Cooking outdoors is the whole point of a camping trip, but a campsite has no refrigerator, no sink and no kitchen thermometer hanging on a hook. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) publishes a factsheet on food safety while hiking, camping and boating, and much of it applies to campfire and camp-stove cooking. The figures below are US federal guidance, given in Fahrenheit as USDA gives them.
Plan the menu before you pack
USDA’s general rules for outdoor food safety start with planning: decide what you will eat and how you will prepare it, then work out the equipment you need. It says to pack safely, using a cooler or packing foods frozen with a cold source, and to keep raw meats separate from other foods. It also says not to bring perishable meat or poultry without a cold source to keep it safe.
One planning point is easy to miss. USDA says many camping areas prohibit campfires, so you should check first that the food you bring can be properly prepared and will be safe to eat. If you cannot light a fire, a portable stove has to do the job.
Keeping the cooler cold
USDA explains that most bacteria grow rapidly between 40 and 140°F, which it calls the “danger zone”, and that bacteria can reach dangerous levels after two hours, or one hour if the temperature is 90°F or above. Its advice for car campers includes:
- Use a cold source, and know that a block of ice keeps food colder for longer than ice cubes. USDA suggests freezing clean, empty milk cartons filled with water, or using frozen gel-packs.
- Fill the cooler with cold or frozen foods, and pack in reverse order, so that the first foods packed are the last used.
- Ideally, pack raw meat or poultry in a separate cooler. With one cooler, pack raw meat and poultry below ready-to-eat foods.
- Take foods in the smallest quantity you need.
- At the campsite, insulate the cooler with a blanket, tarp or poncho, or keep it in the shade.
- When the trip is over, discard all perishable foods if the cooler has no ice left or the gel-pack is no longer frozen.
The same principle applies to leftovers. USDA says leftover food from a cooler is safe only if the cooler still has ice in it; otherwise it should be discarded. Return cold foods to the cooler promptly.
Cross-contamination at the campsite
USDA’s second principle is to keep everything clean. Bacteria on raw meat and poultry can spread to other foods through dripping juices, hands or utensils. When transporting raw meat or poultry, USDA says to double wrap it or place the packages in plastic bags to prevent juices dripping on other foods. Wash your hands before and after handling food, and do not use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. USDA says to bring plenty of clean platters and utensils, and, if there is no running water, to bring water or a hand sanitiser containing at least 60% alcohol, or use disposable alcohol-based wipes.
A thermometer belongs in the camping kit
USDA describes a food thermometer as another important piece of camping equipment. If you are cooking meat or poultry on a portable stove or over a fire, you need a way to tell when it is safe to eat, and USDA says colour is not a reliable indicator, especially in a wooded area in the evening. It advises the following:
- A digital thermometer reads at the very tip of the probe, so it can check thin foods like hamburger patties and boneless chicken breasts as well as thick ones.
- A dial thermometer averages the temperature along the stem, so it should be inserted 2 to 2½ inches, and sideways for thin foods.
- Cook burgers until the patty reaches 160°F. USDA says illnesses have occurred even when ground beef patties were cooked until there was no visible pink.
- Cook raw beef, pork, lamb and veal steaks, chops and roasts to 145°F, and let them rest for at least three minutes before slicing.
- Cook raw ground beef, pork, lamb and veal to 160°F.
- Cook all raw poultry, including ground poultry, to 165°F.
- Heat hot dogs until steaming hot, and reheat any leftover food to 165°F.
- Clean the thermometer between uses.
Cooking gear
USDA notes that pots are heavy to carry, and that camping stores sell lightweight cooking gear that nests together. It also says you can use aluminium foil wrap and pans for cooking. That fits well with campfire cooking, and it is also worth remembering that a foil packet still needs a thermometer reading before you eat.
A simple campsite routine
These steps are our own suggestions, built on USDA’s principles. Put the raw meat in its own cooler and keep it shaded. Keep a labelled “raw” platter and a “clean” platter. Put the thermometer, sanitiser and wipes in the same box as the tongs. Do the cooking near the cooler, so that food does not sit out while you look for things, and decide before you light the fire what time the leftovers will go back into the cooler.
The bottom line
Campfire cooking is only as safe as the cooler and the cooking temperature. Keep cold food cold below 40°F, separate raw from cooked, check whether fires are allowed, and use a thermometer rather than your eyes: 145°F for whole cuts, 160°F for ground meat and 165°F for poultry.
Keep reading
- Tailgate Food Safety: Coolers, Timing, Reheating
- Making Jerky Safely at Home: What USDA Says About Heating, Drying and Marinades
- Grilling for a Crowd: Safe Staging and Timing
- Why Resting Time Is a Food Safety Step, Not Just a Texture Tip