Everything’s Better Over the Campfire
On a foggy but warm winter afternoon, a couple of inches of snow crunching under his boots, Jack Steward is getting a bit nostalgic for some campfire food. It takes some work, cooking outside over a hot flame, but the food always seems to taste better. Even though Jack has all the comforts and amenities an A-frame cabin has to offer, he’s opting for an outdoor cookout. Is it the aroma of the wood charring in the backcountry? Maybe. Is it the hunger built up after a long day out in the woods hiking, only to come back to camp to prep all the food and set it to fire? Probably. Whatever it is, Jack is getting to the bottom of it today with some campfire nachos cooked to perfection in a Dutch oven. The fire is stoked; there’s a carved wood bench next to the flames. Let’s stop wasting time and get to some tasty nachos.
Table Of Contents
The Right Wood for the Job
Not all wood is created equally. Jack points out that for a good cooking fire, gathering some smaller to medium-sized wood is ideal. These burn down quicker, turning to coals quicker, allowing for a solid, steady cooking temperature. He’s got a battery-powered hand saw and a log carrier: two items that come highly recommended for any outdoor adventure. White Duck makes the best log carrier on the market. It looks like it will survive a wood chipper, and it’s easy to carry. With these accessories, it’s possible to make one trip, and Jack cuts all the firewood to length as he gathers it and piles it neatly in his canvas log carrier. Since we’re not looking for a fire that will burn for a super long time, but we still want it hot, one large load of the right-sized wood pieces should be enough. Shoot to make them no bigger than a forearm and as small as a finger’s width.
Back at the cabin at the firepit out front, Ellie the Dog excitedly romps back into camp after gathering a bundle of wood. With all the fuel he’ll need, Jack sets out to build a fire. The thin, finger-wide pieces go on first in a loose teepee design, and smoke roils as the fire gathers heat and momentum. For a brief second, the flames lick Jack’s hand as he places the heavier logs on the growing pile. The slightly larger logs need to burn down. Jack leaves them safely in the firepit while he steps inside the cabin to prep the rest of the nachos.
Prep for the Best
Inside, Jack reveals the Dutch oven he’ll be using for the nachos today. It’s a 10-inch oven, but depending on the party to be fed, he could use a 12- or 14-inch oven. Dutch ovens are rugged, durable, and thick. People have been cooking on cast iron for centuries, and the quality and uses of these amazing pans have only gotten better. Some people may opt to hand the dutch oven from a tripod over the fire. This works great for certain recipes, but for the nachos, Jack wants to get a full, oven effect with 3D heat. Dutch ovens are the best for this. He’s able to plant the pan right in the coals without damaging the material, and even place coals on top to make sure it becomes an actual, single-serving oven.
To begin, Jack adds a little avocado oil to the Dutch oven. Avocado is desirable with its high smoking point, a good idea for varying temperatures that occur when cooking on open flames. After the oil, Jack adds some tortilla chips to the bottom of the pan, and then begins cutting the vegetables he wants.
For these nachos, Jack is opting for some green bell peppers, tomato, and onion. Before any of that gets added to the chips in the Dutch oven, Jack first places some pre-shredded cheddar on the chips. After the fresh veggies are all added on top of the cheese, Jack spreads some canned black beans over the emerging nachos. In the thick, black pan, the dish is starting to take form. The heat will invariably change everything, but right now, all the makings of some great nachos are in place.
The tasty veggies and beans would be enough, but Jack isn’t happy with only that. He begins adding some nacho spices. First garlic, then some red pepper flakes, he’s a huge fan of spice. When the nachos look like they’re done, Jack adds another large helping of cheese. Jack already has a little kick with the red pepper flakes, but to really round off the dish, he finishes it with some Tapatio to really bake in all that spice into the cheese.
Time to Cook
Heading outside with a loaded Dutch oven in one hand and Ellie the Dog pulling up the rear, Jack makes his way to the firepit out front. He stokes the hot coals, moves the larger burnt wood to either side, and clears a spot for the Dutch oven to nestle. He leaves enough coals underneath the pan to do the majority of the cooking, and then spreads some on top to get all-around heat. The coals from the fire radiate heat, and it’s tough for Jack to get close enough to spread the coals. He keeps a small backpacking shovel with him to spread the coals.
Ellie watches as smoke coils off the charred wood on top of the Dutch oven. It doesn’t take long for the nachos to heat up inside the oven as the cheese melts evenly. After a few minutes, Jack removes the hot coals from the lid of the Dutch oven and gets ready for the reveal.
Truthfully, inside the Dutch oven, it is a little lackluster as the cheese has not fully melted on top. The bottom is looking good, the veggies all look like a nice blend, but Jack doesn’t fret. He takes this as a learning moment. The fact is that there are no guarantees when cooking out in the elements. Admittedly, this time around, it would have been wise to leave the nachos in the pan a little longer. Or, it might be the case that prepping the veggies for the nachos took a little longer than Jack thought, and the coals burned off all that good radiant heat. Either way, Jack is pretty happy about the current state of the nachos and lets his eyes be wary that the mouth does not need the glamor of looking appetizing when contemplating the inevitability of warm cheese. It’s still going to taste really good.
The Indoor Alternative
The fact remains that it can get incredibly cold outside in Minnesota in the winter, and leisure cooking over a fire may not be ideal. For these instances, it’s always good to have a tent wood stove as a backup. It’s possible to cook a Dutch oven on a tent wood stove, and with the cooking surface as a buffer, it’s actually easier to regulate the temperature. Not to mention, it’s right there in the name: tent “wood” stove. All of the outdoor tastiness from the smoky coals comes into play in the nachos on the tent woodstove as well. These stoves put off a ton of heat, are great to cook on, and are great in a tent or an A-frame cabin. The Explorer Stove from White Duck will keep you warm every month of the year and keep your food hot, every meal of the day.
Taste Test
With the nachos stacked on some stylish, hand-made stoneware and artfully placed on a wooden end table, it appears that Jack could charge top dollar for these nachos, but the moment of truth is here. With an evenly-disputed bite, Jack throws back the nacho and reveals what the audience has been wondering all along: are those chips going to hold the crunch. And they do, the crunch heard ‘round the forest emerges from Jack’s cheeks, and his pleasure is noticeable, outward, and immense. There really is nothing like cooking out on the fire.
Ellie the Dog examines each bit that Jack takes, taking careful note of every morsel that he refuses to give to her. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Jack lets Ellie have a bite of the Campfire Nachos. For Ellie, whose senses are exponentially better than her silly humans, she tastes the earth the tomato and green peppers were grown in. She knows every black bean by name. Ellie the Dog truly loves these nachos.
What Kind of Cheese Isn’t Yours?
Nacho Cheese! That delicious cheese may not be yours, but that’s only because it’s for everyone. The scene is calm and serene. Jack is humming as he scoops up heaps of deconstructed nachos all over his stoneware. If there’s any left in the pan, his satiated pose wouldn’t reveal it. It’s a nice time to close, thinking about how the best meals always seem to be made outdoors. It doesn’t matter if someone is making paella in the south of Spain or roasting a whole lamb on a gaucho grill in Argentina. Something just as simple can be done in the frosty backcountry of Minnesota with a few bagged chips and pre-shredded cheese. There only seems to be one rule: If it’s cooked outdoors, it’s gonna be tasty. Enjoy the nachos, and Jack will see you again.
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