Campfire Chili in a Dutch Oven Recipe

Now I'm no expert in outdoor survival, and about 99% of the camping I do is of the set-up-a-tent-near-the-car variety that my sister likes to make so much fun of (ok fine—100%), but if there's one thing I do know how to do, it's to comfortably and tastily stuff large groups of people in a variety of settings. For this task, there are several approaches you can take in an outdoor setting.

Hobo packs are the simplest and least precise. Just wrap your ingredients in a foil pouch, toss'em into the fire, fish'em out a little while later, and hope for the best. It's a tasty, if slightly unpredictable way to get hot food with minimal supplies. (Pro-tip: unshucked ears of corn are nature's hobo packs. No foil necessary!)

The next step up is to bring along a grill to set yourself up over hot coals. Haul along a couple of pots and pans, and you can not only grill, but sauté, simmer, stew, and sear, just like on top of a regular burner.

And if you're really in the mood to lug stuff around (or off-load from your trunk), you can upgrade to full-on Dutch oven cooking. Like its name implies, a good quality Dutch oven is far more than just a three-legged cast iron pot with a lid—indeed, it's one of the most versatile cooking tools around.

What to Cook in a Dutch Oven While Camping

Hardcore campfire chefs will outfit their Dutch oven with a tripod and chain for hanging it oven above the flames, but that setup is largely unnecessary. With careful heating and planning, you can legitimately bake in it, even directly in a fire pit. Biscuits and no-knead bread are my go-to's. No-knead bread is virtually made for camping. Just mix up the dough the night before, heat your Dutch oven with the morning's first fire, and have hot, fresh bread ready in time for brunch.

Flip the lid over and set it on the coals, and you've got yourself a nice, virtually non-stick griddle perfect for eggs and bacon. I like to simmer sausages or hot dogs in beer and sauerkraut in the main pot then transfer them to the overturned lid to give them a nice brown sear just before serving.

But its true purpose, the Dutch oven's real raison d'être, is for slow-cooking. With its heavy lid, thick walls, and ability to be heated from both above and below, it's custom-designed for braising projects like chunky chili and slow-cooked beans.

Just like cooking at home, the key to great chili (and to you hard-liners, when I say chili, I'm using the much broader meat-and-beans-with-chili-based-aromatics definition of the word) is to build up flavor in layers. This means browning the meat, adding aromatics, blooming spices, and finally simmering everything until they get real comfortable with each other.

How to Build A Fire for Dutch Oven Cooking

The ideal fire for Dutch oven cooking is one that has a large supply of glowing, ash-covered embers. Live logs burn fast and hot, while embers are perfect for maintaining the slower, steady heat you want for Dutch oven cooking.

Unless you have a tripod to hang it from, clear out a large section of your fire pit and line it with a layer of hot coals.

Preheat the base of your Dutch oven directly on the hot coals until its smoking hot.

Making Dutch Oven Chili

Sear your meat in a single layer, letting it sit for a few moments at a time to encourage good browning and flavor development. You can use whatever meat you'd like for chili, but here I'm using pork shoulder.

After your meat has been seared, remove it and set it aside, then add your flavorings. In this case, I'm flavoring my meat with... more meat. Homemade venison chorizo, to be precise. If you go with only one meat, there's no reason to remove before adding the aromatics.

After everything is nice and aromatic, you can add your soaked dry beans, water, tomatoes, and a bit of salt (remember, the liquid reduces, so go easy on the salt until the end).

Depending on how long I've got before dinner time, I'll vary the amount of coal above and beneath the pot. Ideally, I'll let it cook at a sub-simmer for 6 hours or more until the beans are creamy and the meat is falling apart. Higher heat can get you a hot meal in 3 hours or less. The best way to judge how fast you're cooking is to take a peek.

Carefully lift up the hot lid and check on the contents. If you're boiling vigorously, you want to remove some coals from underneath. I check mine every few hours to make sure that it's maintaining temperature, and that the water level hasn't dropped so low that the beans and meat are beginning to burn.

The best part about a Dutch oven meal is that it'll stay hot and ready to serve for hours. Just carefully pull the pot out of the firepit to a safe spot and leave it lidded with a couple of hot coals in order to keep everything toasty. You'll have enough to eat now, and a few hours later when you're half a bottle deep into the other great campfire staple: Jack Daniels.

A Quick Note About Cast Iron

Like all cast iron, maintenance is a little higher than with a stainless pot or pan, but significantly easier than most people make it out to be. Yes, you can get it wet (just dry it carefully). Yes, you can use soap. You can even use metal utensils or cook acidic chili in it with little to no ill effect. For more on care and maintenance, check out our guide to cast iron.