Pie Iron Recipes for Camping (2024)

FAQs

How to use a pie iron when camping? ›

Grease the pans and get cooking.

Clasp the irons shut, then lay flat over a bed of hot embers or coals to cook evenly. You can use your gut to tell you when to flip, but don't hesitate to open them up and check every so often. Each fire is different and will cook at a different rate.

Cast iron skillets have been one of my preferred pie plate substitutes for many years. In addition to being handy and naturally nonstick, cast iron retains and evenly distributes heat—two important features for achieving a crisp, evenly baked crust.

One of the things I like about cast iron (which most pie irons are made of) is that it holds and distributes heat evenly, which is important when cooking over a campfire with uncontrollable heat. Food seldom burns, so even the novice can turn out a perfectly cooked meal every time.

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.

Preheat the pie iron

Separate the pudgy pie iron into two halves and set each over a campfire or open-flame stove burner to preheat for a few minutes. If over a campfire, you want them over an area of strong warm coals, not extreme direct flame. If using a burner, keep it on medium-low heat.

Scrub surfaces with just water until all food remnants are gone. Heat over the fire until the cast iron surfaces are bone dry and the pie iron is reheated. Remove from the heat and spray all surfaces of the cast iron with spray cooking oil. An aluminum pie iron can be washed with soap and water.

As our pie irons have steel and wood rods attached to the casting*, seasoning needs to be done outside on a BBQ, Firepit or campfire. Next you'll need to season the cast iron. This will both protect it from easily rusting and also help develop a surface that over time and use will become almost a non-stick surface.

A pie iron—also called pudgy pie iron, sandwich toaster, snackwicher, toastie maker—is a cooking appliance that consists of two hinged concave, round or square, cast iron or aluminium plates on long handles. Its "clamshell" design resembles that of a waffle iron, but without that appliance's honeycomb pattern.

Now just hold the pie iron over a campfire for about three to four minutes and flip to cook for another three to four minutes. If you are using a cast-iron model, you can place the pie iron right on the embers and turn it after a couple of minutes.

Mountain pies are made in a special pie iron that squeezes the two pieces of bread together to create a delicious panini-like pie over your campfire. Like a s'more, you cook the mountain pie in the fire until the filling is hot and gooey and the bread gets crispy.

Can you put parchment paper in a pie iron? ›

You'll want to start by cutting your parchment to be just smaller than the size if your pie iron. If the parchment is outside the pie iron, it will catch fire, and you definitely don't want that. You'll need two pieces of parchment for each cookie you want to make.

I usually pop the pie dish in the oven for a few minutes. This helps warm up the butter in the crust (which firms up in the fridge) so that it releases from the pan. I've also seen people recommend dipping the bottom of the pie dish in warm water for 20-30 seconds to achieve the same effect.

Use a paper towel to rub the pie iron with oil or shortening (not butter or margarine). Be sure to cover every part of the pan, inside and out. Take a clean paper towel and wipe again until the pan seems dry – some oil will be left to season. Place the pie iron in the preheated oven or BBQ and “bake” for one hour.

Ready to reheat and eat!

The perfect meal all wrapped up is easy to reheat while you are hiking, sailing, kayaking or camping. Pasties are portable food that can be reheated over a campfire, on a BBQ grill or on a camping stove. Dutch ovens work well too.

For higher temp cooking, place your cast iron directly on top of the coals. For low/medium heat, elevate your cast iron 3-6” above the coals. And for baking, position coals both underneath and directly on top of your cast iron set while it's in the dutch oven configuration.

Models with shorter handles can also be used on the stovetop, especially if you have a gas range. However, even electric stoves work well with pie irons. Even on a rainy day you can have the experience of campfire cooking with a pie iron by your side.