When you’re cooking out in the woods, meals take on an extraordinary quality. Whether it’s the fresh air, the physical exertion or the fundamental gratification of cooking over an open fire, somehow, everything tastes better. Sure you can make use of this phenomenon by shoving a pack of hot dogs into your backpack, but it’s amazing how richly a little bit of effort will reward you once the sun goes down and the crickets start to sing. Here are three upscale (but easy!) dishes to take your fireside dining to the next level. Marshmallows optional.
Charred Baby Beets with Walnut Oil, Chives and Goat Cheese
Beets are a great camping food. Raw they’re as indestructible as potatoes, but once they’ve had their turn in the fire, they become sweet, earthy and smoky. Freeze the goat cheese overnight for easier transport. Serves: 4.
12 baby beets, scrubbed and trimmed of tops
1 tbsp walnut oil, in a leak-proof container
2 tbsp goat cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
several sprig fresh chives
Wrap beets individually in foil and place among embers of a waning fire. Cook approximately 15 minutes, carefully turning half-way through. Beets are ready when they yield slightly to pressure.
Cut beets into halves or quarters depending on size and toss with walnut oil, salt and pepper. Crumble goat cheese overtop and garnish with torn chives.
Argentinian Vacio Steak with Chimichurri Sauce
Tender and tasty, vacio (a cut that is similar to bavette) is best served medium rare along with this herbaceous, piquant, Argentinian condiment. Make the chimichurri at home and pack about half of it in a leakproof plastic container (save the rest for when you get back); freeze the vacio the night before you leave for your trip. A few ice packs or frozen juice boxes packed along with the meat and sauce will help keep everything cool.
Chimichurri Sauce
2 cups coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup fresh oregano
1 small clove garlic
large pinch chili flakes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
In a small blender or electric chopper, combine parsley, oregano, garlic and chili flakes. Add about half the olive oil and puree, stopping the motor to mix by hand as necessary. Add remaining oil and vinegar and puree until a smooth paste forms. Stir in salt and pepper, to taste, and store in refrigerator until travel. Serves: 4.
Grilled Vacio
11/2 - 13/4 lbs Argentinian vacio steak
1/2 tsp canola oil
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
If meat has been frozen, allow to come up to room temperature at fireside, if possible. (Slightly frozen meat is okay; frozen solid is not ideal.) Rub meat with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over hot embers 5-7 minutes per side. Allow meat to rest 5 minutes before slicing at an angle and serving with chimichurri.
Molten Lava Skillet Cake with Caramel Sauce
Humble brownie mix, slightly underbaked and lavishly dressed, becomes a showstopper on the trail. Pasteurized and cartoned eggs are perfect for this application, as they can be frozen for travel. Either take the whole carton and make omelettes with the remaining eggs or take only one recipe’s worth on your trip and use the rest at home. Serves: 4.
1 box fudge brownie mix
just under 1/4 cup pasturized egg from a carton (equivalent to 1 egg), frozen before travel
canola oil as per instructions on brownie box, plus 1 tsp for greasing the pan
water as per instructions on brownie box
1/3 cup butter, frozen
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 pint fresh raspberries, blackberries or blueberries, closely packed in a sturdy container
In a mixing bowl, combine brownie mix, egg, water and oil as per package instructions and stir well. Grease bottom and sides of a camping skillet, 81/2 - 91/2 inches in diameter, very well with oil. Scrape mixture into skillet and cover with foil. Bake on a rack over glowing embers for approximately 20 minutes or until sides of cake are set but centre is a bit jiggly. (If edges are becoming too dark, spread embers out to lessen heat.)
Meanwhile, melt butter and brown sugar together in foil or a small pan until combined. Serve cake warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar and berries, and drizzled with caramel sauce.