Skillet Brie in Pastry
A wheel of brie wrapped in puff pastry, cooked in a covered skillet over coals. Car camping only.
- calories
- 390
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 87
- protein
- 11 g
- serves
- 6
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 50 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
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Brie wheel | 8 oz | keep it cold until it goes in the pastry |
|---|---|---|
| Puff pastry | 1 sheet | thaw in the cooler about 40 minutes before you need it |
| Blackberry jam | 3 tbsp | a squeeze pouch beats a glass jar |
| Milk powder mixed with water | 2 tbsp | stands in for the egg wash; oil works too |
| Water crackers | 1 sleeve | |
| Granny Smith apple | 1, sliced at camp | |
| Blackberries | 1/2 cup |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. You want steady low heat, not flame.
- Lay the thawed pastry on a cutting board. Spoon 1 tbsp of jam in the middle, set the brie on it, and put the other 2 tbsp on top of the wheel.
- Fold the pastry up and over the cheese, pinch the seams shut, and flip it seam side down into a greased skillet.
- Brush the top with the milk wash. Cover with a lid or foil and set the skillet on a grate over the coals, with a few coals on the lid if you have a dutch oven.
- Cook 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the pan a quarter turn every 10 minutes so one side does not scorch. It is done when the pastry is browned and firm.
- Pull it off the heat and wait 10 minutes. Cutting early means molten cheese on the ground.
- Slice the apple, open the crackers, and scatter the blackberries alongside.
This is a car-camping recipe and it stays one. Brie and raw puff pastry both need a cold cooler, so there is no backpacking version worth writing. What the camp version does change is the egg wash: one egg for two tablespoons of wash is a bad trade in a cooler, so milk powder stirred into water goes on instead. It browns nearly as well and nothing gets left over.
The coals are the part people get wrong. A skillet directly over flame burns the pastry bottom long before the cheese inside melts. Low, even coals and a quarter turn every ten minutes get the whole wheel soft while the crust sets. The ten minute rest is not optional either. Cut it hot and the brie runs out of the pastry and off the board.
Packing
Pastry sheet and brie stay flat in the cooler, pastry on the bottom so the wheel does not dent it. Crackers travel in a hard container or they arrive as crumbs. Jam in a squeeze pouch.
Variations
- Any firm jam works. Fig and apricot both hold their shape better than berry.
- No pastry? Score the rind, put the bare wheel in a foil pan with the jam on top, and cover until it slumps.
- A skillet lid weighted with coals browns the top faster than an open pan.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/baked-brie