Campfire Crisp

A few weeks ago, some friends gathered upstate on a perfect fall day for a pig roast. While the men folk manned the rotisserie I go to work on dessert, and inspired by Kelsey's camp cobbler, I decided to give dutch oven cooking a try. I still had a mess of apples left from my apple picking adventure and I knew a crisp would be just the thing to feed our crowd so I packed up all of the dry ingredients for my favorite crisp topping in a ziploc bag then mushed (technical term) the butter in when I was ready to bake. For the fruit portion of the equation, I chopped up the apples and tossed them in a buttered dutch oven with a lonely quince, a handful of concord grapes, and a bit of sugar and spice. I put the dutch oven over indirect heat, put some coals on top, and hoped for the best.

Campfire Apple, Concord & Quince Crisp

Make sure to not let the dutch oven sit directly on the fire and check it every 10 minutes or so to see if it needs to be rotated away from the flame, a set of heavy duty fire gloves works great for this. If you don't have quince or concord grapes, just use an extra apple or two.

5 pounds baking apples, about 10 - peeled (or not) and chopped into medium pieces
1 medium quince - peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 cup concord grapes cut in half and seeded
juice and zest of one lemon
juice and zest of half of an orange
1/2-2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Crisp Topping 

6 ounces soft butter
3.5 ounces rolled oats
2.25 ounces all purpose flour
2.25 ounces whole wheat flour
5 ounces brown sugar
1/4t baking soda
1/2t salt

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a dutch oven with a lid.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, flours, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add in the butter and use your hands to work it into the mixture until it holds together in medium-sixed clumps. Sprinkle it evenly over the filling. Alternately, pack all of the dry ingredients in a ziploc bag, then when you are ready to bake, toss in the soft butter and mush it all around until it is evenly incorporated.

Place the dutch oven on a few rocks above the fire, then put about 5 (big) hot coals on the lid. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is browned, rotating every 10 minutes or so to ensure even cooking.

And yes, that is the back end of a whole pig up there in that photo. Sorry if anyone is offended by that image.

Blackberry Rhubarb Crisp

I pick blackberries from the school yard and rhubarb from the side yard. I remember to wear long sleeves and long pants to protect myself from the blackberry brambles, but my hair keeps getting tangled up in the thorns. Later I find a picture of my teenaged self picking blackberries with my best pal, both of us wearing overalls with bandanas tied around our heads*. I cut thin stalks of rhubarb from a forgotten plant and free them from their massive leaves. They are red almost all of the way through. I turn them into summertime crisps. I mix and stir the crumb topping with my hands. I bake them in borrowed ramekins and old jelly jars and they spill all over the baking sheet in the oven. We eat them on my brother's birthday with earl grey ice cream on top, after the babies have been put to bed.

Blackberry Rhubarb Crisp
yield 8-10 individual crisps or, 1 9x13 pan 
A few notes on this recipe: If making individual crisps, you'll want heatproof dishes (ramekins, canning jars, etc) that can hold about 6 ounces. The rhubarb gives the filling a wonderful tartness, which is just about perfect with some ice cream on top. I like a fairly equal fruit to crumb topping, so this recipe makes a generous amount. If you don't want to use it all at once it can be frozen for up to 2 weeks. Don't thaw before using, just break up the crumbs and sprinkle them over your dessert before you bake it.

For the Filling

1 1/2 pounds blackberries
3/4 pounds rhubarb, chopped into 1/4''-1/2'' pieces
1 ounce flour
4 1/4 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest (meyer lemon if available)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Crumb Topping

6 ounces softened butter
4 1/2 ounces rolled oats
4 1/2 ounces whole wheat flour (or sub half all purpose)
4 1/4 ounces brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375º

1. In a large bowl, gently toss the blackberries, chopped rhubarb, flour, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract together. Set aside while you prepare the topping.
2. In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Add in the butter and use your hands to work it into the mixture until it holds together in medium clumps.
3. If making individual crisps, divide the filling mixture evenly between 8-10 ramekins, then top with a generous amount of crumb topping. If making 1, 9x13 crisp pour all of the fruit into the dish and evenly sprinkle the crumb over the top.
4. Place the ramekins or baking dish on top of a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any juices) and slide into the oven. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the the topping is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream on top.


*No doubt an attempt to channel Angela Chase