Favorite Recipes: Campfire Cornbread

CAMPFIRE CORNBREAD

Some like it sweet with vanilla, others savory with diced jalapenos, some like a light and delicate cake while others want it coarsely ground and crumbling. Cornbread is as regional as any dialect or accent and where you are in the country will determine how this comforting side dish will come to the table.  

We prefer a traditional Appalachian Mountain style which uses coarsely ground cornmeal and no sugar.  It is flawless and we’ve made it over a two-burner stove, a campfire, and even a single-burner backcountry stove, at both high altitudes and sea level.  The result is a moist, savory and satisfyingly subtle bread that pairs with many dishes. Ironically, when we bake this in a traditional oven we’ve not had the same results - it just doesn’t taste the same.

Ingredients
Note: Dry and wet ingredients can be mixed ahead of time, separately.
4 TBSPs coconut oil
1 ½ cups cornmeal
½ cup all purpose flour (works well with GF)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg
1 ½ cups buttermilk (or milk with 1 ½ TBSPs of white vinegar)
½ can corn

The Pan!  

The Banks Fry Bake has served as our primary skillet and oven for the last 6.5 years.  It is a small, lightweight version of a traditional cast-iron Dutch oven, and it goes everywhere with us. https://frybake.com

The Method

Campfire
This method is really fun and will dazzle your fellow campers.  Simply place the pan over some good coals, cover with the lid and then place coals or build a twig fire on top.  Since the coals are likely burning at different temperatures, keep rotating the pan every few minutes to even out the heat. Check often to see if things are going well, but not too much which will let the heat out.

Two-Burner Stove Utilizing the same rotational method as above, except place the pan between the two burners on medium heat.  Keep rotating! Try to keep the lid on as much as possible to keep the heat inside the pan. When the edges are good and done, move the pan to one burner and heat the middle to a nice finish.  

One Burner Stove Much like the two burner model, you’ll be rotating a lot.  However, without the benefit of a second burner you will need to stabilize the pan at the same level as the burner.  A good campfire rock usually does the trick. If your stove doesn’t have a good simmer function, try to keep adjusting the level to as low as possible without the stove going out.  One trick with a stoves like the MSR whisperlite is to prime the stove, then blow out the flame, release some pressure from the fuel bottle, reassemble and relight the stove so it burns at a lower flame. I’ve also seen backcountry chefs flip the fry-bake and set on the stove upside down to finish off the top of the bread.  

Cornbread French Toast

One of the benefits of this backcountry recipe is that it will feed 2 hungry people for 2 meals. Save half of the bread for the morning and make French Toast.

Additional Ingredients
2 eggs
⅛ cup milk (or water and powdered creamer)
maple syrup

The Method Slice leftover cornbread in half horizontally to make thinner pieces
Dunk in egg mixture
Fry to golden brown crispiness
Enjoy!