Have you ever noticed that cooking over a campfire always tastes better? Every year of my childhood we would head to Bright for our big family Easter camping trip. It was a time of my life filled with many happy memories, way too much chocolate and 10 days spent riding our bikes everywhere. It was also a great time for campfire food and by far my favourite camping meal was our Easter Saturday campfire roast.
One heavy cast iron pot would be filled with marinated lamb, which my Godmother had lovingly prepared during the week. The other pot would be loaded with Potato, pumpkin, carrots and other delish roasted veggies. Everyone loved every bite, even those of us who weren’t the biggest fans of a roast dinner. It was something we would wait for and it took hours of cooking over the open fire. Just the right amount of hot coals had to be built up and then during the cooking time it was closely monitored and tested along the way. It’s these moments that make for great childhood camping memories.
I am sure during the cooking process the odd slug of beer was dribbled in for good measure and of course extra flavour. I hope you will give it a try next time you go camping and enjoy the memories as much as I have.
Marinated Campfire Lamb
Ingredients:
- Large leg of Lamb, boned (2kg)
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tbsp. teriyaki sauce
- ¼ cup mint, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- Salt & Pepper
- 3 tbsp. oil
Method:
Combine all ingredients and pour over lamb. Leave to marinate overnight turning lamb every now and then. Cook lamb in camp oven over glowing coals. Preferably on Easter Saturday after a visit to the local pub. Turn often and baste with marinade. Allow about 20min each side for meat to still be a little pink in the centre. Or if you rather 30-5min each side for well-done lamb. To be enjoyed with a fine glass of red wine and good friends!
More Ideas
Big thank you to fellow campers of Facebook for your recipe ideas. I think what we can take from this is that with an open fire and a camp oven the sky is the limit!
Bee’s Camping Donuts.
- Make up a pile of simple white bread jam sandwiches.
- Whip the crusts off and cut into 4 squares!
- Dunk them in pancake batter (made from scratch or shake n bake)
- Cook them in a fry pan as if you’re cooking pancakes.
- Roll in sugar and a bit of cinnamon!
- Hot jam donuts!
Angela’s Eggy Boats.
- Fill some stuff and stand tortillas, with whatever chopped up ingredients you like (normally omelette ingredients) diced bacon, chorizo, capsicum, onion mushroom, tomato,
- Wisk together grated cheese, eggs, salt and pepper
- Pour the egg mixture over tortillas (don’t fill it too much as it expands)
- We cook ours in a Foil tray in our ziggy or you could could cook them over hot campfire coals in a cast iron pot.
Keep it Simple
If you are looking for something a little simpler but equally as delicious try a few of these ideas. All of these have be suggested by fellow campers so they are tried and tested and loved.
- Chow Mein. A great way to use up vegetables before you head for home.
- Baked spuds cooked under campfire coals and the endless toppings are always a winner.
- Damper jaffles cooked over the campfire filled with ham, cheese, and tomato, or cooked chook with avocado
- Slow cooked Pulled pork on the campfire. Was excellent!
- Nachos, Roast avocado eggs, Veggie lasagne, Beef cheek, Pork belly, Apple cake, all separate meals. All cooked in Dutch oven over the campfire.
- Pizzas are easy to do and everyone loves them. Something about camping and a pizza goes down beautifully.
- Roasted bananas filled with delicious melted chocolate, sprinkles and anything else you like.
- Camp Fire scones. Trust me on this one.
- Steak, fried eggs and baked beans. Because it’s easy and done in one frying pan.
- Grilled meats with grilled veggies, served with good pickles and my favourite gourmet chilli sauce. Let the smoke and coals kiss the goodies with some campfire flavour.
- Stuffed caps in the camp oven filled with onion, zucchini, feta & relish.
Now you have no reason to be stuck for campfire meal ideas this Autumn. If you need more inspiration the Facebook group The Best Free Camping Spots in Victoria was an absolute treasure trove of knowledge.