How on earth did we ever camp without these handy little things? As a teen, my dad always had a few irons and made the requisite fry pies (buttered bread, pie filling, then closed in the iron and toasted over the fire), but it wasn't something I had added to my camping gear -- until recently.
We bought a Rome cast iron pie maker and my dad found one of his old cast aluminum irons (note: do not buy the Coughlan's irons found in most sporting goods sections - they will melt, they will not season, handles fall off, etc. - go for the Rome (TM) or similar in cast iron or cast aluminum).
We arrived at our first campsite late in the evening and had not managed to re-fill the propane tank - oh boy, how are we going to cook breakfast? Pie iron egg sandwiches - started a fire, buttered bread, carefully broke an egg onto one piece of bread, added a slice of cheese and added another piece of buttered bread - buttered side facing the iron of course - then clamped the iron closed and toasted the sandwiches. Depending on the heat of the fire, it could take a few minutes per side - I listen for the sizzle and also tend to peek and check.
Another night, we had pie iron pizza:
2 cans refrigerator biscuit dough
1 small can tomato sauce
pepperoni slices
grated cheese
sprinkle of pizza seasoning.
Flatten the biscuit dough as best you can on a heated and greased iron (I used that spray oil stuff), add toppings, place another flattened dough on top. Close and clamp the iron and toast.
Our boy really liked making his own breakfast and pizza - it was fun and tasted pretty darn good too.
And, of course, we had fry pies too.
Working with the irons does take a little practice - I burned at least one pizza and had at least one runny, under-cooked egg sandwich before getting the heat and timing right.
These can be purchased in sporting goods/camping supply stores, we bought ours at Pontiac RV off I-55, and on the internet - REI is one online retailer that also offers them:
Pie Iron at REI
