Become The Perfect Camping Guru: Working With Firewood

Doesn't cooking with wood while camping sound like the most manly-man thing that one can do? It's like you're reconnecting with one's roots and feeling like an absolute boss while cooking over an open fire! There's no need to be afraid of it since we're here to help you find, chop, and cook with the wood for the perfect source of heat on your camping trip!

Splitting Your Firewood

Most of the time, the firewood that you pick up from the vendors have already been split so that the drying process they did has penetrated deep into the pieces of wood. Though I'm sure you can find some firewood that hasn't been split yet, that's where you'll find more entertainment and actually might treat it as a hobby. It's a great exercise!

The first thing you need to know about splitting wood is that you'll need a splitting ax, not unless you have superhuman strength and can split wood with your bare hands like Captain America. There's going to be plenty of things you're going to need to know when it comes to cooking with wood, trust me.

Choosing the right ax is something you're going to need to consider as well. I'm no expert at this kind of thing, so I'll leave it to someone who does! There's plenty of lists online that you can search for that can definitely help you in choosing the right ax for splitting wood.

Finding and Choosing Your Wood

Admittedly, splitting wood isn't really labeled as something very womanly or feminine. The first thing one would really think of when "splitting wood" is that scene from the Avengers where Captain America and Ironman are splitting the wood logs while having an argument - probably. That's the first thing that would pop into my head when this topic is brought up.

Where To Get Your Firewood

Now, finding your firewood at the site of where you're camping can be very difficult. If you plan on bringing your own firewood, then what you’re doing might be illegal. Why? Because firewood can carry some insects and diseases that can kill trees from a different area. Like, a whole forest of trees. Even if you're carrying one or two pieces of infected firewood, you're bringing problems that shouldn't be there in the first place.

So the best option for you to get your firewood is just stopping by a roadside stand or a campground office close to your destination that sells the firewood in bundles and is wrapped and tagged with an official certification tag. If you don't do this, you're basically doing the same thing as burning an entire forest.

Officials will ask you if you've got firewood with you when you enter the public campground - they might inspect your vehicle, so don't be offended. If you have your own firewood, it must be wrapped and tagged with the certified tag. The officials will then cross-check the tag if it's within their list of approved vendors.

Choosing Your Firewood

This part is very sensory since you will use your senses to choose the right firewood for your camping session. Ask yourself, Does the wood look aged? Does it have cracks? Does it look like it was freshly cut? Does it look brown or almost white-ish? Is it too heavy or too light? Does it smell freshly cut? These are the good signs you need to look out for.

Cooking With Wood

There's just something special when it comes to barbecuing, and grilling isn't there? There's a unique taste that you can get from cooking right on top of coals or maybe a full-on spitroast with a tall flame. I know cooking with wood might seem daunting at first, but you just need to practice to get used to the whole process. There are great advantages to the process as well!

Advantages of Cooking with Wood

Since you're cooking with a very natural fuel source, then, of course, the whole cooking process is free from chemicals - if you didn't light the fire with chemicals. If there's a chance to cook with fewer chemicals involved, why not take the chance, right? There are some definite health benefits in doing so.

The best part of cooking with wood is the burning wood's aroma and how the wood and smoke itself gives immense flavor to what you're cooking! That's probably the main attraction of cooking with wood in the first place! The enhanced flavor you get from cooking with wood comes from the whole nutrients that the wood had taken up before it was cut down!

Takeaway

Sure, you're probably going to need some time adjusting and learning all of the practices when it comes to the general process of cooking with wood. You're going to need the brawn for the splitting, the brain for the choosing, and the mastery for the cooking. At the end of the day, you're going to love what you've cooked anyway. It's going to be more satisfying, right?