Campfire Apricot Chicken: Sweet & Savoury Camp Oven Dinner

Campfire Coal-Baked Apricot Chicken: The Ultimate Sweet & Savoury Camp Oven Dinner There is nothing quite like the feeling of heading back to camp after a long, dusty day of 4WD touring, watching the sun dip below the horizon, and gathering around a crackling fire. When the winter chill sets in, you want a hearty, slow-cooked dinner that warms you from the inside out. While modern camp ovens can do everything from baking bread to roasting joints of beef, there is one classic, nostalgic sweet and savoury recipe that remains the ultimate outback crowd-pleaser: the legendary apricot chicken. Apricot chicken has earned its place in the Australian camping hall of fame for a very simple reason—it utilizes long-shelf-life pantry staples that travel beautifully in a 12V fridge or pantry box, yet it slow-cooks into a rich, complex, and intensely comforting glaze. By combining tender chicken thighs with sweet apricot nectar, savoury French onion soup mix, and a handful of dried apricots, you get a melt-in-your-mouth winter feast with almost zero prep time. Here is how to bake this iconic Aussie classic to perfection in your cast-iron camp oven over the coals. What You Need Ingredients (Serves 4) 1kg chicken thigh fillets (cut into thick halves, skinless and boneless) 1 can (405ml) premium apricot nectar 1 packet (40g) French onion soup mix 1 cup dried apricots (plump, whole) 1 large brown onion, sliced into thick wedges 1 red capsicum, deseeded and sliced into thick strips 2 carrots, sliced into thick rounds (for extra sweetness and texture) 1 tbsp cooking oil (for browning the chicken) Pinch of salt and cracked black pepper Freshly cooked rice or warm campfire damper (to serve) Gear 9-quart or 12-quart cast-iron camp oven (Dutch oven) with lid Campfire with a solid bed of hot, glowing coals (or heat beads) Heavy-duty camp oven lid lifter or heat-resistant leather gloves Camp shovel (for managing coals) Large wooden spoon How to Make It 1. Prep your campfire: Ensure your campfire has been burning for at least an hour to build up a deep, consistent bed of hot, glowing wood coals. You do not want direct, active flames; you want stable, radiant coal heat. Use your camp shovel to clear a flat, level spot next to the fire for your coal bed. 2. Brown the chicken: Place your cast-iron camp oven directly onto a small shovel of hot coals. Add a tablespoon of cooking oil, let it heat up, and sear the chicken thigh pieces for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they develop a beautiful, light golden-brown crust. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Browning the meat first locks in the moisture and adds a rich, caramelized depth to the final stew. 3. Sauté the vegetables: Toss in the sliced brown onion, carrot rounds, and red capsicum strips. Sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the onions begin to soften and become translucent. 4. Mix the sweet & savoury glaze: In a separate camp mug or directly in the pot, whisk together the can of apricot nectar and the packet of French onion soup mix until smooth. Pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables, ensuring everything is beautifully coated in the liquid. Scatter the whole dried apricots throughout the pot. 5. Bake over the coals: Carefully fit the heavy-cast lid onto the camp oven. Move the pot onto your cleared flat spot next to the fire. Using your camp shovel, place a small ring of hot coals *under* the base of the oven, and a generous layer of hot coals *on top* of the flanged lid. This dual-directional heat simulates a domestic kitchen oven, baking the chicken evenly from both top and bottom. 6. Slow-cook to perfection: Let the chicken slow-cook in the coals for 45 to 50 minutes. At about the 25-minute mark, use your lid lifter to carefully peek inside. The sauce should be bubbling gently and starting to thicken. If the liquid is reducing too quickly, move some coals off the lid; if it looks too runny, add a few more hot coals to the top to increase the bake heat. 7. Rest and serve: Once the chicken thighs are incredibly tender and falling apart with a fork, carefully remove the camp oven from the coals. Let the stew rest with the lid slightly ajar for 5 minutes—the sauce will thicken up beautifully as it cools slightly. Serve hot over a bed of freshly steamed rice or scoop it up with chunks of warm campfire damper. Camp Oven Pro-Tips Manage the Coal Ratio: When baking in a camp oven, the golden rule is 'one-third under, two-thirds on top'. Because heat rises, putting too many coals underneath the pot will scorch the bottom of your stew. Keeping the majority of the coals on the heavy lid ensures a perfect, even bake without burning. Freeze the Thighs: Chicken thighs are much more forgiving than breast meat, staying incredibly juicy and tender even during a long slow-cook. Freeze your thigh fillets in a vacuum-sealed bag before leaving home—they will act as an ice brick in your 12V fridge or esky for the first two days of your trip. Pantry Substitution: If you cannot find apricot nectar in a regional town store, you can easily substitute it with a jar of quality apricot jam mixed with a splash of water, or a tin of sliced apricots in juice blended up with a fork. Ready for the Ultimate Off-Grid Smoko? Slow-cooking a rich, sweet and savoury meal over the campfire is the ultimate reward after a hard day of off-road touring. If you are prepping your vehicle's auxiliary power system or looking to optimize your off-grid battery capacity to keep your 12V fridge running through the coldest outback nights, explore our range of Heavy-Duty 12V Caravan & Camper Accessories at Outcamp today. We build rugged gear designed to survive the corrugations, so you can travel with complete peace of mind. What is your ultimate camp oven comfort recipe? Do you have an outback twist on the classic apricot chicken? Let us know in the comments below.