Crackling fire. 

Billowing smoke. 

Sizzling meat. 

The good stuff. 

We are not a household that uses meat or butter sparingly. In fact, if you ask my husband, he’ll likely say butter is my love language and that I may or may not hoarde it. Campfire cooking is perfect for those of us who appreciate the heartiness of a good hunk of meat and crave the bubbling perfection of melted butter. 

We have gone camping twice in as many weeks (surprisingly, our 6-month-old sleeps better in a tent than at home) and while I spent most of my childhood outdoors, I was at a bit of a loss for what to do in terms of sustinence as an adult responsible for feeding the family whilst camping. Luckily I had a stroke of inspiration when we found an enameled pot at the store as we prepared for our first trip. 

Side note: are you even supposed to use an enamled pot over a fire? I probably should’ve checked that out before I fed my family from a pot charred over the fire. (I checked and Google said it’s a-okay, but do your own research as you see fit.)

I certainly do not claim to be an expert in anything, much less in campfire cooking, but I do know a few basic principles. The first thing is that we need coals, not fire, to properly cook our food. The second is to use butter. A lot of butter. More butter than you think. Or bacon fat, tallow, etc. but I LOVE butter. 

While I know these two basic principles, I ignored one of them. And y’all know it sure wasn’t skimping on the butter! We arrived at the campsite and I was ravenous, so I badgered my husband to start the fire and promptly began making taco soup (which turned into taco chili – check out the recipe!) on a new fire with flames and no coals. And you know what? It turned out amazing. So maybe it will be easier to cook with coals, but it is totally possible to cook over open flames. 

So, with that, I encourage you to get outside this summer and cook anything over the fire. The food tastes better, the conversation is more enjoyable, and you will feel more at peace with the world and yourself.