Campfire Cooking with Pie Irons

Have you ever heard of pie irons before? They are a two sided cast iron cooker on sticks with handles. You place food inside, clamp it shut, and cook it over the campfire. It is a fun way to create meals while camping or over your backyard fire pit. The possibilities are endless! I’m going to share a few of our favorite meals to make in them as well as some tips for cooking in pie irons!

When you buy a pie iron, even if it says that it is pre-seasoned, you should still season it yourself to ensure that your food won’t stick. To season it, you apply a thin layer of vegetable oil to the cast iron. The cast iron part will unscrew from the handle. Then bake it in your oven at 450 degrees for about an hour. Once it cools down you can attach the handles again and you are ready to use it!

Preparing Your Fire

Add your kindling to the fire pit in whatever manner you like. I prefer the teepee method with some dried pine needles or leaves in the center. I love using the Electro-Torch to get the fire started. It is SO FAST! And you don’t have to use any chemicals which is a huge plus. Once the fire is started and you have added larger logs, wait for it to burn down a bit. Pie irons cook better over coals than an open flame.

Pizza Pockets

One of my kids’ favorite meals is to make pizza pockets. You can use bread, but I prefer to buy pizza dough. I pop open the can and take the dough out. It is a large sheet of dough, so I use a knife to cut small squares that will fit inside the pie iron. Make sure to grease the inside of the pie iron before you place the dough in it. Even though it has been seasoned, it still is helpful to add some cooking spray in it to ensure your crust doesn’t stick when you take it out.

Add pizza sauce, cheese, your choice of toppings, and another layer of dough. Clamp the pie iron shut and you are ready to cook it over the fire!

Fruit Pies

This is my personal favorite thing to make in pie irons. I use puff pastry but you can also use bread or croissant dough. I simply add canned pie filling and that is it! I have experimented with adding the cinnamon sugar to the outside of the dough before cooking but it ends up making the pies sticky since the sugar and the cooking spray make a syrup. So I sprinkle it on after it cooks.

Breakfast Sandwiches

All the boys in my house say that breakfast is their favorite meal so this is a crowd favorite. I use canned biscuit dough from the store since it travels well in a cooler. After spraying with cooking spray, I add one biscuit. Then I layer eggs, cheese and a precooked sausage patty. You can use a raw egg as long as you make sure it cooks long enough in the coals. Top it off with another biscuit dough piece.

Tips For Cooking In Pie Irons

Make sure to hold the pie irons flat so they cook evenly. If you hold it with the front pointing down, the edge closer to the fire will cook faster and possibly burn. They can be heavy for smaller children to hold for a long time so you can prop them up with a rock or lay them in the coals. Make sure to rotate it so both sides get cooked. Check it after a few minutes to see how it’s coming along. The time it takes to cook depends on the temperature of the coals. Older coals will cook slower.

To clean up, wash it with warm water and avoid using soap. If you have stubbornly stuck on food, you can use salt as an abrasive. Make sure they get dried right after so they don’t rust.

Have you ever cooked with pie irons? If you have a camping trip planned or have a backyard fire pit, you should give them a try!

This sponsored post was created by Not Just a Housewife. Head to the blog for the full post and details.