Although campfires hold a world of possibilities for cooking while you’re enjoying the great outdoors, there are other great ways of cooking available to you so you can enjoy the tastes of home no matter where you go! Check out this fun tutorial on how to make a neat camp kitchen that will make camp cooking fun and easy! It’s a fun kitchen craft for the kids, as they can help build the oven and prepare their favorite meals and treats! Here’s how to make your own camp oven!
What You’ll Need:
- Cardboard box
- Box cutter
- Aluminum foil
- Foil tape
- Wire rack
- 4 empty cans
- Small baking tray or disposable aluminum pan
- Charcoal
Directions:
- Choose a cardboard box for your oven. You will want a box that is wider than it is tall, and be sure not to use one that has a lot of adhesives on it or one that is painted. Check local stores to see if they have any available for free!
- Once you have a box, determine which side you will want facing up, then secure all the seams with foil tape so that the box is totally sealed.
- Use your box cutter to create a flap, making cuts along the right and left sides as well as the bottom. (Do not let kids do this step.)
- Line the inside of the box with aluminum foil. You may use non-toxic glue to help the foil stick, but it’s not necessary.
- Use foil tape to secure the corners and bottom edges.
- Line the outside of the box with foil too, then use foil tape to secure the corners and top edges as well so that there are no loose seams in the foil at all.
- Place sand or small rocks into each of the empty cans in order to weigh them down, then place them in the oven, one in each corner. Next, place the wire rack on top of the cans.
- Get the charcoal burning in the fire until they are hot, then move them to a foil lined baking tray or into the aluminum pan.
- Place the pan with charcoal into the bottom of the oven, under the wire rack. Make sure that your box is not sitting on grass. Use this oven only on rocks, sand, bricks, and concrete to avoid burning. Keep in mind that one charcoal briquette can produce anywhere from 20 to 40 degrees, so you might have to experiment to find out exactly how many briquettes you’ll need to achieve the required temperature to cook your food.
- Prepare your food that you’d like to bake. Nothing is really off limits here! Whether it’s potatoes, a lasagna, a casserole, cookies, brownies, or anything else, this oven does the trick!
- Place your prepared dish on top of the wire rack and close the flap of your oven. The flap won’t close well on its own, so place a heavy rock or brick in front of the flap. Be sure to leave about a half inch of the flap open to allow a bit of airflow to keep the charcoal from extinguishing.
- Cook for the required amount of time, making sure not to open your oven up during cook time in order to not release valuable heat needed for cooking.
- Once your cook time is up, remove your food, allow it to cool a bit, then enjoy! Always ensure that your food is the correct temperature before consuming!
This DIY camp oven is absolutely perfect for when you’re tent camping, if your RV oven is broken, or if you’re just looking for a fun activity to try with your little campers! This oven is pretty versatile too, as the foil lining is great insulation, so this box can also be used as a cooler if you’re transporting cold goods home from the store, or as a food warmer if you need to keep a dish from cooling off! It’s just the perfect way to keep kids engaged and enjoying the camping experience! Try out these recipes for delicious trout with a side dish of scalloped potatoes for a marvelously complete meal! What foods would you want to bake in your cool DIY camp oven? Leave us a comment with your tasty ideas!
