The other day we were cleaning our gear here at home after a weekend camping trip and I spent a lot of time scrubbing the outside of a fire-blackened pot that we had used to heat chili over the campfire. It could have saved me a ton of effort if I had bothered to soap up the outside of the pot.
Using soap to create an easy-to-clean coating on the outside of your pots is a tip that really works when it comes to cleaning up after campfire cooking. It’s an old trick that used to be mentioned in the Boy Scout Handbook but many campers seem to have forgotten, or perhaps were never Boy Scouts. It’s as simple as lathering the outside of your pots and pans for easy cleanup.
Put some liquid dish soap on a paper towel and spread the soap around the outside of the pot you are using to cook on the campfire. An even film on the outside of the pot works best. Bar soap works too, but it’s harder to spread evenly. I have even seen this done with shampoo.
When it’s time to do the dishes, that black soot on the outside of the pot will come off much easier so you’re not left scrubbing up a sooty mess. Just make sure you don’t go crazy with the soap and let it get into the inside of the campfire pot because soap doesn’t do much to enhance the flavor of most dishes!