When you’re planning a summer holiday in the great outdoors, campfire cooking should definitely be on your list of things to do – there are many tasty and simple recipes that you must try!

Tips for campfires

Some basic tips include burning dry wood to create a clean burning fire. If the wood is damp, it will create a lot of smoke. It will burn weakly and cause pollution for your fellow campers.

Try to build your fire on rock or use an established firepit where possible. At the very least, build it on bare soil to avoid any surrounding foliage igniting. If it has been burning all evening, it will take more than one bucket of water to put it out properly before bedtime.

If there’s a medium to strong wind, your fire will be hazardous, as sparks can ignite a forest fire, especially in dry summer weather. Unless you can provide adequate shelter from the wind, you should not consider an outdoor campfire in these conditions.

Please note: all campsites have their own rules regarding campfires and BBQs, so you should always seek permission first.

What camping cookware is needed?

You can whip up most camping recipes over an open fire, but if you’re in an area where a campfire isn’t permitted, you will need to invest in a small stove of some kind.

Many campers take along a gas camping stove, with disposable gas cartridges to fuel it. A versatile compact cooker and grill will do the job. Camping cookware should be kept simple where possible.

Position the grill on rocks or on some wet logs. Place the food directly onto the grill or use cookware to prepare your meal. A small spray bottle can come in useful for shooting at any rogue flames that might be caused by the food dripping or splashes of fat.

Now for the tasty bit: take a look at these finger-licking favourites!

Sausage wraps

Sausage wraps are probably the simplest campfire cuisine you can ever make. Grill the sausages and when cooked, wrap them in tortillas. Serve with your favourite condiments such as onion chutney, pickled red cabbage, mustard or tomato ketchup, all of which work a treat.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver suggests serving them with cheesy mash, but because of the preparation time, cook this at home in advance and then take it with you in a cool box to heat up around the campfire.

Campfire pizza

You will need one large pita bread, half a cup of pizza sauce, three slices of salami and three slices of bacon cut into strips, one cup of mixed vegetables and one cup of grated cheese. First, spread the pita bread with pizza sauce and add grated cheese to each one.

Top with salami, bacon and vegetables. Then, slide the pizzas onto a foil base that is three sheets of foil thick. Cook over the campfire until the cheese has melted and serve while hot.

There are plenty of other topping options that you could choose.

Chargrilled chicken kebabs

Eating skewered chicken and chunky vegetables around a campfire is a fun part of any camping trip. To serve four people, you’ll need four diced chicken breasts, two bell peppers, a bottle of barbecue sauce, two diced red onions and, of course, a packet of skewers.

Mix the chicken, onions, peppers and barbecue sauce together in a large bowl. Thread the chicken onto the skewers with alternate slices of peppers and onions. Place them over the griddle or barbecue and rotate periodically until the vegetables are chargrilled and the chicken is well cooked. Again, you can change the ingredients to create a vegetarian alternative.

S’mores

Your evening around the campfire wouldn’t be complete without a dessert. There’s nothing better than sweet, gooey, chocolate s’mores.

You’ll need 400g of cookies or biscuits of any type, 300g of marshmallows and 400g of milk chocolate.

First, wedge small pieces of milk chocolate between two biscuits. Then, toast a couple of marshmallows over the campfire and sandwich the biscuits and chocolates together with the gooey marshmallows, which will also melt the chocolate.

Mmm, I might be tempted to skip the mains and go straight to the dessert!

The outdoor adventurer

A great way to experience freedom, camping is so much fun! Whatever our day-to-day responsibilities, it can help us de-stress, unwind and reconnect with family and friends like no other holiday can.