4-H Youth Development Cooking Over Campfi re Coals

Nothing seems to make food taste better than cooking it outdoors. And the experience can be an excellent learning opportunity for your entire 4-H club whether it is a simple one-pot cookout in the backyard, several cookouts, or a club campout.

An outdoor cooking activity can be used to achieve many of the 4-H program goals to help youth.

• Learn practical skills (cooking a Where to start meal without electricity or gas) “Different strokes for different folks.” One leader gets her club Getting organized • Acquire positive self-attitude started by giving suggestions on A cookout is likely to be success- (building a fi re without help) when to plan a cookout. Her club’s ful if you are organized and have cookouts have been planned as planned ahead. Here are a few • Develop leadership capabilities part of a farm tour, evening club pointers to get started. (volunteering to be in charge of meeting, kidnap breakfast for new the cookout) members, family night, or program 1. Think about what you can do on nutrition or fi re safety. Another if there’s a heavy rain or storm. • Develop abilities to be a respon- leader starts by inviting his club Will you postpone? Will you sible group member (“we’ll make over for an evening meal at which prepare the food under a tarp, the salad”) he demonstrates all the wrong in a sheltered area, or move in- ways to plan a backyard cookout. Above all, the cookout should doors, or postpone? Do you have food along that would be fun—and that starts with Regardless of the approach, mem- require little or no cooking? organization. bers need experience practicing basic cooking skills and planning tasty, nutritious menus at their 2. Make lists so that nothing is own ability level. As they become forgotten. Here are some things more skilled, the menus can be you might include. more challenging. • Menu

• Food ingredients and amounts that are needed

4H 802 Revised March 2007

11 • Recipes and directions for pre- Planning outdoor meals paring the food Nutrition Think color and variety when activities, so people may want • Equipment needed for prepara- planning meals for outdoors. Try more than one serving. tion, storage, and cleanup to include a serving from each of the food groups in MyPyra- Members can help in the planning. • Jobs and assignments that need mid (one from each color band). They will want to include their to be made—consider how much Choosing an assortment of colors favorites. Encourage them to experience is needed and whether among the fruits and vegetables include some foods that are less the task needs a single person or provides a variety of fl avors and familiar also. Look in magazines a team. nutrition to your meals. Appetites or special outdoor cookbooks seem to increase with outdoor for ideas. 3. Be sure that a safe water source is available for drinking, cooking, washing hands, and cleaning up. These menu patterns can be a guide when planning. Check the water’s safety before your cookout or carry in your own water. Breakfast Lunch Dinner Fruit Main Dish Meat or Main Dish 4. Test new recipes or suggestions Protein Food Vegetable Vegetable before springing them on the whole Bread or Cereal Bread Vegetable or Fruit group. You’ll be able to be more Beverage Dessert Salad helpful if you’ve tried the ideas fi rst. Beverage Bread or Grain Dessert 5. Make a realistic plan for the Beverage time you have available.

6. Prepare for the unexpected. Ask club members to help make a list of fi re safety reminders. Here are some ideas to get you started. The Food Guide Pyramid A Guide to Daily Food Choices • Remember “stop, drop, and roll.”

• Be careful of loose clothing and open jackets.

Campfi re cooking checklist: Matches Spray bottle Hot pads/mitts Cooking utensils Hand washing supplies Dishwashing supplies Eating utensils First aid kit Bug spray

2 Manage time and money Sanitation safety When you plan meals, consider The fi rst rule of food safety is to Activities to make the time you have available. Baked keep hot foods hot and cold foods outdoor cooking fun beans in a Dutch oven may take cold. If your menu calls for per- A variety of other activities hours when you have only one or ishable food ingredients, be sure can be planned as part of the two to spare. to keep them cold until they are outdoor cookery experience. used. Insulated bags and ice chests Here are some possibilities. Pudding mixes, biscuit mixes, are necessary. cake mixes, and cocoa mix can • Make a scrapbook of favorite save time, but some convenience Perishable leftovers like meats, club cookout recipes. foods may be too expensive for cooked egg dishes, and most your budget. For example, freeze- dairy products are hazardous if • Look for convenience foods dried meals may be too costly for they can’t be chilled. Plan meals in the store and compare a whole group, but you might to avoid leftovers, or discard the prices. want to prepare one as a tasting leftovers. sample. Nonfat dry milk powder • Have an outdoor cooking is a handy, low-cost ingredient for Take packaged handwipes or pro- contest. pudding that is also lightweight vide water, paper towels, and soap and easy to carry. for hand washing as the food is • Invite guests for a sunrise, prepared and eaten. Also remem- outdoor breakfast. ber to bring a kettle for heating water and dishwashing liquid for • Experiment with pioneer cleanup. recipes.

