Do you love cooking on the campfire but hate the prospect of doing dishes afterward, even only a few? While there are a variety of ways you can make savory meals and sumptuous desserts without using every dish in your arsenal, one of the most creative and efficient of these is to cook with paper over a campfire.
If cooking with paper doesn’t make any sense to you because, well, paper is flammable, you’re in for a surprise. Using this method takes a bit of trial and error, but there are several culinary delights that you can enjoy using nothing more than paperware and a campfire. Make sure that when you cook with paper over a campfire it is always over hot coals — never flames! When cooking is complete, you can eat right out of your paperware and toss it in the fire to clean up.
*Note: Be sure your paper products are unwaxed, as the wax could ignite your food!
Boil Water
This is where you’ll get the hang of how to cook with paper over a campfire. Allow a bed of coals to develop in your fire, and when the flames die down, place a nearly full paper cup of water onto a grate over the coals.
The top of the cup will burn if heat reaches it, but the inside contents will be fine. Once boiling, carefully remove the paper cup with heat-safe gloves or mitts and a pair of long tongs.
Bacon and Eggs
Line the bottom of a paper lunch sack with one or two strips of bacon, cut in half. Crack an egg on top. Roll the top of the bag down a couple rolls, and pierce a roasting stick through the top.
Much like a marshmallow, you want to slowly roast your paper bag over the coals, not in them. The bacon grease will prevent the bottom of the bag from igniting, but the rest of the bag will still be flammable. After about 10 minutes, remove from heat, open the sack and roll the sides down, and grab a fork for a hearty breakfast.
You can also hard boil an egg by following the instructions above for boiling water and adding an egg. Allow the water to come to a boil, then safely remove the cup and let stand for 12 minutes. Crack open and chow down.
Fish Fillet
Many people enjoy their fish fillets cooked directly on the grill, or in foil pouches with butter, vegetables, and seasoning. Try to cook with paper over a campfire next time for a different flavor sensation!
Soak a flattened paper sack and a couple pages of newspaper so that they are completely wet, but not falling apart. Rub each side of your fillet with oil or butter, season, and place on top of the wet paper sack.
Wrap the fish and paper sack in the wet newspaper. Place the parcel over glowing coals for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillet. Remove the packet from the coals with tongs and allow to cool for a couple minutes. Squeeze a little lemon when you open it up and you’re in business!
Featured Image from Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash
