Cast Iron Hobo Pie Maker

What Is A Pie Iron

The most basic pie iron will have a square body made of cast iron or aluminum, approximately the length and width of a slice of bread, that opens like a clamshell. Inside this body, you can fit a heavily loaded sandwich, if the situation called for it.

Each half is attached to a metal pole, usually around 2 feet long, and they join together with a hinge at the opposite end to the poles. The poles have heat resistant handles, such as wood, so that you can hold onto the pie iron safely.

Theres also an attachment on the poles that clips into place to hold the two halves of the cast iron body together easily.

You can also find pie irons in a variety of shapes, though the standard size fits a slice of bread.

You may also find round irons approximately the size of an English muffin, double-width irons, Panini press style, or even pie irons dedicated to cooking hot dogs or Frankfurters.

Hobo Pie Filling Ideas

Canned fruit fillings make for simple yet delicious hobo meals camping recipes, but theres a lot more scope for budding campfire chefs to enjoy too!

You dont just have to stick to sweet fillings, either, because some of the best hobo pies are stacked full of savory goodness. Here are a few of our top hobo pie recipies

Pie Iron Mountain Pie Maker Hobo Pies Oh My

Just a quick note: These all refer to the same thing. You know, long handled individual sandwich sized campfire cookers.

This is the one we have. Its a bit heavy for the little kids to use, but its perfect for a single serving. But, check this outits a double pie iron! I so need to add this to my camping wish list!

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S For Spring Cleaning The Pie Irons

The steps are almost the same as cleaning the ones with burnt food bits, except I start with a bucket of soapy water and I usually do all of the pie irons at once.

Easy Camping Pie Iron Recipes

These easy pie iron recipes for camping are the perfect meals to add to your camping meal plan, with quick to prepare and cook breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts that the whole family can enjoy.

One of the best things about pie iron cooking is you can put pretty much anything between two slices of bread, with the limit only being your imagination .

This makes pie irons a great option for repurposing leftovers too. Last nights hearty beef stew becomes todays delicious beef stew jaffle or tinned baked beans can become simple finger food in the form of a camp hobo pie! Taco meat, spaghetti, casserole anything goes with a camp cooker!

But if youre in need for even more inspiration, here are some delicious classic pie iron recipes and plenty of modern twists to add to your camp food menu:

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Tips For Cooking With A Pie Iron:

• When cooking with a camp cooker for the first time, begin by applying non stick cooking spray, olive oil or butter to the inside of both cooking plates. This step is important so that your delicious meal doesnt stick to the plates and burn.
• Place your recipe ingredients into the cooker before closing and latching it.
• Cook the recipe over an open fire. We recommend placing the cooker over the fire for two minutes before unlatching, checking for doneness and flipping the cooker over to cook the other side.
• Use caution when handling both the metal latch and handles as they can become hot while cooking.

Pie Iron Spaghetti

How Do You Clean It

To make cleanup a breeze, I recommend using a scrubber set made for cast iron cookware. Just make certain you allow your pie irons to cool thoroughly before attempting to clean. Just fill your sink or camp wash basin with hot water and allow your pie iron to soak to loosen any stuck-on food, charcoal and ash.

After about 10-15 minutes, use your scrubber set to scrub off any remnants and grime. Finally, give them a good rinse with hot water. Finally, rub a little shortening inside your cast iron pie iron halves to preserve and keep them from rusting.

And, to help make cleanup even easier, you can use parchment paper instead of using nonstick spray.

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How To Use A Pie Iron

Pie irons are designed for campfire cooking. Whether youre having a safe cookout in your back yard or youve escaped city life for a back-to-nature vacation in the woods, pie irons are perfect for warming up and/or cooking your breakfast, lunch, and dinner over a fire.

When using a pie iron, you first want to heat each half over an open fire. You want it to be warm when you add your sandwich or other food for cooking, but you dont want it to be so hot that your bread or dough will burn. Usually, about 5 minutes in a hot fire is perfect.

Set one half on a burn resistant surface and coat the inside pocket with a small amount of oil. Spray oils are very convenient for this. Campfires are difficult to temperature regulate, so use an oil with a high smoke point, like grapeseed or avocado oil.

Place your bread or dough along the bottom and fill with any fillings you want inside your pie. Once filled, top with another piece of bread or dough.

Spray or coat the top of the iron with a bit of oil and close the iron, using the fastener at the lower end of the handles to close it together tightly.

Place the pie iron on a bed of hot, flat coals. It doesnt have to be directly in the fire if the iron is already warmed.

Depending on your filling, youll need about 25 minutes per side. Check after about 2 minutes per side. Its cooked when its golden brown.

Long Handles That Are Safe To Hold

In order to be safe to hold over the campfire, you will need a long handle to ensure that whoever is using it doesnt get too close to the flames.

We recommend going for handles that are at least 16 inches long.

These handles need to be very heat resistant, so that the heat from the campfire is not conducted straight through to your hands. A wood handle would be a good choice.

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How To Use Your Pie Iron

• Light up a nice little campfire
• Pre-heat each half of the pie iron for 5 minutes
• Set on a burn resistance surface and spray with oil
• Add the bread/dough along with some tasty fillings
• Close and fasten the pie iron
• Place the pie iron over your campfire

• Keep the pie iron in place for up to 5 minutes if you have a lot of fillings
• Check how well its cooking
• Turn over and place back in the fire for anther 2 to 5 minutes
• When youve got that golden color you like, you can remove the snack and enjoy!

