Can you Use Stainless Cookware Over an Open Fire?
Over the weekend my kids wanted to go camping in the backyard. We were planning on making some food over the fire so I grabbed a pot from my kitchen and brought it outside. On my way out I thought to myself can you cook with a stainless steel pot or pan over a fire? The answer is, absolutely. In fact, in some cases, it may actually be preferred. Though stainless steel isn’t as popular of an option for hiking and camping cookware as things like aluminum, titanium and even cast iron, it has a few advantages over the others.
Stainless Steel Heats evenly
With lightweight materials like aluminum and titanium, you may find it hard to cook because the thin metal heats up and cools down very quickly. Therefore, it makes trying to regulate your heat somewhat of a chore. Those other metals often struggle with hot spots over direct heat. These hotspots can cause your food to burn in some spots while not fully heating in others. These lightweight options are wonderful for backpacking and heating up ready-made meals. However, if your intention is to actually prepare your own food out there you may be better served with stainless steel. It does a much better job with regulating its temperature as well as dispersing even heat throughout the pot or pan in order to avoid the troublesome hot spots. Stainless is a little bit heavier to carry but well worth the advantages it brings.
Stainless Pots are hard to break
I have no idea how hard you plan on being with your pots and pans, but if you may be dropping your cookware down a mountain before using it I suggest you pack stainless steel. Unlike aluminum or even cast iron Stainless pots will dent and bend long before the crack. Once you have a crack in your pot or man you may as well throw the thing out. On the other hand, as long as your cookware holds water you are in business. It doesn’t matter how battle worn it gets.
Stainless is easy to clean
In case you didn’t already know stainless steel will not rust. The same can’t be said for cast Iron. so, if you are going to a moist or salty environment (yay for beach camping) it’s going to be a great choice. Also, stainless is just an easier material in general to clean. You have to be aware that when you cook over a fire you are going to be dealing with soot and ash on the bottom and sides of your pots and pans. If you are a person who likes to keep your things looking nice then you will appreciate any help you can get when it comes to cleaning off the soot and grime that an open fire can bake on to your cookware.
Best ways to clean camping cookware?
Unfortunately, cleaning soot covered pots and pans will take some good old fashioned elbow grease. If you have dirty camp dishes the best method is to soak them in hot soapy water then scrub hard with a brillo pad or steel wool. However, there are a few things that you can do in order to minimize the cleanup and make your life a little bit easier.
- Choosing the right wood will help keep the soot down. Softwoods like pine and fir will burn dirtier because of the high resin content in the wood. You should try to stick to hardwoods like maple and oak.
- You should avoid cooking over direct flame. Cooking over coals is a much better idea and make the cooking process much more enjoyable. You will have less smoke, less soot, and more even and consistent heat.
- Try smearing a very light layer of liquid dish soap on the bottom and sides of your pots before you cook with them. When it is time to clean you can easily just wipe off the soot and grime. Practically no scrubbing required. You can also do this with a bar of soap by getting a little wet and making a sudd mix and rubbing that into your pot. I have also heard that chalk will work but I have yet to verify that for myself.
Best method and tips for cooking over a fire
Cooking over a fire is a skill that takes a good amount of practice. One of the biggest mistakes people often make is that they are impatient. They try cooking to food too fast at too high of a heat. The first step to cooking over a fire is the fire itself.
First, you are going to want to collect enough wood to keep your fire going. You don’t want to go hiking back into the woods because your fire is starting to die. Before even lighting your fire you should collect a nice pile and have it at arms reach in order to fuel your fire as needed. Using hardwoods as mentioned earlier is the best choice. Also, it is best when building a cooking fire to use smaller wood. This allows the fire to burn down into a bed of coals a little faster so that you are ready to cook. The best sizes would be from thumb size on the smaller end up to one and a half or two inches on the larger end.
It is best to build a teepee or cabin style fire with smaller wood and allow the fire to burn down to a nice bed of coals. Don’t be impatient this could take up to 20 or 30 minutes. Once you have a nice bed of coals you can feed the fire as needed to maintain heat. Next, you need to have a way to suspend your pot or pan over the fire. You can suspend your pot with some wire and a tripod, find a few even stones to place in the fire to balance your cookware on or use a cooking grate. Any of these options will work well and give you a better chance of cooking success in the great outdoors.
Any cook will tell you that one of the keys to cooking is the preparation. When you are cooking outside, as you can see, there will be a few more steps. Now practice and have fun making amazing food over an open fire. I’m not sure what it is about fire cooked grub but it always tastes so good!