When you’re through cooking • Visit a historical site or Be sure the fi re is out. Spread the festival where outdoor cooking coals and sprinkle with water. (It is demonstrated. takes less water to put out a fi re by sprinkling than by pouring it on.) • Learn about wild edibles and No fi re is safe to leave until you make a salad or herbal tea. can place your hand directly on Unless you have plenty of time the ashes. Do not bury live coals! • Attend a wild game dinner. and fuel, don’t plan to cook the They may cause underground entire meal. Besides, hungry fi res, which creep out in unex- • Challenge members to pre- people may like to munch on pected places. pare a cookout fi re using only something like crisp vegetables one match. while the food is cooking. Be sure the cooking site is as clean, or cleaner, than it was before you • Plan a winter cookout. used it. Carry away all garbage. • Surf the Web and collect out- Research door cooking information. For more information, check the World Wide Web or your local library.

33 Building the fi re Choose your fi rewood For the beginner, the fi rst step is learning to build a fi re properly. Success- The kind of fi re also depends ful outdoor cookery calls for glowing coals, not active fl ames. The coals on the kind of wood you use. give off even heat. You may be an “old hand” at building campfi res, but Avoid wood with a pithy cen- here are some practical suggestions. ter. It does not burn easily, and gives little heat. Use split logs 1. Select an open spot, away from trees, dead leaves, or anything that may rather than round, smooth easily catch fi re. ones. They burn more readily. 2. Start with a crumpled piece of paper or handful of tinder. Soft woods (pine, spruce, cedar, aspen, basswood, and 3. Arrange very small twigs or sticks in teepee fashion. (Do not use leaves; birch) burn quickly and leave they smother the fi re.) Lay the sticks so that plenty of air can get through ashes but few coals. the spaces between them.

For a teepee fi re—After the small Hard woods (oak, ash, hickory, twigs begin to burn, add larger apple, walnut, cherry, maple) sticks the same way you did the burn slowly and provide excel- small ones. A teepee fi re burns lent coals for baking quick and hot, with the fl ame or toasting. directed to one spot. How hot to build the fi re For a log cabin fi re—Build larger Beginners often ask how hot to sticks in log cabin style around the build a fi re. A quick rule of thumb kindling. This is a long-burning is to hold your hand palm-side fi re but takes longer to get started. down at about the position the food will be above the fi re and For a charcoal fi re—This fi re is count (one-thousand-one, one- easy to light. If you have never thousand-two, etc.). used charcoal, follow this plan.

If you can hold your hand for 1. Place the charcoal under the 6 seconds or more, it is a slow fi re; rack where the food is to be cooked. 5 seconds is a medium-slow fi re; 4 seconds is a medium fi re; 2. Add crumpled newspaper. 3 seconds is medium-hot; and Light the newspaper. 2 seconds is a hot fi re. 3. When the coals begin to turn Most foods are best white or glow, they are ready. Stir cooked over a the hot coals with a long, thick medium fi re. stick or an iron rod to distribute the heat more evenly. Add food onto the rack.

If the coals fl ame from fat dripping into the fi re, sprinkle with water. A spray bottle is handy to use.

4 Planning outdoor meals Any method used for cooking Cooking equipment—either indoors also can be used outdoors. made or purchased—can range Foods can be baked, barbecued, from green sticks to tin cans and braised, broiled, roasted, fried, refl ector ovens to Dutch ovens and steamed, or stewed. However, it grills. Here are a few suggestions may be more challenging to get for using some different types of the same quality as is possible with containers and equipment. You’ll indoor appliances. Cooking times fi nd many others in current out- also will be more variable. On the door magazines and on the World other hand, the smoky fl avor from Wide Web. cooking outdoors is something that can’t be duplicated indoors.

