I love camping at sites that allow fires and have just come back from one such place. I have managed to cook once over a fire in the past with my cast iron pot but the bottom got very burnt as it cooked very quickly. I noticed that Ray Mears (all bow before the God Mears) used a mesh on legs device over the top of a fire recently. Where can I get such a thing and what else can anyone recommend for cooking over a fire.
Definitely need a toasting fork - the kids were desperate to do toast but the marshmallow skewers weren't up to the job.
Oh and I'm very chuffed with myself. I managed to light damp firewood without firelighters because the firelighters had got too damp to light. My arms still ache from fanning the resulting smoke with a metal plate for hours on end but we had a fabulous blaze by the time I'd finished. We were the subject of 'fire envy' from others....
Quote: Originally posted by madelinew on 01/6/2008
I love camping at sites that allow fires and have just come back from one such place. I have managed to cook once over a fire in the past with my cast iron pot but the bottom got very burnt as it cooked very quickly. I noticed that Ray Mears (all bow before the God Mears) used a mesh on legs device over the top of a fire recently. Where can I get such a thing and what else can anyone recommend for cooking over a fire.
Definitely need a toasting fork - the kids were desperate to do toast but the marshmallow skewers weren't up to the job.
Oh and I'm very chuffed with myself. I managed to light damp firewood without firelighters because the firelighters had got too damp to light. My arms still ache from fanning the resulting smoke with a metal plate for hours on end but we had a fabulous blaze by the time I'd finished. We were the subject of 'fire envy' from others....
a mesh on legs device over the top of a fire You weld them up yourself if you have the skill or take a pic of it to local fabricator. They should be able to make one in a couple of hours.
what else can anyone recommend for cooking over a fire. Have a read of the various Bushcraft forums. These people are pretty sound CLICKY
desperate to do toast but the marshmallow skewers weren't up to the job Toast is always difficult. Were you car camping or backpacking? Car camping and you have got room for a toasting fork: Backpacking and you wouldn't want the extra weight.
Oh and I'm very chuffed with myself. I managed to light damp firewood without firelighters because the firelighters had got too damp to light. Well done. There is a Fire lighter product that will light even when wet but I'm sorry I cannot fidn the name of it at the moment. It comes as little waxed paper bits and you break a bit off to use it. - Some Silver Birch will also do the trick as will the old fail-safe of vaseline rubbed into a piece of cotton wool
Thanks Happybonzo. Especially like the ideas for firelighting - cotton wool impregnated with vaseline wouldn't take up any room or weight.
OH is pretty handy so I'll get him to make me a cooking stand.
And car camping. My back's no longer up to backpacking.
It would be great to go without the cooker as long as I was guaranteed being able to light a fire to boil water and cook. There was a family of 3 squashed into a tiny tent near us and she was very efficient at firelighting and cooking. They arrived on pushbikes.
Years ago we used to find several large, evenish stones and build a kind of wall with huge gaps in it around the fire then put a piece of chicken wire over the top to stand pans on. It worked!
Quote: Originally posted by CaravanSkier on 01/6/2008
Years ago we used to find several large, evenish stones and build a kind of wall with huge gaps in it around the fire then put a piece of chicken wire over the top to stand pans on. It worked!
Yes, that works but if you do go off to places that are less frequented you'll find that everyone has made their own fire-pit and it looks terrible; apart from being terribly destructive.
Its a bit like the Numpties who throw their aluminium cans and wrappers into the fire rather than take them home. There is a litter of little silver flakes that take tens of years to decay.
dont forget the beach, we often buld a fire pit on the beach, use a wire mesh over top and hey presto! We even once cooked a whole roast 'a la ray mears' this way, the only problem was our dog kept trying to dig it up !
Annie
------------- Annie :)
Its better to regret things you've done than things you have never tried
ex wd swedish trangia £5-£10 0n the net add a little water to the meths then it doesn't smoke so much worth buying a pucker trangia meths fuel bottle. used mine on and off for the past 5 years works every time (no jets to block) for a brew consider a Kelly Kettle, use barberque fire lights and it will boil up in about 5-6 mins with twigs about 10-12.
Quote: Originally posted by happybonzo on 01/6/2008
Quote: Originally posted by CaravanSkier on 01/6/2008Years ago we used to find several large, evenish stones and build a kind of wall with huge gaps in it around the fire then put a piece of chicken wire over the top to stand pans on. It worked!
Yes, that works but if you do go off to places that are less frequented you'll find that everyone has made their own fire-pit and it looks terrible; apart from being terribly destructive.
Its a bit like the Numpties who throw their aluminium cans and wrappers into the fire rather than take them home. There is a litter of little silver flakes that take tens of years to decay.
I`m not sure I get your point? When you leave any camp site it should be tidied up. You don`t need to leave the stones in a circle and you would surely take away with you the chicken wire etc. If you are referring to the damage done by the fire to the ground well any responsible camper would be sensitve to the enviroment. Whatever you do in life there will always be those who care about the world and those that don`t.
Campsites that allow fires usually have areas marked out especially for that purpose, at least in my experience. If I were lighting fires anywhere else I'd be responsible about it.
But then I am fussy enough that I make sure I leave a minimal mark behind on the grass with my tent and lift groundsheets and try to air sections on different days so that the grass isn't all yellow and smelly when I leave. I've had criticism when making that point here before but I have to say I am beginning to steer away from the campsites where people don't care now.
You get to know which sites they are with experience. I like to go back to nature a bit when I camp - which is why I camp. It's not just about a cheap way to go on holiday. Not for me anyway.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Cooking over an open fire
