How to start a cooking fire

Starting fires is something that you practice. Knowing how to use kindling you will find around you and build a larger cooking fire is re-enforced with experience. Cooking fires are different then campfires used for nice long chats. You need a very good base of wood coals from larger pieces of wood or charcoal.

Getting a fire ready for cooking with take between 20 minutes to an hour depending on what you have available. If charcoal is available and you have a fire started, it will give you a nice long time (40 minutes) to cook without having to tend to your fire, or you can add more fuel without much fuss. Just remember, charcoal burns really hot, you don't need as much charcoal as you would wood, maybe half as much. This is where experience really pays off.

Nova Scotia Provincial campgrounds often have excellent fire pits with a grate, and this is a great place to practice cooking fire skills.

An easy recipe to start off with is Potatoes, Steak, and Veggies.