Top Tips for Cooking on an Open Fire Cooker

Enjoying hot and tasty food over a warm and cozy campfire is the perfect ending to an evening under the stars. But how do you go about cooking food to perfection when you’ve left all your handy kitchen accessories back home? In case you were thinking you’ve bitten off more than you can chew attempting to cook over the campfire, we’ve got you covered With the KUDU open fire cooker and accessories. And our top tips for campfire grilling.

Prep ahead of time

We get it – camping is synonymous with spontaneity. But when hunger strikes after a full and adventurous day outdoors, even the happiest camper can turn into the grumpiest camper when there’s no food in sight. Therefore, prepping a meal plan before you start cooking over an open fire cooker can save you precious cooking time. Just in time for when hungry bellies start to grumble.

In addition to having a meal plan ready, you could also get your veggies diced and sliced and in a bag ready to go. And prepare your dipping and marinating sauces and have them jarred ready for use on the open fire cooker. Admittedly, veggies are often challenging to prepare over a campfire, so if you struggle to find the appropriate cookware to cook your veggies in, KUDU has all the campfire accessories you’ve been looking for.

Charcoal or wood

Think of campfire cooking, and most times, one usually thinks of using wood as a fuel source. But charcoal can also be effective for cooking over an open fire grill. However, the choice between charcoal or wood is dependent on the grill master, really. That said, firewood does tend to be more environmentally friendly and healthier because it is more natural. However, if you’re just as much a fan of charcoal and find yourself in a pickle, you can still combine wood and charcoal to experience the best of both worlds.

Enjoy the process

Take time to enjoy the campfire cooking experience and the scenery. So often, we can get lost in the flurry of activity that is camping. However, to truly enjoy the experience, we need to savor every moment. This also means taking time to stack your wood bit by bit to ensure that you don’t burn the wood too quickly. Also, ensure that you use the wood sparingly, only as and when needed. Taking this laid-back approach to burning wood gives the wood and charcoal time to burn down sufficiently. This will ensure a controlled and evenly heated base, which is best for cooking meat on an open fire cooker.

Try to avoid the wind

Cooking over an open fire cooker in strong wind can be a bit of a disaster. Therefore, you want to avoid strong winds (but welcome a gentle breeze) where you can. Also, make sure to set up your campfire in an open area where the open flames won’t be likely to catch alight anything too close to it.

Use an open fire cooker grill

Grilling your food ensures that you cook your food more evenly (due to its slow-cooking process) rather than burning it to a crisp on an open flame. Grilling can also give your meat a one-of-a-kind smoky flavor and a seared crust that is difficult to achieve otherwise.

Dress up for the occasion

Cooking over an open fire cooker can get a little hot, to say the least. So, you’ll want to make sure that you’re dressed up for the occasion, and by up, we mean gloves, closed shoes, and long trousers and long sleeves to avoid being mistakenly burned by wafting flames or wispy embers.

Keep some water on standby

Having water on standby is a good safety measure in case of a flame going sideways rather than upwards. While there is a good chance you probably won’t need it anyway, water is always nice to have on hand (especially when camping, where water is often in scarce supply) to wash hands and dirty campfire dishes.

And lastly, don’t let it overcook

It’s so easy to inadvertently get something similar to jerky, rather tender steak simply by cooking it a few extra minutes too long. Cooking over an open fire cooker is usually hotter than your average stovetop cooking. Furthermore, the residual cooking heat tends to last much longer, which means that your food will continue cooking for at least 15 to 20 minutes after cooking it over an open fire cooker. Therefore, keep an eye on your meat closely and take it off before it is fully cooked if you don’t want rubbery meat or seafood.

An open fire cooker ideal for campfire settings

Campfire cooking is exciting – no doubt about it. What’s not to enjoy about spending quality time with friends and family under the twinkling stars. So if you need a grill that you can take anywhere, the KUDU is the ideal open fire cooker for you.

Want to know how more about how you can elevate your campfire cooking experience?