Campfire cuisine: Camping gets cultural with open-fire tacos

Camping got a little more cultural recently when our family decided to head to the campground for the day on May 5 … a.k.a. Cinco de Mayo.

And even though it was short notice, another family that we’re really good friends with was able to come join us. Wanting to make something different to eat to mark the day, we decided to try tacos over the campfire.Now, we didn’t reinvent the wheel here. There is no secret recipe or special trick. We simply used a large covered pan over the campfire to brown some ground beef. Before you use your favorite pan or other metal cookware over the fire, be sure to read the disclaimer on my previous post about the yucky black film that you’ll be scrubbing if you don’t protect it with a layer of liquid dish soap or aluminum foil.

As for campfire, it is important to do your pre-cooking homework in terms of building the fire. For a six-step process to the perfect campfire, click here.

While browning the meat, it is advised to use a lid to limit ash from getting into the food … and it helps hold in heat and speed up the cooking process. It is also important to keep stirring the meat while cooking … campfires donThe meat seasoning process was simplified thanks to using a premade packet of taco seasoning.

We did have a mini-dilemma when it came to measuring out the water necessary to add to the meat-and-seasoning combination. Measuring cups were no where to be found. Fortunately my wife and our friend Duane were quick on their feet in finding an alternative — the Mason jars we were using for drinking glasses had measuring lines. Very cool.

As the meat simmered and seasoned over the fire, a smorgasbord of toppings were prepared. Taco sheels, sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, taco sauce and more goodies were lined up on the wooden spool (was used for cable) table we have for serving (another of my wife’s many great camping ideas).

Again, this wasn’t even close to being a major undertaking in terms of cooking or recipes, but that is part of what made it so nice. It gave us more time to enjoy our company and the serene environment our campground offers.

What are your favorite foods to cook over a campfire? Do you have any suggestions of something more unique that we could try at some point and report back on?

~ by zaktansky on May 11, 2013.