Food tastes better after a day of tromping around in the open air, whether it be in the woods, along a creek or on the prairie, and you have got a hankering for baked potatoes. With a little ingenuity, almost anything can be cooked over a campfire, including potatoes. Here is a great way to make a baked potato over a campfire.
Instructions
1. Ensure campfires are legal in the area you are in, and begin by making a fire ring.
2. Dig a small indent with a shovel, or find a natural one and encircle it with stones if you can find some. Some public campgrounds have fire pits already in place, so use those if they are available.
3. Split small pieces of wood to fit in the fire ring and lay them in a crisscross fashion over the pit. Sprinkle some bark or other smaller pieces of wood near the middle of the wood, as fire starter. Or use charcoal briquettes if you have some, or a camp stove with a fuel container.
4. Start the fire and let it burn down to very hot coals.
5. Slather the potatoes with shortening or butter--sprinkle with seasonings if desired--and wrap individually in aluminum foil while the fire is heating.
6. Place potatoes in a Dutch oven if you have one, or simply place foil-wrapped potatoes in the campfire. It helps to have a rack or grate over an open fire for this step, but a Dutch oven can be placed right in the hot embers of a campfire.
7. Check potatoes periodically by piercing with a fork to test to see if they are done. Potatoes will bake in 45 to 60 minutes over a hot campfire.
8. Add wood or charcoal periodically, to keep the fire going.
Tags: over campfire, Dutch oven, fire ring, pieces wood, wood fire
