Campfire Baked Brie in Pastry
A wheel of brie wrapped in puff pastry and baked in a skillet over coals. Car-camping appetizer, not trail food.
- calories
- 340
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 76
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Campfire coals
- Dutch oven
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Brie wheel | 8 oz | keep it cold in the cooler until it goes in the pastry |
|---|---|---|
| Frozen puff pastry | 1 sheet | thaw in the cooler on the drive, not in the sun |
| Blackberry jam | 3 tbsp | any dark fruit jam works |
| Butter or oil | 1 tsp | for the pan |
| Apple | 1 | sliced at camp |
| Crackers | 1 sleeve |
Method
- Burn a fire down to coals. You want steady heat, not flames. Rake a bed to one side and set the skillet on it.
- Unfold the thawed pastry on a cutting board. Put the brie in the middle and spoon the jam over the top in three or four blobs.
- Fold the pastry up over the cheese and pinch the seams shut. Trim the corners if they stack up too thick.
- Grease the skillet, set the bundle in seam-side down, and cover it. A lid, a second skillet, or foil all work.
- Shovel a few coals onto the lid so it browns from both sides. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the pan a quarter turn every five so one side does not scorch.
- Pull it when the pastry is deep gold. Rest five minutes or the cheese runs out and keeps running.
- Cut it open at the table and hand out apple slices and crackers.
Cast iron is the whole point here. A skillet on coals with a weighted lid behaves like a small oven, and the heat from above is what browns the top of the pastry instead of leaving it pale and raw. Coals on the lid are not optional if you want the thing to look like it was baked.
This one stays a car-camping recipe. Brie needs a cooler and puff pastry needs to stay cold until it hits heat, so there is no honest way to shrink it into a pack. Assemble on site: pastry that sits wrapped around cold cheese for two hours turns to paste.
Packing
Pastry and brie ride in the cooler, wrapped separately. Jam in a small screw-top jar. Assemble at camp, not at home, or the pastry goes soggy on the drive.
Variations
- Swap the jam for fig or apricot and a grind of black pepper.
- No pastry: bake the bare wheel in a small skillet with jam on top for ten minutes and scoop it with crackers. That version is gluten-free if the crackers are.
- Dutch oven instead of skillet: same time, coals under and on the lid.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/pages/7-take-and-bake-recipes-for-your-thanksgiving-potluck