Scout Cooking

[KenD500]

One of the other threads jumped into a tangent about food.  Pancakes, steak, pb&j, etc.

 

The theme for the month of October is cooking for my Troop.  I noted in the last couple of camp outs that only 2 of the Ghosty Goats (younger guys) Patrol were doing the cooking.  And that the Merlin (older) Patrol had planned brats for the 3rd camp out in a row.  So we're concentrating on cooking methods for the month with the camp out being a cooking competition for Saturday supper.

 

They have been creative in the past.  Tang-flavored pancakes, "the Aiden Burger" (named after the Scout who invented it) - hamburger mixed with bacon bits, cheese & a1 sauce, etc.

 

What's the most unusual or unusual sounding meal that your Scouts have come up with?

[Sentinel947]

I've seen them make fried chicken before. They say it was really good but it was one heckuva mess to clean.

[Stosh]

For your next beef stew, use apple cider instead of water.  

 

Oriental stir-fry is a big favorite with my scouts.  

 

As a challenge for the boys.  Each one brings in their favorite meal, the one they would want their mom to make for their birthday dinner.  Then adapt that to the campfire.  (Hint: Any 9X13 recipe can be done in 2-9" pie pans in the Dutch oven.)  3 briquettes above the number on the lid on top and 3 briquettes below the number on the bottom will give you a 350-degree Dutch oven.  Adjust briquettes by 1 briquette top and bottom to raise the temperature 25-degrees.  So a 425-degree oven is 6 up and even number on the bottom

 

#12 = 15 on top, 9 on bottom (350^o),  18 on top, 12 on bottom (425^o)

#14 = 17 on top, 11 on bottom (350^o),  20 on top, 14 on bottom (425^o) 

 

Kabobs also are easy to make

 

The best I ever saw was a troop in our council got hold of a gal's 4-H project - it was a 45# turkey.  They did that up in an aluminum foil tent and it turned out perfect, fed about 3 troops that day.  

 

"Eating out" for me means a campfire is necessary for "fine" dining.

[DuctTape]

I do similar as stosh, but since almost all of my trips are miles from a car, carrying a dutch oven and charcoal is a non-starter. Can still cook a heckuva meal using just a campfire and one or two pots/pans at most. Did a full on thanksgiving dinner (boneless turkey parts so no bones in trash) in aluminum foil buried in hot ash/coals. But in the end if they boys want to eat bratwurst again, should the adults interfere? Perhaps one boy wants to be the patrol chef and kick it up a notch. But if not? Do we let the boys decide or not?

[Stosh]

Aluminum Dutch oven and wood work just fine  An aluminum Dutch oven weighs about 1/10th that of a cast iron one.    No canoe camping without it.  Also doubles as a cleaning pan, too.  Soap doesn't hurt it one bit.    I'm just way into eating good grub that I have figured out how to circumvent some of the problems others have to face.

[Eagledad]

I do similar as stosh, but since almost all of my trips are miles from a car, carrying a dutch oven and charcoal is a non-starter. Can still cook a heckuva meal using just a campfire and one or two pots/pans at most. Did a full on thanksgiving dinner (boneless turkey parts so no bones in trash) in aluminum foil buried in hot ash/coals. But in the end if they boys want to eat bratwurst again, should the adults interfere? Perhaps one boy wants to be the patrol chef and kick it up a notch. But if not? Do we let the boys decide or not?

There were only two requirements I ask from the scouts' on preparing meals: the meals needed to be nutritional,  and should be prepared (Prepared meaning that it doesn’t come straight out of a package like pop tarts or cereal). I preferred all meals be cooked depending on the camp out, but gave them the option for lunch. I want scouts to learn and grow from all their experiences, especially preparing and cooking good tasting food. My wife was amazed at the meals I could prepare when we first got married and just about all them were from my boy scouting experiences. 

 

I also agree that Sunday shouldn’t be a hurry up break camp day because it wrecks the cooking experience. I remember our Webelos being pulled from their tents on one Troop visit at 7:00 morning. The SM handed them a poptart and told them to eat and break camp at the same time. He wanted to get all the gear stowed back at the church storage before the first Sunday service. I asked him, why can't you wait until after church services are over. He said he never thought of that.  Our Troop rarely starts breaking camp before lunch.

 

Barry

[Stosh]

I do similar as stosh, but since almost all of my trips are miles from a car, carrying a dutch oven and charcoal is a non-starter. Can still cook a heckuva meal using just a campfire and one or two pots/pans at most. Did a full on thanksgiving dinner (boneless turkey parts so no bones in trash) in aluminum foil buried in hot ash/coals. But in the end if they boys want to eat bratwurst again, should the adults interfere? Perhaps one boy wants to be the patrol chef and kick it up a notch. But if not? Do we let the boys decide or not?

