Camp fire cooking comes in several forms but skewer cooking has got to be the easiest. With a minimum of supplies and equipment you can be roasting up several tasty treats over your campfire or fire pit in no time. While you can’t cook everything on a skewer there are several great, basic foods that you can cook on your open fire with a skewer.
Skewer Cooking Guide
- What do you need? – Obviously, you need a skewer of some type. That’s it! No fancy tripods, grills or other equipment. A skewer can be anything from a long stick to a specifically designed skewer.
- What kind of skewer should you use? – Two important tips: (1) Ideally, use a metal skewer. A wooden one can catch on fire, especially with longer cooking times. (2) Try to find skewers for your camp fire cooking which have at least 2 prongs like the ones pictured here. With only a single prong your food will spin on the skewer and is more difficult to control. Two or more prongs holds the food more firmly and allows you to turn the food easily without slipping. Some skewers have additional features. For example, the pictured skewers telescope for easy storage and so they don’t take up much room in your backpack. Also, these skewers have a ring that allows you to spin the skewer rod with your fingers without having to spin the entire skewer. This is not necessary but just helps make the cooking process easier.
- What kinds of food can you cook on a skewer? – Keep two things in mind. A skewer cannot hold very heavy items and it can be tiring to hold and turn the skewer over your fire for long periods of time. Therefore, you should stick to foods which are smaller and which do not have very prolonged cooking times. Pre-marinate and/or season your foods just as you wood otherwise. If all else fails, everything is enhanced by a generous dash of salt and some pepper. Some examples of good skewer camp fire cooking foods are listed below:
- Sausages
- Hot Dogs
- Small Poultry/Game Birds (Quail, Pigeon Squabs, Partridges, Poussin, Game Hens, etc.)
- Cut-up pieces of larger meats (chicken, beef, lamb, etc.) – Think shish-kabobs!
- Firm-fleshed vegetables (zucchini, squash, onions, potatoes, etc.)
- And don’t forget the classic…Marshmallows! – Bring along some chocolate and Graham crackers to make smores for dessert!
- How do you use the skewer? – Simple! Just skewer your food, making sure to pierce the thickest portion of your food and to push it back onto the skewer as far as possible. This will help to prevent slippage so that your food does not accidentally fall off and into your campfire! After your seasoned food is in place, simply hold the food over or near your fire and slowly rotate until it is cooked to your liking. One important tip is to realize that most foods do not cook well directly in the flames. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to simply sit your food in the middle of the fire. This will burn the surface of the food quickly to an unappetizing char. By the time the middle is cooked the outside will be coal! So be sure to hold your food at some distance from the actual flames. Don’t worry, if you have a good hot fire then your food will cook nicely as long as it is in the vicinity of the heat. Be patient and slowly rotate the food so that it cooks evenly.
That’s it! One of the easiest types of camp fire cooking. So for quick and easy campfire meals, don’t forget your skewer!
Hi, I’m Adam and I’m a HUGE fan of Food and Cooking.
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