Campfire Cooking: Dutch Oven Basics Over Real Coals

Campfire cooking is mostly about coals, not flames. A roaring fire looks great but it burns food on the outside and leaves it raw inside. The trick is to light a good fire early, let it burn down, and cook on the glowing bed it leaves behind. A Dutch oven makes this nearly foolproof.

Gear

  • A cast iron camp Dutch oven with legs and a flanged lid (10 or 12 inch is the sweet spot for a family).
  • Long tongs, a lid lifter, and heavy gloves.
  • Hardwood for the fire, or charcoal briquettes if you want precise heat.
  • One One Strike fire starter and a match.

Build the fire early

  1. Start the fire at least 45 minutes before you want to cook. Place the starter in the center of your fire ring, build a kindling teepee over it, and light the edge.
  2. Feed it with hardwood splits until you have a fire the size of a basketball burning well.
  3. Let it burn down without adding wood until the flames are mostly gone and you have a thick bed of orange coals. That is your stove.

The 30+ minute burn of the starter means the fire gets fully established while you set up camp, even if the wood is a little damp from the night before.

Cooking with coals

  • Rake a layer of coals to one side of the ring. Set the Dutch oven on them. Shovel more coals onto the lid.
  • Rule of thumb for 350°F: twice the oven's diameter in briquettes total (a 12-inch oven gets about 24), with two thirds on the lid and one third underneath for baking, or the reverse for stews and frying.
  • Rotate the oven a quarter turn, and the lid a quarter turn the other way, every 15 minutes to avoid hot spots.
  • Refresh the coals from the fire every 30 to 40 minutes on a long cook.

Three recipes that always work

  • Chili or stew: brown the meat in the oven over the coals, add everything else, lid on, mostly bottom heat, 1 to 2 hours.
  • Peach cobbler: two cans of peaches in the bottom, a box of yellow cake mix sprinkled dry on top, a stick of butter in pats, lid on, mostly top heat, 40 minutes.
  • Campfire bread: store-bought pizza dough or biscuit dough in a greased oven, lid on, mostly top heat, 20 to 30 minutes until golden.

Cleaning up

Scrape out the oven, wipe it with a paper towel, and rinse with hot water only (no soap on seasoned cast iron). Dry it over the last of the coals and wipe a thin coat of oil inside before packing. Drown the fire, stir it, and drown it again before you leave camp.

Fire safety basics

  • Never use lighter fluid, gasoline or any accelerant with a fire starter. You do not need it.
  • Keep a bucket of water, a hose or a Class A extinguisher within reach.
  • Never leave a fire unattended, and never let children light a fire starter.
  • Check local burn bans and campground rules before lighting anything outdoors.
  • Burn only in a well-ventilated space. Indoor fireplaces and wood stoves need an open damper and a clean chimney.
  • Let ashes cool completely (24 hours is a good rule) before disposing of them in a metal container.

Shop the Box of 5 ($10) or try a single starter ($2). Family-owned and made in Edinburg, Texas. More guides on our Blog page.

California Proposition 65 Warning

⚠ WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including wood dust and soot, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, and carbon monoxide, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

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