Campfire cooking ideas: simple food for a desert night

Good campfire food is not complicated. It is food that cooks in 20 minutes, needs one pan or one sheet of foil, and survives being carried over sand. The best meals are prepped at home, packed cold and finished over a small, controlled fire.

Before any recipe, one rule: fire safety comes first. Open fires on the sand are not allowed, and camping and fires at the lake edges are restricted. This page is general guidance, not legal advice, so read Dubai camping rules and permits and follow posted signs.

1. Set up the fire first

Choose your heat before you choose your menu. Charcoal in a grill gives steady heat for skewers and foil packets. A wood fire in a fire pit gives you flames for tea and marshmallows but needs more attention. Gas stoves are the easiest for a quick kettle or frying pan.

The rules that matter most come from published guidance, summarised in our camping rules guide:

• No fires directly on the sand. Use a fire pit or a stand. A fire pit is AED 63 at Zad.
• Keep lights and heat at least 50 cm from tent fabric, and store firewood at least 15 feet (about 5 m) from tents.
• No open flames inside a tent.
• Never cut or burn desert trees. Ghaf is the UAE national tree. Buy firewood instead: medium AED 40, large AED 70.
• Keep fires small, watched and well away from tents, vehicles and the lake edge.
• Put it out completely. Soak the embers and stir until cold, because wind carries sparks a long way.

Open burning has been reported as fined at AED 1,000, and littering fines in Dubai start at AED 500. Take everything home, including ash and food scraps. For where cooking is accepted, see BBQ spots near Dubai.

2. Five easy campfire recipes

1. Foil-packet chicken and vegetables

Chop chicken thigh pieces, potato, carrot and onion at home. Toss with oil, salt, pepper and your favourite spice mix, then seal in a double layer of foil (bring the foil from home). Set the packets on a grill over hot coals for 25 to 35 minutes, turning once, and check the chicken is cooked through before eating.

2. Skewers on the grill

Marinate cubes of chicken, beef or vegetables the night before and keep them in the cooler. Thread them onto skewers (BBQ tools, tongs and skewers are AED 5 to 30 at Zad) and grill over coals, turning often. Keep raw meat very cold until it goes on the fire and cook it properly.

3. Corn and sweet potato in the coals

Wrap whole corn on the cob or small sweet potatoes in foil and nestle them at the edge of the coals. Corn takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes and sweet potatoes closer to 40 to 50, turning now and then. Slow food like this suits the hour when you are waiting for stars.

4. Pan breakfast on a gas stove

Eggs, flatbread and tomatoes in a frying pan are a camp classic and need no fire at all. Camping gas stoves start at AED 25 and frying pans and kettles are AED 25 to 60 at Zad. Pre-crack eggs into a bottle at home to save space.

5. Campfire dessert: toasted marshmallows and dates

Bring marshmallows and biscuits from home and toast on long skewers over the embers rather than open flames. Dates are on the shelves at Zad, and Al Rifai nuts and dried fruit (AED 15 to 47) make a no-cook dessert board.

3. Tea, karak and hot drinks

A kettle on the grill or a flask of hot karak does more for a cold desert night than any recipe. Karak chai is AED 7 at Zad, and vacuum flasks are AED 25, so you can fill one on the way in and still have it hot at midnight. Or boil water in a camp kettle and make your own. Hot chocolate is AED 17 at the café.

4. Prep and food safety

• Prep and marinate at home, then pack food in sealed containers so melt-water does not soak it.
• Pre-chill everything, fill the cooler to the top and keep it shut and in shade. Buy ice last, at Zad (a bag is AED 15), so it is solid when you arrive.
• Keep raw meat at the bottom, away from ready-to-eat food, and use separate tongs for raw and cooked.
• Dubai heat spoils food faster than you expect. When in doubt, throw it out.
• Bring water for cooking and washing up, plus bin bags, wet wipes and a torch for after dark. Water starts at AED 2 for 500 ml at Zad.

More packing detail is in our Al Qudra camping checklist and the desert picnic ideas if you want a no-cook option.

5. What to buy at Zad

Everything on this list is on the shelves at the Last Exit, and the prices below are the ones on our camping page. They are indicative, so confirm stock on WhatsApp before you drive out.

• Firewood: medium AED 40, large AED 70.
• Charcoal: from AED 32, with Flame On 4 kg at AED 37 and Fire Up 10 kg at AED 70.
• Fire-starter: lighter fluid and gel AED 15 to 22, cubes and eco lighters AED 8 to 25.
• Grills and fire pit: charcoal grills AED 26 to 80, foldable BBQ AED 35 to 80, fire pit AED 63.
• Tools: BBQ tools, tongs and skewers AED 5 to 30.
• Ice and drinks: ice bag AED 15, water, cold drinks and karak.

Prefer it ready? The Campfire Night Kit for up to 6 (AED 129) bundles a large firewood bundle, fire-starter cubes, a bag of ice and 6 hot karak to go. The Lake BBQ Box for 4 to 6 (AED 125) has a foldable grill, 3 kg charcoal, fire-starter gel, tongs and 2 bags of ice. Both are on the outings page. Remember that fires at lake edges are restricted, so check where you plan to cook.

6. Putting the fire out and leaving no trace

Let the fire burn down, spread the coals, then soak them with water and stir until nothing is hot to the touch. Pack out cold ash and charcoal in a bin bag. Check the site for foil, skewers and bottle caps before you leave. A clean site is why these places stay open to everyone.

Frequently asked questions

Zad Food Store is open 24/7 at the Last Exit, Al Qudra Road (Seih Al Salam), Dubai, the last stop before the desert since 2013.