Perfect Your Camp Pizza With This Expert Advice
Don't wait until you get back to the trailhead to grab your slice. Instead, cook your own backcountry pizza with this advice.
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After a day or two of logging long miles on the trail, there’s little that seems more inviting than a hot, cheesy slice of pizza. That siren song has kept many a trail-town pizzeria in the black, and even led some creative thru-hikers to order delivery right to their camp. Too deep in the backcountry to call for Domino’s? Make your own. In this video from Outside Learn’s Backpacking 101 course, Siena Fry walks you through how to bake your own pie with nothing more than a camp stove, a pan, and a handful of easy ingredients.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Pizza dough (1 bag Betty Crocker Pizza Crust Mix prepared according to directions, or get ambitious and make your own)
- Oil or butter
- 2.5 oz. pre-seasoned tomato sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella, or choose your favorite)
- Summer sausage (or other preferred protein like pepperoni)
- Pre-sliced vegetables (e.g., onion, bell pepper)
Preparation
- Lightly oil your pan. Make sure the bottom is well-coated to avoid burning and sticking.
- Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan, extending it to the edge to create a deep-dish-style crust. Customize the dough shape to fit your pan.
- Pre-cook the dough. Place the pan with the dough on the camp stove.Turn the stove heat to as low as it can go. Cover the pan with a lid to help build up heat and cook until the bottom of the dough is slightly puffed and lightly browned.
- While the dough pre-cooks, prepare your toppings. Remove the edible rind on your summer sausage, slice thinly, and cut into bite-size chunks. (You can also pre-cook the sausage to bring out more flavor, but it’s not necessary. If using summer sausage, remove the inedible rind.)
- Carefully remove the pan from the heat, pick up the dough with a spatula and flip it over.
- Spread the pre-seasoned tomato sauce evenly over the cooked side of the dough. Add a generous layer of cheese, and top with summer sausage and pre-sliced vegetables.
- Return the pan with the topped pizza to the camp stove. Cover the pan with the lid again and cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly, and the crust is fully cooked and golden brown on the bottom.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pizza from the stove. (Be careful not to burn yourself). Slice and share with your hiking partners, or hoard it all for yourself.