There's something about being out in the open air that just makes food more enjoyable! Camp fire pancakes are quick when you're starving and getting ready to start the day.
I don't know about you, but I love cooking from scratch, even when we're away from home. It's not too difficult to bring ingredients with to cook over a campfire! Sure, you need to adjust some things, like knowing Campfire Brownies will take longer to cook than in an oven.
Let's go over what you need to successfully cook over a campfire! It's a bit of extra planning at home, but you'll feel super organized and know that your family is getting nutrient-dense food while off hunting or swimming.
Key Ingredients
Pancake Mix - We are making our own because it's SO simple! Flour, sugar, salt, and leaveners.
Wet ingredients - Egg and water. So easy to "just add water" to your mix!
How to Make Campfire Pancakes
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: At home, measure out wet and dry ingredients separately to pack.
Step 2: Stir up the dry to combine, then add wet.
Step 3: Prepare a fire with wood, coal, or charcoal and you can cook directly in the flame or over a grate depending on what you are comfortable with.
Step 4: Once hot, melt your fat in the skillet and you're ready to go!
Step 5: Pancakes can burn quickly, so definitely don't walk away!
Campfire pancakes are delicious, but keep in mind that they can burn easily. You can't just turn down the flame like at home with your cast iron skillet pancakes. I don't walk away while cooking like I can with my Blackstone on the porch.
Tips and Tricks
- Cook IN the coals or over them. All depends what equipment is available or what you are comfortable with.
- Use bags, lidded bowls, jars. Anything to keep your ingredients ready to go! For example, crack your egg into a jar of water to stash in your cooler.
- Make just enough to eat, you don't really want leftovers when out and about.
- This recipe serves 2, but can easily be multiplied out. If using a zipper bag for your mixing though I don't recommend more than tripling.
FAQs
Camp fire pancakes are so easy! One method is to bring the dry ingredients in a bag so you can mix right in there, and then even snip the corner of the bag for easy portioning onto the griddle. You can also use a mixing bowl, jars, whatever you have.
Most people who are going to cook over a campfire already own what they need and are comfortable with it. You might need oven mitts/gloves with super long arms. Special tongs for moving hot skillets. Your spatula will have a longer handle and not have materials on it that could melt.
Bring some syrup, powdered sugar, fresh fruit. I also love bringing a bowl of cream cheese fruit dip because it works as a dip or a topping! Remember food safety when bringing raw meats like bacon. Always pack raw meat in its own cooler or I double bag and make sure it won't leak! If you are using ice cubes rather than ice packs, you don't want that melted water to get into the raw meat and then spread germs through everything.
Photos by Dante from Shire by the Sea
More Breakfast Recipes
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Camp Fire Pancakes
Ingredients
- Cooking oil, lard, or bacon fat enough to continually grease pan
Dry Ingredients (measure and mix at home)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup dry milk powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients (add to dry ingredients at camp)
- 1 cup water
- 1 egg
Instructions
- At home or camp, mix all dry ingredients well in a mixing bowl.
- Add mix to a large ziplock bag and label Pancake Mix for 2. Squeeze air out and seal tight.
- Prepare your equipment and heat source for cooking on a griddle or large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. You can either cook directly over a hot fire with a layer of grill protection, or you can also cook directly on a bed of hot coals. Either way, vigilance is required because pancakes burn quickly! Use the “hand test”: hold the palm of your hand about 5 inches above the heat source, pull it away before it hurts, 4 seconds = medium-high heat.
- At camp, you can add water and egg in bag and mix by squeezing sealed bag or place in a bowl and mix in wet ingredients. I prefer the latter, even if it means a bit more mess as i can reuse my ziplock bags.
- Apply a light coat of oil or fat to the hot skillet or griddle.
- If using a ziplock, cut a small corner off the bag, squeeze out pancake batter to form a small round circle on your hot griddle, use about ¼ cup batter for each hotcake. Or spoon same amount if using mixing bowl.
- Bubbles will form then burst, and, the outside will begin to form slightly crispy edges, in about 2 minutes if pan is hot enough. If it isn’t try cooking more directly on heat. Use your spatula to flip and cook the second side.
- As soon as the second side is golden brown, remove the hot cake from the pan, transfer to a plate and wrap with a sheet of aluminum foil or cover with lid to keep warm.
- Re-grease pan and keep cooking batches of pancakes to use remaining batter.
- Top with a touch of butter, a dash of cinnamon, spoon of yoghurt, fruit, honey or syrup…whatever you brought camping!!
Notes
- You can double or triple this but I don't recommend more than that if using a gallon bag. If using a large mixing bowl with lid, feel free to make however much you need!
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