When enjoying the great outdoors, here are some favourite simple campfire treats that may hit the spot especially after you've worked up a fresh-air appetite!
CAMPFIRE POTATO BAKE (kartofle pieczone w ognisku): When in a field picking potatoes, the best you can do is to shake and wipe excess soil off your potatoes with your hand. After a wood fire has turned to ashes and glowing embers throw small potatoes into it. Cover them with hot ashes and allow them to cook. When tender (test them with a sharpened stick!), pull out of campfire. When still hot but cool enough to handle break open and enjoy with a pinch of salt (if available) for flavoring. Only the white pulp is eaten and the charred skin can be thrown back into what’s left of the fire.
KIE£BASA ROAST (kiełbaski pieczone w ognisku): Glowing embers are better to roast sausages over than a roaring bonfire. Find a long forked stick and with penknife strip bark from the tines and sharpen them. Impale a 3” - 4” piece of smoked kiełbasa (Podwawelska, Toruńska, etc.) on each forked stick and roast high enough above heat source so kiełbasa browns evenly on the outside and is heated through. Too hot a fire will burn the skin to a crisp before the inside gets cooked. Variation: Instead of the forked-stick method, a sharpened single-point stick can be run down through the center of the sausage which is cooked by constantly turning the stick over the campfire. Either way, provide rye bread and mustard.
POLISH HOT POT (prażonka biwakowa): Line bottom and sides of heavy, preferably heavy iron pot with tight-fitting lid with cabbage leaves. On top of cabbage arrange in layers: thick-sliced bacon slices, sliced onions and sliced peeled potatoes and salt & pepper generously. Continue layering until ingredients are used up (top layer should be bacon). Cover with cabbage leaves, place lid on pot and wrap entire pot with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminium foil. Place pot into hot ash and ember filled pit large enough to accommodate it. Shovel more embers round the sides and on top of pot, cover with soil and pat down. It should be ready in several hrs. Optional: Sliced smoked kiełbasa may be included in addition to or instead of the bacon. Note: Back home, this can be prepared as a casserole in the oven./
CAMPFIRE BIGOS (bigos biwakowy): Bigos never tastes better than in the great outdoors at any time of year. But preparing it from scratch under primitive camp conditions would be a daunting task. The solution is to prepare it at home (or wherever conditions permit), bring it along and heat it over a campfire. A cast-iron pot with a tight-fitting lid is best but any cookpot with handles allowing it to be suspended over the flame will do.
BEANS & BACON (fasola z boczkiem): This simple dish will satiate hearty appetites in the great outdoors. Fry up 1/4 lb diced slab bacon with 2 large chopped onions until nicely browned. Add 5 - 6 c well-drained canned white beans (navy, great northern, etc.) and simmer until beans are heated through. Season with 2 T vinegar and salt, pepper and (optional) marjoram and/or savory to taste. A spłoth of mustard and/or catsup and a dash or 2 Tabasco will zing thigns up a bit. Provide plenty of bread. Variation: For a meatier version, fry up some sliced or diced smoked kie³basa with bacon & onions. Most any diced meat (leftover chops, roast, wieners) may be added.
CAMPFIRE CHICKEN (kurczak biwakowy): Since this is a fairly time-consuming operation, this recipe is recommended more as a demonstration of how cooking was done under primitive conditions rather than a practical tip for your camping trip (unless you’re the adventurous type). After building an open fire, create a primitive spit by planting a forked stick at opposite ends beyond the reach of the flames. Split a fryer chicken in half down the back, rub all over with oil and salt & pepper. Impale the two halves horizontally about 2-3” apart on a green stick stripped of its bark and position over campfire. Cook slowly at a height ensuring even cooking without burning, turning chicken every few min. Depending on the size of the chicken and intensity of the heat source, this may take an hr or more. Baste occasionally with 1 heaping T butter dissolved in 1 c boiling water.
CAMPFIRE GROATS OR RICE (kasza lub ryż biwakowy): Bring 4 c water, containing 2 T oil and 1/2 t salt to boil. Add buckwheat groats or rice gradually. Bring to boil, stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer until water is absorbed. Wrap pot in several layers of heavy-duty aluminium foil and place in pit dug to snugly accommodate it. There should be at least 8” between top of pot and ground surface. Cover pot with soil and pat down. It’ll be ready when you get back from a morning at the lake.
FISH STORED IN HORSERADISH LEAVES (ryba w liściach chrzanowych) This is not a recipe but a way of storing freshly caught fish at out-of-the-way campsites where refrigeration or even ice are unavailable. Behead, gut and scale fish, rinse, dry, salt generously and wrap snugly in horseradish leaves. Dig a hole at least 1’ deep in a cool, shady places, place at the bottom of the hole and cover with soil. The ethereal oils in the horseradish leaves act as a preservative and should keep fish from spoiling for 8-10 hrs. Note: This may not work in very hot weather, so smell the fish after unwrapping it before rinsing and cooking.
FISH COOKED IN CABBAGE LEAVES (ryba pieczona w liściach kapusty): For this dish you will need a burnt-down campfire with plenty of glowing embers and hot ash as for campfire potatoes (above). Rub cleaned fish all over with oil and salt & pepper. Wrap in cabbage leaves (horseradish leaves may also be used) and encase in damp, freshly dug clay. Fill a little pit with hot ash and embers, add the clay-encased fish and top with some more ash and embers. Cover with soil, pat down with shovel and go for a several-hour hike or swim. They should be ready to enjoy when you get back to camp.