Cooking on a grill Cooking on a stick Fruit Kabobs Meats, fi sh, poultry, and some Combinations of meat and veg- Cut a variety of fresh or canned bread products can be cooked di- etables, fruits, and even breads can fruit (except melons) into uniform rectly on the grill. Foods on or in be cooked on a skewer or stick. It is pieces. Thread fruit on long skew- foil, or in pots and pans, also may dry heat cooking and is much like ers. Blend 1 cup honey and 1 be cooked on the grill. Cooking using a rotisserie indoors. Hold the 1 ⁄2 tablespoons lemon juice. Brush speed can be controlled by adjust- food near the coals and rotate until over fruit. Grease grill to prevent ing the distance between the food it is evenly cooked. Metal skew- sticking if these are placed on grill and the coals and by the number ers, green sticks, wood dowels, and rather than held over fi re. Heat over of coals. straightened metal coat hangers medium fi re, brushing occasionally may be used. Cooking is controlled with butter. Avoid scorching. Serve Grilled Roasting Ears by the distance of the food from the with remaining honey mixture. Turn back husks of sweet corn, coals and the amount of rotating. and strip off silk. Lay husks back in position and line up on grill Supper on a Skewer over hot coals. Cut 1 pound of big bologna or wieners in 1-inch chunks. Cut 1 Turn ears frequently using long- ⁄2 pound of Swiss or other cheese handled tongs and cook for 15 to in 1-inch cubes. Cut big dill pickles 20 minutes or until husks are dry in 1-inch slices. and browned. (Corn will look “suntanned.” For browner, sweeter Alternate meat, cheese, and pickle corn, continue roasting to suit on oiled skewers or sticks. Baste own taste.) To serve, break off with a commercial barbecue sauce husks. Serve with butter, salt, and or sauce made from the recipe pepper. For even more zip, sprin- below. Roast over coals for about kle with lemon juice. 15 minutes, turning frequently. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce Combine 1 cup chili sauce or catsup, 2 tablespoons French dressing, 2 teaspoons vinegar, 2 teaspoons prepared mustard, 1 and ⁄2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce. Heat to boiling.

55 Cooking in a Dutch oven or skillet Cooking in coffee cans These utensils may be used for a variety of cooking methods—frying, These are “one-trip” utensils. roasting, baking, braising, and stewing. The cast iron helps to provide Because of the diffi culty of clean- even heat. Number of coals and placement of the coals control cook- ing the cracks and crevices, ing speed. Coals can be placed around the Dutch oven and on top of the discard them after one use. These cover, if desired. The Dutch oven may even be buried with some coals may be used for baking, broiling, for slow, even cooking. stewing, or braising. Since the metal is lightweight, it is more Skillet Biscuits Graham Cracker Cherry Pudding diffi cult to control the heat. 1 Melt ⁄4 cup butter or margarine in 20 graham crackers, crushed 1 a heavy 9- or 10-inch skillet on ⁄2 cup chopped nuts Dinner-in-a-Can 1 grill. If desired, sprinkle with garlic ⁄4 cup butter or margarine, soft- 1 pound ground beef powder, onion salt, or paprika. ened 4 tomatoes, sliced Prepare biscuit dough according to 2 tablespoons sugar 1 can (15- to 17-ounce) whole package directions (or use refriger- 1 can cherry pie fi lling kernel corn, drained ated biscuit dough from a tube). Butter or margarine Line bottom of Dutch oven or skil- Seasonings: pepper, salt, dried 1 Pat to ⁄2-inch thickness. Make let with aluminum foil and butter oregano, garlic powder into 12 biscuits. Arrange in skillet, well. Blend crackers, nuts, butter turning biscuits to coat both sides or margarine, and sugar. Sprinkle Optional 2 with the butter. Cover skillet with ⁄3 of this mixture on bottom of 1 cup buttermilk baking mix lid or heavy aluminum foil. foil-lined Dutch oven. Cover with 1 ⁄3 cup milk cherry pie fi lling. Sprinkle with Place on grill 4 inches from remaining crumbs. Cover and bake Shape meat into 4 patties. Grease medium-hot to hot coals. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until heated 4 two-pound coffee cans. Place a 8 to 10 minutes. Check often to through. Makes 8 to 10 servings. patty in each can. Top each with be sure biscuits do not burn. Bake 1 1 sliced tomato and ⁄4 of the corn. for 5 minutes longer or until done. Dot with butter or margarine and If desired, biscuits can be turned add seasoning. Cover each can with so they brown on both sides. heavy aluminum foil. Place cans on Makes 12. grill 3 to 4 inches from hot coals. Cook 20 to 30 minutes. If desired, remove foil and drop in spoonfuls of batter made from baking mix and milk. Cook uncovered for 10 more minutes, then cover with foil and fi nish cooking 10 additional min- utes. Makes 4 main dish servings.

