Mountain Dude - Easy Campfire Cookbook: Simple Skillet, Skewer, Dutch Oven, and Foil Packet Recipes for Cooking over Flames and Coals

This book is dedicated to my beloved wife,
Claire. You are my greatest adventure.

Copyright 2022 by Rockridge Press, Oakland, California

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Interior and Designer: John Calmeyer
Art Producer: Tom Hood
Editor: Anne Goldberg
Production Editor: Andrew Yackira
Production Manager: Martin Worthington

All photographs Darren Muir, 2021 with food styling by Yolanda Muir, with the exception of courtesy of Claire McCoig.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-63878-035-9
eBook ISBN: 978-1-63807-685-8
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CONTENTS

W elcome to the Easy Campfire Cookbook ! My name is Todd, otherwise known as Mountain Dude. I have been camping, living, and cooking outdoors since the age of sixteen. Being fortunate enough to have lived and experienced this unique lifestyle for decades has provided the opportunity to develop the skills and tasks needed for living simply in the great outdoors. I have learned to make cooking easy and delicious, evenor especiallyover a campfire. I have developed flavorful recipes that everyone can enjoy, whether you cook from a backpack in the backcountry or camp from your car or RV in designated campsites around the world. I am excited to share this knowledge with you and teach you how to easily create delicious breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and desserts over the campfire.

Cooking over an open fire is nourishing for your body and soul. Building a cooking fire is peaceful and intentional because each log is placed for the purpose of creating a meal for yourself or your loved ones. Part of the joy of creating these recipes is sharing them with others. Some of the recipes in this book are adapted from old recipes that I received from my family, who have lived in the Appalachian Mountains for generations. This ritual of sharing recipes for special family events, as well as daily living, ties us to one another, person to person, family to family, generation to generation. Thanks for joining me in this tradition of great-tasting food!

This book contains 40 delicious recipes that require minimal equipment yet create savory, flavorful foodsthe flavors of the fire and the food blend to create delicious results. I will share with you how to cook in cast-iron skillets, Dutch ovens, foil packets, and on a stick or skewer over the coals, on a campfire grate, and the flames from a campfire. You will learn how to

build your own cooking fire, step-by-step,

stock the essential equipment needed,

create your own portable pantry to use on your camping adventures, and

pack your cooler efficiently.

You also will learn proper leave-no-trace camping etiquette, as well as cooking and cleanup best practices. Lets get to know each other and get cooking!

C ampfire cooking is easy, fun, and delicious and only requires minimal equipment. When you follow the recipes and practices in this book, you will consistently create delicious snacks, meals, and desserts in your own camp, wherever it may be. Easy campfire cooking is perfect for backpack, car, or RV camping when you dont want to lug a stove along. In this chapter, you will learn about the essentials of building your fire, the cooking equipment needed, as well as how to prepare and cook delicious recipes over an open fire.

Easy Campfire Cooking

Creating meals together and sharing delicious food builds unforgettable memories. For generations, people have shared recipes for lifes most special occasions and adventures. Whether you are camping with friends and family or getting away to the wilderness by yourself, the process of preparing your own food brings you back to the basics. Easy campfire cooking is relaxing, simple, and always delicious.

Easy-to-find ingredients, which are available at most grocery and retail food outlets, and simple food preparation are the keys to an enjoyable and great-tasting campfire-cooked dish. Keeping your food selections simple means you have more control over the ingredients, meals are less expensive and easier to transport and store, and you produce less waste. You can even satisfy picky eaters by modifying a recipe to suit any taste.

Campfire cooking is delicious, whether youre making fire-roasted vegetables, soft and fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, spicy chili, or donuts. The aroma and flavor of fire-cooked food evokes the feeling of a home-away-from-home Sunday dinner. Easy campfire cooking allows you, your family, and your friends to experience the adventure together. Your campfire meals become part of the memories that connect you.