Beyond the weenie: Best food to cook over the campfire this summer

Our family recently installed a firepit in our back yard — it's basically a big metal tire rim with a pad of bricks underneath — and we've been enjoying roasting marshmallows and making campfire s'mores. And, there's the occasional wiener on a coat hanger.

But we all got to thinking — surely there's something a little more or better we could be cooking up? 

I asked P.E.I. chefs Robert Pendergast and Michael Smith, cooking enthusiast and CBC Radio personality Mitch Cormier and you, dear readers, on Facebook — thanks for all the ideas and photos.

Yes he wood

"We went camping at Kouchibouguac National Park. When we discovered the cool firebox stove on our site, three days of meals that were planned and stored in our icebox became campfire meals!" Pendergast shared. He had brought along a couple of cast-iron pans, P.E.I. beef patties and whole potatoes as well as onions. 

"It was a blend of wood stove and campfire cookery!" Pendergast said. "The end result was a very juicy, smoky, beefy meal enjoyed by our daughter as much as by us."

He also improvised a grill to cook fish fillets using the oven rack from an electric stove.

"One simple rule of thumb — be sure to cook over natural wood fire (or charcoal). Stay away from lumber, treated wood, anything painted, or man-made products such as plastic," Pendergast advises. 

The steelhead trout was lightly cured with a mixture of half salt, half sugar, Pendergast explained. He rinsed off the cure after four hours then let it dry in the fridge for a couple hours. He made a small fire in the yard and when there were lots of glowing coals, placed the oven rack on to heat. 

He lightly oiled the fish all over, turning it by hand in a deep plate. Some cracked pepper completed the seasoning. It cooked over the smoky embers for five to six minutes, then on the flesh side for a minute or two more.

"It was enjoyed warm with a salad, then again in the morning with toast and poached eggs," he said. 

Fire works for him

Another chef who knows a thing or two about cooking with real flames is Michael Smith, who owns FireWorks Feast at the Inn at Bay Fortune. He cooks over an eight-metre-long brick-lined wood-fired grill — no dials or switches, just old-school fire.

Smith shared his all-time favourite summer salad — grilled pineapple and red onion.

"It's amazing how much savoury flavour your grill can add to a simple pineapple and some red onion. Next time you fire up the works try this salad and you'll have a new favourite for your repertoire too!" he said. 

Grilled pineapple and red onion salad

• One whole pineapple, skinned but not cored and cut into thick rings.
• Two red onions sliced into a few very thick rings.
• A few generous splashes of olive oil.
• A sprinkle or two of sea salt and lots of freshly-ground pepper. 
• One lemon, juiced and zested.
• A few handfuls or more fresh basil leaves.

"Preheat your grill. Brush or drizzle the pineapple and onion with olive oil. Evenly coat it then season to taste with salt and pepper. Try to keep the onion rings intact as you do," instructs Smith. 

"Grill the pineapple for about five minutes per side, until golden grill marks appear and the fruit softens. Meanwhile grill the onion until soft and lightly charred.

"Quarter the grilled pineapple slices into wedges and roughly chop the red onions. Toss everything with the lemon zest and juice and as many whole basil leaves as you can get your hands on. This salad is very good tossed with a grilled chicken breast or two. Try tossing in some shredded coconut," Smith said. Sounds so fresh and summery, thanks Michael!

The campfire cook

Former Boy Scout leader and CBC Radio personality Mitch Cormier is a grilling aficionado who knows his way around a campfire. 

"Foil is my best friend at the campsite — I use it for cooking many things and have managed to do everything from a turkey to dessert over a hot bed of coals," said Cormier. 

"One of the tricks I've learned is to let the kids build their own meals, and the tinfoil dinner fits the bill perfectly. Simple and easy to prepare for the first day of the trip, or keep the vegetables whole and the meat frozen for later in your trip," he advises. 

Tinfoil dinners

• 1 roll of heavy duty foil.
• 4 potatoes sliced thin with the skin.
• 3 carrots sliced thin.
• 1 onion sliced thin.
• Butter, salt and pepper to taste.

"Start with a large piece of tinfoil, shiny side in — you're trying to absorb heat here, not reflect it. Using butter to coat the inside of the rectangle in a thin film leaving a two inch edge butter free.  

"Starting with the potato, layer onion, carrots and thin little hamburger patties in the middle then carrot, onion and potato. Add salt and pepper to taste. Best part, let the kids do their own and they can skip what they don't like.   

"Fold the foil into a packet being sure to double-seal the edges. Your goal here is to trap the moisture the vegetables will give off while cooking using steam to help heat your meal. Be careful when placing on the coals not to pierce the foil. When the packet puffs up turn it over and leave in the coals for another 10 minutes or so to finish cooking.

"Remove from coals and allow to cool a bit before opening, and please be careful of the rush of steam that will come out of the packet. 

"For dessert hollow out an orange and fill it with your favourite gingerbread or muffin batter. Wrap the orange in foil and toss it in the coals while your eating dinner — it should be done in time for dessert," Cormier instructs. 

All pork all the time 

Ranald MacFarlane owns Pleasant Pork in Fernwood, P.E.I., and grills his many pork creations over a wood-fired grill. 

Ground pork burgers, pork and veggie kabobs, bola bola which are Filipino meat balls, and bacon-wrapped furters -- he wraps two slices of bacon around each dog. "Tip is know your animals or farmer personally," he said of what makes them taste so good. 

MacFarlane's top tips are "low heat. Don't use pressure-treated wood."

What you said

Rosemary Compton of Charlottetown often cooks on the family's fire pit and barbecue. Via Facebook, she shared a recent hearty lunch done simply in a tin container with a side of corn. 

Angela Douglas shared her simple breakfast made over a beach campfire at Blooming Point, P.E.I. 

Margo Connors suggested biscuit dough wrapped around a stick -- even Pillsbury is good, she said. "When done, take off stick and put jam down the hole."

Chris Batchilder shared his family's campfire favourite -- "good old tinfoil dinner. Nothing better for camping," he said. 

Pam Scott said she learned to cook over a campfire before she cooked in a kitchen. 

"As a kid I was taught to build a grid of green wood over a low fire," she wrote on Facebook. "We would wrap freshly-caught fish cleaned and stuffed with lemon and onions in tin foil right over the fire 'grid' for about 15 minutes. Potatoes were wrapped in tin foil and pierced and put into the coals for about 30 minutes or less."

One of Stephen Guy-McGrath's summer favourites is lobster cooked over a beach fire. He offered his how-to advice. 

"Build a big raging fire. Pull coals out to a cooking area. Keep feeding big fire and by extension the coal cooking area. Jab the point of a chef's knife through the head of the lobster to kill it. Place on its back on the cooling coals. Cook for same amount of time per pound as boiling plus approximately 10 minutes. Flipping right-side up for the last 1/3 of the time. Serve with garlic butter. The smokiness of the fire makes it the best tasting lobster you will ever eat," he said. 

Melissa Batchilder also suggested baking muffin or cake mix in an orange — "Fun treat we always had at Guides and now when we camp."

And finally, Tamara Hubley Little had some campfire cooking advice: "Coat the outside of your cooking pan in dish soap. Makes cleanup a snap."

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