to think of what type of meat you want to use. Venison is meant for this dish. In my opinion, there is no better way to eat Bambi, than floating in the stew pot with some carrots and taters. That also makes this a great way to celebrate the first deer of the season. You can make this on the trip with fresh meat. All sorts of meats work for this as well. Wild animals were born to be served in this manner though, and make this stew truly authentic. I am not quite sure what meat substitutes would go well in this, but a campfire soup with some lentils, split peas, and beans in place of the meat is not that bad, even for this carnivore.

Now to start the cooking. The first thing that you need to do is clean, rinse, and cut all of the ingredients. Most stews are known for larger chunks of meat and vegetables. You can even toss the potatoes in whole or quartered. Large chunks of onion are also a good idea. You do not want to waste too much time with dicing or cubing everything. Hack it a couple times and toss it the pot. Once you have everything cut up, you will need to add some water. Go ahead and top it off. If you prefer, you can also add in some alcohol at this point. Wine, beer, rum, and vodka are all really good to cook with. By adding the liquor at this point, the alcohol will burn off and you will be left with an amazing flavor addition. One thing that I almost forgot was the spices. I like to use some more wild type spices for this recipe. Rosemary, basil, and thyme are a must. If you are using a sweet meat, you may consider using a couple mint leaves. Be careful not to add too many. Just a hint of mint can really make this dish. All of the "wild" spices that still grow naturally all around us are quite nice in this. You may want to pack in your own since they are very light and then you can know that they are the right ones. Now you will want to put the entire pot over a small fire. You will need to keep the fire going all day, so you want there to be enough wood within reach. You just need a small fire that will let this simmer all day long. If you are using a smaller pan, a nice bed of coals will work nicely as well. Let this bubble away for a couple hours. You can leave it just like you would a crock pot. Just come back every hour or so to stir it a little and make sure the fire is still going.

Once this has cooked for at least three hours, it should be close to done. This is where you will want to add your corn meal or flour. Another good idea is to make some dumplings as well at this point and you can toss those in the pot, too. This is a nice bread additive to round out the meal. You want to slowly stir in the flour or meal until you get a fairly runny pudding consistency. The starch will thicken as it cooks. You do not want it to get thick yet. Just enough to get that thin gravy appearance. If you are using corn meal, it is very important that you stir the entire time you are mixing in the meal. Corn meal can tend to clump very easily. A nice slow pour with constant stirring should avoid this though. If you made dumplings, now would be the time to toss those in there as well. Now just sit back and let it cook for about another hour. Once you have the flour or meal in, you want to stir it every fifteen minutes or so to prevent it from clumping or sticking to the sides and bottom.

That is all there is to it. Now you can just sit back and enjoy an American tradition that goes back to the founding of this country. This also makes for a nice party dish. You can set this up in your back yard and have a western theme party. Your guests can serve themselves and you can relive the pioneer days. This is a simple yet tasty recipe that basically cooks itself and can cater to any diet, taste, preference, or mood. Just because you are camping doesn't mean the food has to taste bad.