The cast iron pie iron has become a stable cooking tool for many campers in the Midwest. It can be used for making any meal or snack of the day, and the nice thing is that the ingredient list is simple. Purchase pre-made ingredients or put the components together at home before you leave so that there is little prep work to be done when it’s time to eat.

 

Tips for Handling Pie Irons

Care

  • For new pie irons, separate the two components and cook them over a fire to remove any wax for about 10 minutes. Once they come off the fire, have a warm soapy water bath ready and gently scrub the cast iron with a nylon scrubber.
  • Avoid using soap when you clean your pie irons except after the initial burning off the wax of new pie irons.
  • To apply seasoning, use vegetable shortening, liberally applying to every crevice of the pie iron pieces, then put them over a fire for about 15 minutes. Repeat this process a couple times.
  • Make sure to dry off your pie irons after cleaning and reapply seasoning between uses (vegetable shortening), otherwise the cast iron will rust. A well-seasoned pie iron will look glossy black if properly seasoned and cared for.

Cooking

  • Cook over a campfire using a grill, to better keep the pie iron stable, or place the iron directly into the embers. Avoid high, hot flame as that will cook things unevenly.
  • Use plenty of butter so that your ingredients don’t stick to the pie iron. A non-stick cooking spray can also work, but it doesn’t impart the same flavor.
  • If there’s extra bread or dough hanging outside of the iron after closing, trim it off before placing the pie iron into the fire.
  • Hold the pie iron flat and flip occasionally to cook everything evenly.
  • You can get by with a couple pie irons for a small group of people, but to speed things up and to avoid having to use a hot pie iron for the next person, have one pie iron per individual.

 

Pie Iron Recipes Worth Trying at the Campsite

Also known as Pudgy pies, mountain pies, or Hobo pies these “pie” recipes whip up delicious hot food in a flash.

 

Pie iron pizzaPizza Pockets – Compliments of Fresh off the Grid

Ingredients

Dough (4 pies) – make your own following this simple recipe, which can be made ahead of time, or purchase pre-made dough from the store

  • 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 packet rapid rise yeast
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Filling

  • ½ cup pizza sauce
  • 1 cup low-moisture shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Any of your favorite toppings! This is completely customizable.

Instructions

  1. Make the dough: In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the oil and water. Using a spoon or fork, mix the ingredients until a dough forms. Add additional flour if it seems too wet, then knead until a ball forms. Cover and let rise 20 minutes.
  1. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Working with two pieces at a time, stretch and flatten the dough into roughly 4 ½ x 4 ½ inch squares.
  1. Oil the pie iron and press one square of dough into the bottom plate. Load up your ingredients: 2 tablespoons of sauce followed by the ¼ cup cheese, ¼ of the bell pepper, 1 oz olives, and 4 pepperonis. Top with a second square of dough. Close & lock the pie iron.
  1. Cook over the fire or on top of your campfire embers until the crust is golden brown, flipping as needed to ensure even heat. Exact timing will be variable depending on your campfire intensity, but generally, this will only take 2-3 minutes. Check often!
  1. Remove from the heat, then carefully unlock the pie iron and turn the pizza pocket out.
  1. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Be mindful that the iron will be HOT when prepping subsequent pizza pockets. Wait until the iron has cooled, or take extreme care when reloading the iron.

 

Wile Blueberry Pudgy Pie

Wild Blueberry Pudgy Pie – Compliments of BC Outdoors

Ingredients (per pie)

  • Pre-made pie pastry (homemade or from the store)
  • Blueberries, or any favorite fruit
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Butter

Instructions

  • Line the bottom half of a pie iron with pre-made pastry by using your fingers to press it into a crust.
  • Sprinkle with cinnamon.
  • Dust the fruit with flour and empty into the crust.
  • Add sugar to taste, dot with butter, and cover with a top crust, pinching the seams to seal.
  • Bake over the fire for about 15 to 20 minutes, turning every five minutes and peeking halfway through.
  • When baked, pastry should be golden on both sides.

 

Campfire Pie Iron Cuban Sandwich Recipe – Compliments of Tales of a Mountain Mama

Ingredients (per pie)

  • Butter
  • 2 pieces of bread
  • Mustard
  • 2 pieces sliced deli ham
  • 2-3 pieces sliced deli salami
  • 1-2 slices Swiss cheese
  • About 4 pickle slices

Instructions

  • Butter one side of a piece of bread and place it butter-side down in the bottom half of the campfire pie iron.
  • Spread the mustard over it.
  • Layer on the ham, salami, cheese, and pickle slices. Top with another piece of buttered bread, butter side up.
  • Close the pie iron. Cook over a campfire until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted.