Published on August 7, 2025 by Filip
Last updated on August 7, 2025
Cooking over an open fire sounds primal, romantic, and kind of badass, but you can end up with charred sausages that taste like creosote and a side of melted plastic in your beans. Let’s avoid that and talk about food safety over campfires.
As it turns out, not all foods – or packaging – plays nice with fire. If you are using pine logs, random forest wood – you could be turning your dinner into a toxic mess without realizing it.
Here’s a straightforward guide to what not to cook over a fire and why this matters. Of course, I will list sound alternatives you can cook safely if you still want that crispy, outdoorsly glow.
1. Fatty Meats Over Resinous Wood (Like Pine or Spruce)
You might think, “What’s more outdoorsy than bacon on a stick?”
Fair. But if you’re cooking greasy, fatty meats over softwoods like pine, spruce, or fir… you’re in for a chemical surprise.
What Happens:
When fat drips onto burning resin-heavy wood, it vaporizes the sap and releases polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – compounds linked to cancer risk, respiratory irritation, and that weird burnt-rubber flavor nobody enjoys.
❌ Avoid:
- Bacon
- Ribeye
- Sausage links (especially oily ones)
✅ Cook Instead:
- Lean proteins like chicken breast, trout, or pre-cooked smoked sausage
- Better yet, cook them off to the side of the flame, not directly over it
Bonus Tip:
If you’re carving your own cooking sticks, use a knife with a Scandi or full-flat grind like the Morakniv Garberg to cleanly remove bark and avoid any sap contamination.
2. Anything Stored in or Cooked With Plastic
I shouldn’t need to say this, but it still happens: people toss food in plastic wrap or containers directly on coals thinking it’s “just for a minute.” That minute can leach BPA, phthalates, and other endocrine-disrupting compounds into your food – and into your lungs if the plastic burns.
❌ Avoid:
- Pre-packed frozen meals in plastic trays
- Store-bought kebabs wrapped in cling film
- Ziplock bag “boil meals” unless you’re using indirect hot water (never flames)
✅ Use Instead:
- Foil packs (aluminum is imperfect but still safer)
- Stainless steel mess tins or bush pots
- Carved greenwood trays or bark boats – yes, you can DIY cook surfaces with a decent bushcraft blade and a little patience
3. Hot Dogs on Dry, Unpeeled Sticks
A dirty stick is not a cooking utensil.
Yes, it’s traditional to roast hot dogs on a sharpened branch. But if you don’t remove the bark, you’re exposing your food to mold spores, insects, sap, and fungal residue that can flare up and taint the meat.
Also, some trees have toxic bark when burned (looking at you, cherry and black locust).
❌ Don’t:
- Stick hot dogs or marshmallows directly onto barky twigs
- Use unknown wood types unless you’re 100% sure what tree it came from
✅ Do:
- Carve your stick from green hardwood, strip it clean with a bushcraft knife, and flame-sear the end before skewering
- Bonus: use a V-notch carving trick to seat the hot dog securely
4. Eggs on Direct Fire (Unless You Like Egg-Flavored Charcoal)
Unless you’re scrambling them in a pan or cooking in foil, eggs + open flame = chaos.
They cook unevenly, the shells explode, and the protein sticks to everything. You’ll end up with scorched goo and a deep hatred of brunch.
❌ Avoid:
- Raw eggs cracked onto logs, rocks, or pans in direct flame
- Boiling eggs directly in shell on coals (they’ll crack open 9/10 times)
✅ Try Instead:
- Make a foil egg packet with butter and herbs
- Poach in a tin cup or camp kettle using clean, boiling water
- Crack eggs into a carved bark bowl and steam near the coals
5. Anything Oily Cooked Directly on Stones
Flat rocks get very hot, way too hot for oil.
When you pour oil on a superheated surface, it can flash-burn, smoke excessively, and release acrolein—a toxic irritant that feels like pepper spray in your throat.
Plus, if that rock’s been absorbing moisture (e.g., river stones), it can explode when heated. I mean it literally.
❌ Avoid:
- Olive oil, butter, or lard on bare rocks
- Using wet stones near or on the fire
✅ Do This:
- Cook dry foods like bannock, flatbread, or jerky strips on clean, dry rocks
- Add oil after cooking, not during
- Test rocks away from the fire first to see if they hiss (means they’re waterlogged)
✅ Safer, Smarter Campfire Cooking Foods
Stick with foods that:
- Don’t drip fat everywhere
- Don’t require exact temps
- Won’t poison you if undercooked
Here’s a few MVPs for open fire meals:
- 🌽 Corn in husks
- 🥔 Foil-wrapped potatoes or sweet potatoes
- 🐟 Gutted trout or sardines on greenwood skewers
- 🍞 Bannock (flatbread dough) on a stick
- 🧀 Hard cheese grilled on bark tray or metal surface
- 🍄 Mushrooms with seasoning in foil
And if you’re using a multi-purpose blade in camp, make sure it’s rust-resistant, easy to clean, and sharp enough to slice and carve. My full tang bushcraft knife guide includes picks that handle food prep and firewood like champs.
Final Tip: Fire = Flavor, But Only If You Respect It
Campfire cooking is a wild art. Done right, it’s deeply satisfying. Done wrong, it’s charcoal hot dogs, melted Tupperware, and a stomach full of regret.
Choose your wood. Prep your tools. And pick foods that actually want to be cooked by flame—not punished by it.
Because the only thing worse than bad campfire food is no food.
