The Best Pork Roast and Crackling in the Camp Oven
When it comes to easy meals that are fantastic, it does not get much better than a pork roast in the camp oven with the best pork crackling. This pork roast camp oven recipe is extremely simple and if you follow these tips you will end up with the best pork crackling guaranteed.
Gear We Use for Pork Roast in the Camp Oven
This is the gear we used when cooking this pork roast in the camp oven.
- Camp Chef 12-inch cast iron camp oven.
- Camp Chef 10-inch cash iron camp oven.
- Roasting trivet.
- Aluminium foil and (or) tent pegs / wire.
- Heat resistant gloves.
- Tongs.
For this recipe we use two camp ovens, this allows us to cook the pork roast in the large Camp Chef cast iron camp oven, and then roast the veggies in the smaller Camp Chef cast iron camp oven. As temperatures and cook times are going to be different, using two camp ovens does make this easier. It does also allow you to roast more veggies especially if there are many mouths to feed.
You might have noticed that we have listed tent pegs or wire above. These are not necessary, and you can use aluminium foil instead. But you will need something to keep the camp oven lid open slightly to allow any steam to escape. This is one of the secrets in getting that perfect camp oven pork roast crackling.
Pork Roast Camp Oven Ingredients
The below ingredients can be increased or decreased depending on the number of servings you require.
- 1.5kgs x pork roast cut of your choice.
- Olive oil.
- Salt and pepper.
- Gravy powder.
- Apple sauce.
- Vegetables of your choice, this is what we usually use.
- 2 x normal potatoes peeled and cut into chunks.
- 1 x sweet potato peeled and cut into chunks.
- 2-3 x carrots peeled and cut into chunks.
- ¼ – ½ pumpkin cut into chunks.
When it comes to cut of pork, use whatever pork roast cut you like. Just make sure you have your butcher cut the rind beforehand to save you some time. The size of the pork will depend on the number of people you are cooking for. Adjust the cook times as per below depending on the size of the pork roast.
With vegetables, you can use any vegetables that you like. We have included the ones we usually use, but this will come down to personal preference and what you are carrying in your setup. To make life easier and save time while camping, we always try and peel and cut our veggies before leaving and then vacuum seal. More time to relax by the fire.
Pork Roast Camp Oven Cook Times
Pork roast cook times in the camp oven are like cooking a pork roast in your oven at home. You basically need to allow 30 minutes for every 500 grams. In this recipe we cooked approximately 1.5kgs of pork and therefore our total cook time was 90 minutes. For the first 30 minutes of cooking, ensure that you use more than double the usual number of coals on top for the pork crackling. After the first 30 minutes, we reduce the coals on top and return to our usual 60:40 top to bottom coal ratio for roasting.
The Perfect Pork Crackling in the Camp Oven
We struggled for a while to get good cracking when cooking a pork roast in the camp oven. After a bit of research and a little reading we got some great tips from the Cast Iron Boys and the Snowys blog. There are three tricks that seem to make all the difference.
Boiling Water Over the Pork Skin
The first is to boil some water, we use our jet cooker, and then pour the hot water over the pork rind. Try to only pour water over the skin. The hot water causes the pores in the skin to open as the skin shrinks. This also opens the cuts in the pork rind making it much easier when adding salt. Then dry with paper towel. Once you have done these steps, let the pork sit for a good 30 minutes to an hour. If you can let it sit for longer then this is even better, but not necessary. In the below pictures, we only let the pork sit for 30 minutes. Then rub olive oil all over and cover with salt generously.
Wrap Your Trivet with Aluminium Foil
Another great idea when roasting in your camp oven, is to wrap your trivet with aluminium foil. This makes clean up a whole lot easier but also helps with heat on the bottom of the roast.
Let the Steam Escape from the Camp Oven
The second tip is to ensure that you crack the camp oven lid open slightly to allow any steam to escape. Letting all the steam escape ensures the pork crackling stays dry and can get nice and crispy while roasting in the camp oven. There are several ways you can crack the camp oven lid open. Some people use a couple of tent pegs by hanging them on the outside of the camp oven. You can also use wire, by cutting a few small pieces then bending them in half to create a U shape. You can then hang these over the top of the camp oven. Another option, which we did in this recipe, is to use aluminium foil where you get one large piece and fold it down to a small rectangle, then fold these over the top of the camp oven. Either way, use something between the base and the lid of the camp oven to ensure there is a small opening to allow all the steam to escape.