Our Favorite Pie Irons

I think our pie irons are easy to maintain, care for and use because they are cast iron pie irons.

Letting the pie irons cool

We have 2 aluminum pie irons that are also easy to carefor. I treat them just like cast ironones. But they have short handles, sothey are harder to use. Thankfully, theywere $1 garage sale finds.

The cast iron pie irons are our favorites. They are easy to clean and maintainthroughout the year and I cant seem to destroy them.

I love to cook and experiment over the campfire, but Im impatient. Its hard to wait for coals to cook over, especially when its already mealtime.

With cast iron pie irons, I can cook right over theflames. While sometimes I burn the food,I dont wreck the cooking surface. If Ido burn the food, its easy to clean, scrape and re-oil the surface.

I have wrecked all of our Teflon pie irons. Teflon doesnt like the high temperatures of a campfire. The Teflon finish will start to flake and come off the pie iron. Sooo, we dont have any Teflon ones left. Even my beloved double one, that made more breakfast hash browns, is gone. A double cast iron one would be a great Christmas present for camping, though-dont you think? Hopefully, the husband thinks so!

Cast iron pie irons are heavier than the aluminum or Teflon ones, but its easy to set them on a fire grate to cook. Sometimes, we rest the pie irons on the fire ring or an extra log while cooking to reduce the weight.

Happy Camping

Frugal Campasaurus

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Does Vinegar Remove Rust From Cast Iron

Mix basic white vinegar with water in equal parts and submerge your pan in it. Use a bucket or plug the sink for really big pans the entire skillet should be covered with the vinegar mixture. The vinegar will dissolve the rust, but once thats gone, the vinegar will go to town on the original cast surface of the pan.

Rome Industries Inc 1605 Double Pie Iron With Steel And Wood Handles

• The King Of Pie Irons, Makes Two At A Time
• Made From Solid Cast Iron
• Fun For Firepits and inchStaycations inch
• Recipes Enclosed

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Pie Iron Breakfast Ideas

These pie iron breakfast ideas are perfect for camping with the family, with simple single serve breakfasts to get your day started before kicking off with your adventures:

French Toast The yummy pie iron french toast recipe is such a fun way to make french toast for the family over the campfire, and with a double pie iron it makes cooking this breakfast favourite twice as fast.

Hashbrowns Who doesnt love hashbrowns for breakfast? These stuffed hashbrowns with avocado, tomato and cheese are a hearty breakfast to start the day off full of energy.

Pie Iron Breakfast Wrap This breakfast wrap provides you with an easy-to-prepare and mouthwatering portable snack that will delight your taste buds while taking care of morning hunger! All you need are tortillas and your preferred fillings. Bacon, eggs, whatever you please. You could also do the same with bread to make your own breakfast sandwiches.

Heritage Of The Woods’ Camping Equipment

We are among the oldest, most respected outdoor brands and a trusted outfitter for many significant expeditions and Canadian milestones.

1906 – The navigation of the Northwest Passage

Woods provided parkas, tents and sleeping bags to the expedition

1925 – First ascent of Mt. Logan

An international team of explorers led by Albert H. MacCarthy reached the summit of Mt. Logan for the first time in June 1925

1928 – Zoologia Roosevelt Field expedition through Central Asia

Woods Canada outfitted many of the most important exploratory ventures of the early 20th century

1982 – First ascent of Mt. Everest by a Canadian team

Laurie Skreslet became the first Canadian to summit Mt. Everest. Woods supplied Skreslet and the Canadian team with tents and sleeping bags

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How Do You Use A Mountain Pie Maker

Using a Mountain Pie Maker is as simple as putting your bread slices on each side of the pie maker and adding on your ingredients to one side. Then, once youre ready to cook it over the fire, you close the two sides together and hold over the fire to cook.

Since most are made of cast iron, it will get hot quickly and cook in a consistent manner. This means that you just might be making the best grilled cheese sandwich recipe, ever.

Not all pie irons are cast iron, however. The others will need more care with rotating and moving out of direct flames.

Our Camp Cooking Essentials:

• A Pie Iron Camp Cooker from Rome industries makes cooking over the open fire super easy. These are the best cast iron pie irons! I would not recommend an aluminum pie iron because in my experience the aluminum models tend to warp and break.
• Visit my how to use a pie iron post for tips on how to use this long handle camp cooker.
• Foil Pie Plates make tinfoil packet meals even easier with the sturdy base that they provide.
• These Grilling Bags that I recently found are amazing! Simply add all of your ingredients to the bag at home then throw it on the campfire or grill when camping in the great outdoors.
• We love these BBQ Cooking Gloves because they make handling campfire food a whole lot safer!

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How Do You Season Cast Iron

When you get your cast pie iron, youre going to need to season it. Rinse it with straight water and wipe out thoroughly. Then, cover the inside and outside of your pie iron halves with Crisco shortening. Place them on the grill or into your campfire for about 15 minutes.

After about 8 minutes, flip them over and place back on the grill or in the campfire. Then, allow to cool completely. Wipe out with a clean cloth. Never clean your cast iron with soap and water. This will de-season it and youll have to scrub and re-season your campfire pie maker all over again.