Purcell Campfire Grills
I love cooking over a campfire. When out on a multiday trip in places where campfires are allowed I always pack my Purcell Trench Streamside Voyageurs Grill. It takes up very little room in the hatch as it is just a 1/4" thick and lays flat against the hull. It is aslo made of Stainless Steel so it does not rust. I have been using mine now for 6 years and it is still going strong.
What I like most about the grill is its stainless steel properties, its one piece design, it comes with a cover, its hand made right here in Washington State and only sold online. The price is steep at $90 but so far worth every penny.
I actually had a brilliant idea on one of my earlier trips up to The Broken Group Islands to design and sell such a grill for paddling. We had been cooking over a fire using a homemade rusted metal grill that we had scavenged from the beach. It was convenient but not at all convenient to take with us. I came home from the trip and jumped online to do some research and came across the Purcell Trench Manufacturing website and to my surprise they had already made exactly what I had envisioned in my head. There went my $100,000 idea. So I bit the bullet and bought one and super glad I did.
Cooking over a camp fire can be tricky. Setup is key! First of all you will want to make sure the spot you pick for your fire will be below the high tide line as all evidence will be washed away leaving no trace of the fire. Next you need to setup the support for the grill. I like to use larger wet pices of wood approx 6-8" around or rocks stacked with an even top to create ledges for the grill to sit on top of. You really dont want an uneven surface or you risk losing your food. You will also want to take in consideration which way the wind is blowing and protect the fire from the wind as much as possible.
I have found that the best wood for cooking is old dry driftwood branches about the thickness of your wrist broken into about 12-14" lengths. I dont usually carry a hatchet or saw to achieve this, I just break the branches over the sharp edge of a rock. If the wood is too wet to break I dont use it and if it is too thick to easily break then it is too big for cooking so Ill save it for the fire once the cooking is done. Cedar is a great wood to use to start the fire and stoke the fire if it gets to cool. Once a fire is started I add 4-5 pieces of the wrist size wood and let them burn down to a bed of coals. Then I place the grill over the fire and start cooking.