Campfi re Fondue In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup (11 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese or nacho cheese soup and 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese until cheese is melted. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. To eat, place cubes of French bread or bagels on sticks or fondue forks. Dip into hot cheese mixture. Makes 4 servings.

6 Cooking with aluminum foil Meals can be cooked in aluminum foil packets. Makeshift cooking utensils can be made for baking, braising, broiling, and steaming foods.

Chicken-in-the-Garden Baked Shoestring Potatoes For each person, tear off a 40-inch 4 medium baking potatoes length of aluminum foil and fold 3 tablespoons butter or margarine 1 in half. Just off center, place 1 ⁄2 teaspoons salt 2 or 3 pieces of rinsed chicken, Dash of pepper 1 1 peeled potato, 1 tomato, 1 sliced ⁄2 cup grated cheese 1 onion, and 2 green pepper rings. ⁄4 cup milk

Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons instant Cut a 48-inch length of alumi- Camper’s Pizza rice, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire num foil and fold in half. Scrub or 1 cup buttermilk baking mix 1 sauce, dash of salt and pepper. peel potatoes; cut them into thin ⁄3 cup milk Dot with butter. lengthwise strips as for French Bottled or canned pizza sauce fries and place just off center on (about 14 ounces) 1 Fold foil into a packet. Cook over the foil. 1 package (3 ⁄2 ounces) sliced 1 glowing coals about 1 ⁄4 hours, pepperoni or other cooked meat or until chicken and potatoes are Dot each with butter; sprinkle 8 ounces shredded mozzarella done. Turn package about every with salt, pepper, and 2 table- cheese or other cheese 20 to 30 minutes. spoons cheese. Pull edges of foil Dried oregano upward, then pour 1 tablespoon milk over the potatoes. Using baking mix and milk, prepare biscuit dough as directed Make foil into a packet. Cook over on a box of buttermilk baking glowing coals, about 1 hour or mix. Divide into 4 equal parts. Pat until done. each part into an 8-inch circle (or use English muffi n halves). Place If desired, fold back edges of foil circles on a greased grill 5 inches and sprinkle potatoes with extra from medium coals, or place dough cheese. Makes 4 servings. on a sheet of aluminum foil on the grill. Cook until lightly browned underneath. Turn each circle over and spread with sauce; top with the meat, cheese, and oregano. Cook 12 to 15 minutes longer or until sauce bubbles and edges of dough are browned. Makes 4 servings.

File: 4-H and Youth, 4-1 . . . and justice for all The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and Prepared by Judy Levings, 4-H youth develop- activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, ment program specialist; Sue Bogue, extension sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) program specialist; Carol Ouverson, extension Many materials can be made available in alternative formats for ADA clients. To fi le a complaint communication specialist; and Jane Lenahan, of discrimination, write USDA, Offi ce of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and extension graphic designer. Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964. This publication is available on the Iowa State Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in coopera- University Extension publications Web site at tion with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jack M. Payne, director, Cooperative Extension Service, www.extension.iastate.edu/store. Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ames, Iowa.

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