Lots of Coals for the First 30 Minutes
The final trick to getting the best pork crackling in the camp oven is plenty of heat for the first 30 minutes. Once you have preheated the cast iron camp oven, no need for spun steel, sit the camp oven on top a good number of hot coals, add the pork roast to the camp oven, keep the lid slightly cracked open (as discussed above), and then add more than double the number of coals to the top of the camp oven lid than you would normally add when cooking a roast. You want to ensure there is a significant amount of heat on top of the camp oven for 30 minutes to ensure the pork skin gets that amazing crunchy crackling. After 20 minutes open the camp oven lid to check the progress of the crackling, if it does not look like you are getting a good crackling, add more coals.
After 30 minutes of high heat on top of the camp oven, you should have the perfect pork crackling. Once the crackling is as you want it, remove the excess coals from the lid and keep the usual 60:40 top to bottom coal ratio when cooking any roast. Cook for the remaining amount of time based on the size of your pork roast.
Roast Vegetables
During the first 30 minutes while you are getting the perfect pork crackling, prepare your roast vegetables. As we prepare ours before leaving home, we do not have much to do. We remove our vegetables from the vacuum pack, and then throw them into a large bowl. Then we cover the vegetables in olive oil and add salt and pepper. We then toss the vegetables in the bowl to ensure they all get a good covering.
As we used the Camp Chef 10-inch cast iron camp oven, we preheated the oven, then poured the vegetables into the camp oven when it reached a good temperature. We then add coals at a 60:40 top to bottom ratio and roast for an hour. After 30 minutes we open the camp oven and stir the vegetables around to ensure a good even roasting.
Serve With Gravy & Apple Sauce
Once the pork roast has cooked in the camp oven, we then remove the pork and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. While the pork is resting, we boil some water and then make a simple gravy using any gravy powder. Only add a little hot water and then all the oils and juices from the pork roast in the bottom of the camp oven. This will give your gravy plenty of flavour.
Once the pork has rested, remove the crackling, and cut into pieces, then carve the pork. Serve the pork with the crackling, roast vegetables, gravy, and a splash of apple sauce on the side. It does not get much better than this!
Cast Iron for The Perfect Crackling
As we have used both spun steel and cast iron camp ovens, we can confirm that our Camp Chef cast iron camp oven is far better in getting that perfect pork roast and crackling. Cast iron obviously has its downside in being far heavier than spun steel, but the better heat retention and distribution provides the perfect conditions to cook the best pork roast and crackling in the camp oven.
As we mentioned above, we got some of these great ideas from The Cast Iron Boys and the Snowys blog. You can find out more on their websites below.
https://www.snowys.com.au/blog/how-to-cook-roast-pork-in-a-camp-oven/
Thanks for reading our story on cooking the best pork roast and crackling in the camp oven. If you have anything you would like to add please share your thoughts below. For more camp cooking recipes read our cooking stories here. To keep up to date on our future posts, join the 4WD Adventurer Community.
The thoughts of Peter.
We are ambassadors for Camp Chef Australia.
30/09/2022 @ 7:19 PM
Thankyou so much for a great recipe! I cooked this tonight in the campfire, and it was delicious 😋
04/10/2022 @ 10:46 AM
G’day Krisha,
That is awesome to hear. Really glad it worked out well for you. Thanks so much for taking the time to send us your feedback, much appreciated.
Happy camp oven cooking.
Cheers,
Peter
22/08/2022 @ 5:08 PM
Hey guys, Great to see I’ve inspired your post, well done on the post, it’s great.
Keep it up, Cheers Mick
22/08/2022 @ 9:59 PM
G’day Mick,
Thanks for your feedback mate, much appreciated. Also, thanks for the advice. Made those failed pork roasts something of the past. Love your work.
Cheers,
Peter