Campfire baked potatoes

A campfire cooking classic! So simple but ohhhh so yummy, healthy and filling!

Introduction

Believe it or not there are a few different approaches to cooking normal baking potatoes in a fire.

We always like to keep things simple so we are going to explore 2 methods – cooking from raw and pre-cooking.

The method you choose will depend mainly on how much time you have to create the correct cooking fire and the additional time to cook the potatoes.

What you'll need

cooking campfire
potatoes
tongs or fire gloves
tinfoil
tubs for toppings

This activity has been provided by

Useful items from our shop

Item available from our shop

Environmental Considerations

Consider the environmental impact of preparing, carrying out & completing this activity. Could this impact be reduced? Specific considerations for this activity could include:

leave no trace
tin foil use

Health & Safety Considerations

Follow your usual operating procedures and carry out appropriate risk benefit assessments.
Some considerations particular to this activity include:

Preparation:

Build a fire and let it die down to embers to create a cooking fire.

Gather the following helpful extra items: tin foil; bowls and spoons or forks; tongs for retrieving the potatoes from the embers, and a fire glove or a posh heat-resistant glove.

Ingredients:

potatoes
butter or non dairy substitute (veg oil)
your choice of toppings
herbs and salt & pepper if you wish.

Cooking from raw:

Spike each potato all over with a fork then rub each one with butter or oil.

Add some herbs and salt & pepper if you wish.

Wrap in aluminium foil, preferably twice.

Foil use: You can bake potatoes without using foil. The outer layer will become charred but you can still scoop out the middle to eat.

Pre-cooked:

This is a helpful cheat if you are short of time or catering for large numbers.

Either part- or fully-cook the potatoes in a microwave or oven.

If you are near to your fire you can cover them with butter (and add any herbs or cheese and salt & pepper) and wrap and pop them in straightaway.

Or you can allow them to cool and put them in a container where they wont get bashed together for later.

Cooking in the embers:

Our campfire cooking activities (see below) describe how to create a good cooking fire and embers.

Once your fire has died down, use a stick to create some pits in the ember bed and pop in your potato, dragging the embers over the top.

Repeat for each potato.

If you have a longer fire pit you can create embers at one end then move the fire to the other end and continue using it to cook on, and you can rake ashes from the fire end over the potatoes if you feel the embers are cooling down.

Cooking time will vary depending on the heat and size of potatoes – approximately 30 to 60 minutes.

You will need to check progress until they are soft throughout.

Tongs are helpful to retrieve the potatoes from the embers and a glove for squeezing the potatoes to see if they are ready.

When they come out the hot potatoes need to be held in a cloth or in bowls. Add toppings of choice. Yum yum yum.

Take it further:

make this a long term project and grow your own spuds before cooking, or forage for the herbs.

Disclaimer: Muddy Faces cannot take any responsibility for accidents or damage that occurs as a result of following this activity.You are responsible for making sure the activity is conducted safely.