Barbecuing at home is a fine art that you have masterfully perfected over time with plenty of practise.   You know your home barbecue and smoker so intimately and you have mastered the temperature and fire control so perfectly. 

This barbecue wisdom can easily be replicated when you are on holidays - whether you are spending a week at a caravan park or venturing off track on a camping weekend. You never have to compromise on your barbecue experience, regardless of where you are.  If anything, the mix of environments will enhance your barbecue time and experiences.  

Lanes BBQ has joined forces with Samba, the experts in fires and BBQ to show you how to create the ultimate culinary collision course on the grill when you are camping or caravanning. 

Embracing the flame 

There is nothing that completes a camping experience like lighting a fire to cook on.  While it is certainly an easier option to bring along a portable gas barbecue, it cannot compare to setting up a hypnotic open fire for cooking. 

Lighting a fire pit, with some help from Samba’s firelighters, creates such an inviting ambiance and is also a handy place to cook your breakfast, lunch and dinner! 

To cook on the fire, you are aiming to create a hot core, and you do that by allowing the logs to burn down leaving you with glowing embers.  Having a grill to then place your butterflied chicken smothered in Lane’s Signature Rub or Sweet Heat, whole baby potatoes in Lanes SPG (Salt, Pepper, Garlic) wrapped in foil and root vegetables on, the result will be simply divine! 

According to Brett Stokes, Lanes BBQ , there is no reason why you can’t go all out in the protein stakes when you are in the great outdoors. 

“My go to protein while I am camping is a mammoth tomahawk steak with tongue tingling Magic Dust from Lane’s. 

A tomahawk does need a little bit of TLC, but with the delicious foundation of the spicy and sweet Magic Dust, it brings out the best in the steak, especially if you finish off the tomahawk cook with nice sear marks from a grill grate over Samba coals. For the complete recipe, check it out here. 

Getting social around an open fire 

There is no question that open fire cooking is a great excuse to escape the confines of a kitchen as it a far more social and relaxing way of cooking with family and friends. 

Brett says, “With open fire cooking, patience is a virtue and although you may need a bit of time to get the fire ready, especially for cooking, it will be certainly worth it.  Try to avoid creating a big fire, as they tend to die down quickly and you are left with coals that are too hot to cook with.” 

“Consider starting with a smaller fire so it can burn for 30 minutes or so, adding larger logs to as required.  You want to have longevity with your campfire, not only being able to cook dinner but to have the fire going strong all evening when campfire conversations begin.”