How to Make a Delicious Campfire Pizza
Camping means roughing it. Doing the most from the least. But with a little bit of thinking that doesn't mean we must completely forgo everything we consider advanced. Pizzas are not only easy to do at a campsite, but they are delicious.
To make this as easy as possible we want to do as much as we can in advanced instead of at the campsite. This is for two reasons : One, it's easier to prepare things at home, in a kitchen than around a campfire ring under the trees. And Two, we want to spend as little time as possible making this pizza. That's because we are camping. We are playing, we are exploring, we are relaxing. Spending 3 hours making a pizza defeats that idea.
CAMPFIRE PIZZA RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS
Store bought dough is very common nowadays. Not only that, it's actually good. Sure, a homemade dough is much better than a store bought dough, but the store bought is definitely good enough. Bring one of those and keep it cool. A great idea is to put it in the cooler you will be opening the least, usually the one that has all the meats in it.
Next we will need a pizza sauce and cheese. We need ¼ cup of sauce and a total of ½ cup of cheese. Put the sauce in its own container so you don't have to bring the glass jar or measure it out at the campsite. For cheeses, it will depend on what kind of toppings you are going to put on. A safe mix is ¼ cup mozzarella and ¼ cup cheddar. Either buy grated cheese or grate it at home and put it into a bag.
When it comes to toppings most anything is game. The rule is that it must be in bite size chunks, or smaller (like onions) and it must be cooked before the pizza is cooked. Things like venison, beef, and other meats may not get cooked enough on the pizza, so you want to precook them. A pizza can get overwhelming if you introduce too many flavors. A good rule of them is to have one main ingredient and up to two supporting ingredients. Sausage, pepper, and onions shows this rule in effect.
When it comes to cooking we want to build a standard sized fire for your fire ring and add a grill over it, about 8 inches over the fire. We are not going to be cooking this pizza like in a regular oven. The fire is too direct here for that.
Roll out the dough and prick it with a fork on both sides. Oil the grill with a brush. There may be some flame ups from the fire below, so be careful and let that cook off before you put the dough on. Cook the dough on one side and then flip. Cook each side until it is browned. Once the second side is browned, flip again and quickly add the sauce then the toppings, putting the cheese on last. We are going to cook this until the cheese is nice and melted. If you experience cheese that is too stringy, then you want to sprinkle your pizza with lemon juice before it melts. Lemon juice helps cut the strands before they can get too long.
Now, this is the hardest part of making the pizza. Once your pizza is all beautiful and delicious looking, take it off of the heat and wait. Wait at least five minutes. We want the crust to set, the cheese to cool, and the flavors to meld. I know it's hard, but it's important.
If you don't know whether or not you have all the tools you need for this recipe, check out our Ultimate Cooking Gear Checklist to ensure you've got everything you need to cook and eat this delicious campfire pizza!
WHY CAMPFIRE PIZZA RECIPES ARE THE BEST
Pizzas are great for kids and adults a like. Each pizza can be made specifically for the person, so everyone gets what they want. After a few pizzas you will be a campfire pizza pro. Pizzas are a nice way to reconnect to home while at the campground. And you have never had a pizza like the one cooked over an open fire.