CAMPFIRE POTATO BAKE (kartofle pieczone w ognisku): When in a field picking potatoes, the best you can do is to shake and wipe excess soil off your potatoes with your hand. After a wood fire has turned to ashes and glowing embers throw small potatoes into it. Cover them with hot ashes and allow them to cook. When tender (test them with a sharpened stick!), pull out of campfire. When still hot but cool enough to handle break open and enjoy with a pinch of salt (if available) for flavoring. Only the white pulp is eaten and the charred skin can be thrown back into what’s left of the fire.
KIE£BASA ROAST (kiełbaski pieczone w ognisku): Glowing embers are better to roast sausages over than a roaring bonfire. Find a long forked stick and with penknife strip bark from the tines and sharpen them. Impale a 3” - 4” piece of smoked kiełbasa (Podwawelska, Toruńska, etc.) on each forked stick and roast high enough above heat source so kiełbasa browns evenly on the outside and is heated through. Too hot a fire will burn the skin to a crisp before the inside gets cooked. Variation: Instead of the forked-stick method, a sharpened single-point stick can be run down through the center of the sausage which is cooked by constantly turning the stick over the campfire. Either way, provide rye bread and mustard.
POLISH HOT POT (prażonka biwakowa): Line bottom and sides of heavy, preferably heavy iron pot with tight-fitting lid with cabbage leaves. On top of cabbage arrange in layers: thick-sliced bacon slices, sliced onions and sliced peeled potatoes and salt & pepper generously. Continue layering until ingredients are used up (top layer should be bacon). Cover with cabbage leaves, place lid on pot and wrap entire pot with 2 layers of heavy-duty aluminium foil. Place pot into hot ash and ember filled pit large enough to accommodate it. Shovel more embers round the sides and on top of pot, cover with soil and pat down. It should be ready in several hrs. Optional: Sliced smoked kiełbasa may be included in addition to or instead of the bacon. Note: Back home, this can be prepared as a casserole in the oven./
CAMPFIRE BIGOS (bigos biwakowy): Bigos never tastes better than in the great outdoors at any time of year. But preparing it from scratch under primitive camp conditions would be a daunting task. The solution is to prepare it at home (or wherever conditions permit), bring it along and heat it over a campfire. A cast-iron pot with a tight-fitting lid is best but any cookpot with handles allowing it to be suspended over the flame will do.
BEANS & BACON (fasola z boczkiem): This simple dish will satiate hearty appetites in the great outdoors. Fry up 1/4 lb diced slab bacon with 2 large chopped onions until nicely browned. Add 5 - 6 c well-drained canned white beans (navy, great northern, etc.) and simmer until beans are heated through. Season with 2 T vinegar and salt, pepper and (optional) marjoram and/or savory to taste. A spłoth of mustard and/or catsup and a dash or 2 Tabasco will zing thigns up a bit. Provide plenty of bread. Variation: For a meatier version, fry up some sliced or diced smoked kie³basa with bacon & onions. Most any diced meat (leftover chops, roast, wieners) may be added.
CAMPFIRE CHICKEN (kurczak biwakowy): Since this is a fairly time-consuming operation, this recipe is recommended more as a demonstration of how cooking was done under primitive conditions rather than a practical tip for your camping trip (unless you’re the adventurous type). After building an open fire, create a primitive spit by planting a forked stick at opposite ends beyond the reach of the flames. Split a fryer chicken in half down the back, rub all over with oil and salt & pepper. Impale the two halves horizontally about 2-3” apart on a green stick stripped of its bark and position over campfire. Cook slowly at a height ensuring even cooking without burning, turning chicken every few min. Depending on the size of the chicken and intensity of the heat source, this may take an hr or more. Baste occasionally with 1 heaping T butter dissolved in 1 c boiling water.
CAMPFIRE GROATS OR RICE (kasza lub ryż biwakowy): Bring 4 c water, containing 2 T oil and 1/2 t salt to boil. Add buckwheat groats or rice gradually. Bring to boil, stir, reduce heat, cover and simmer until water is absorbed. Wrap pot in several layers of heavy-duty aluminium foil and place in pit dug to snugly accommodate it. There should be at least 8” between top of pot and ground surface. Cover pot with soil and pat down. It’ll be ready when you get back from a morning at the lake.
FISH STORED IN HORSERADISH LEAVES (ryba w liściach chrzanowych) This is not a recipe but a way of storing freshly caught fish at out-of-the-way campsites where refrigeration or even ice are unavailable. Behead, gut and scale fish, rinse, dry, salt generously and wrap snugly in horseradish leaves. Dig a hole at least 1’ deep in a cool, shady places, place at the bottom of the hole and cover with soil. The ethereal oils in the horseradish leaves act as a preservative and should keep fish from spoiling for 8-10 hrs. Note: This may not work in very hot weather, so smell the fish after unwrapping it before rinsing and cooking.
FISH COOKED IN CABBAGE LEAVES (ryba pieczona w liściach kapusty): For this dish you will need a burnt-down campfire with plenty of glowing embers and hot ash as for campfire potatoes (above). Rub cleaned fish all over with oil and salt & pepper. Wrap in cabbage leaves (horseradish leaves may also be used) and encase in damp, freshly dug clay. Fill a little pit with hot ash and embers, add the clay-encased fish and top with some more ash and embers. Cover with soil, pat down with shovel and go for a several-hour hike or swim. They should be ready to enjoy when you get back to camp.