 

Most of my boys follow the Green Bar Bill approach and have one of the boys assigned as being the GrubMaster already.  He's responsible for maintaining a book of good recipes and keeps track of food costs and equipment needs for the patrol meals.

[Krampus]

We usually have the SPL pick about twenty dinners. Puts them in a hat and the PLs send up someone to draw their dinner. They enter it in to the monthly cooking competition.

[blw2]

There were only two requirements I ask from the scouts' on preparing meals: the meals needed to be nutritional,  and should be prepared (Prepared meaning that it doesn’t come straight out of a package like pop tarts or cereal). I preferred all meals be cooked depending on the camp out, but gave them the option for lunch. I want scouts to learn and grow from all their experiences, especially preparing and cooking good tasting food. My wife was amazed at the meals I could prepare when we first got married and just about all them were from my boy scouting experiences. 

 

I also agree that Sunday shouldn’t be a hurry up break camp day because it wrecks the cooking experience. I remember our Webelos being pulled from their tents on one Troop visit at 7:00 morning. The SM handed them a poptart and told them to eat and break camp at the same time. He wanted to get all the gear stowed back at the church storage before the first Sunday service. I asked him, why can't you wait until after church services are over. He said he never thought of that.  Our Troop rarely starts breaking camp before lunch.

 

Barry

 

I'm all for all of that, to a point....

But isn't that sort of adult led stuff though....and not totally necessary?

 

Wouldn't it be better to suggest, encourage, &/or illustrate?  (by illustrate, I mean let them see you eating large while they aren't..... see you marching strong on a hike while they are on a sugar crash)

 

But in the end, as long as they aren't feeding PB to a severely allergic boy, why not???  

I'll bet some would want to continue with frosted pop tarts for 3 squares for the week, but I'm thinking at least some will take lead and drive the patrol to something better.....

[Eagledad]

I'm all for all of that, to a point....

But isn't that sort of adult led stuff though....and not totally necessary?

 

 

Interesting comment. Only two requirements and that is considered adult stuff. Scouts can prepare anything they want, it just has to be something more than eating out of a cold can. Now I must say the two requirements came about over time when we had some issues with food quality and healthy eating. And, the PLC created the requirements at the request of the SM asking for some help in that area. I really don't think that adults going wild. 

 

As for Role modeling preparing food and everything that goes with that, (LOL) the adult campsite is 300 ft. away from the patrols and usually there are trees and such between the camp sites. Once in a while we might display a cooking technique in the middle of the camp so the scouts can see like cooking turkey in a pit of reflective oven. But that's not really the same thing. Also remember out patrols are mixed age patrols. Usually the younger scouts learn pretty quickly from their own patrol members. 

 

Now if you are asking how to help the scouts develop some new habits or skills, there are a lot of ways to get creative like having a cooking theme month where each troop meeting teaches and practices a specific part of cooking. Lot of ideas on the forum on how to do that. Cooking competitions are very popular and a lot of fun. REMEMBER, Usually the SM is the judge. 

 

Be creative in how you bring patrols up to speed on any skill. Adult leaders don't need to be part of the mix, but they can, especially the ones who are good cooks. Invite moms, chefs or cooks from other troops. So many tricks to cooking great food outdoors. I'm with stosh, Dutch oven cooking is some of my faviorite and it is very easy because basically you can dump food in it and leave it alone for a specific amount of time. Our scouts do Dutch oven roast all the time. Super easy and very hard to mess up. We are a back packing troop, but the patrols can check out a dutch oven anytime the need. Dutch oven chicken is soooo good. HEY, there you go for one night of the cooking theme.

 

 

Barry

[Krampus]

Let's face it most kids if left to their own devices would not cook over a dutch oven when a packet of pop tarts, Gatorade and noodles ramen were the quicker option. There are occasions where adults need to challenge the boy-led model with our insight. We do it when it comes to health and safety all the time. Given that poor nutrition may impact a scout during the various outdoor activities I have no issue with adding a few guidelines around cooking. If anything it will prepare them for their work on the merit badge.

[Eagledad]

But in the end, as long as they aren't feeding PB to a severely allergic boy, why not???  

I'll bet some would want to continue with frosted pop tarts for 3 squares for the week, but I'm thinking at least some will take lead and drive the patrol to something better.....

The problem with this theory is when the scouts don't or can't see doing anything different and not growing. Not just in eating, but patrols can develop habits that retard their growth. Remember, boys don't have the life experience of adults, so many times they just don't know that they can broaden their experience. Hey, adults who have never camped have the same problem, they just don't know what they don't know.

 

There comes a time when you have to balance growth over the time it takes to reach that growth and maturity. That is why we quit using same age patrols. Working side by side, younger scouts matured a lot faster (a lot faster) with experienced patrol mates than the scouts who had the same limited experience they had. That makes sense doesn't it? I'm not telling to use mixed age patrols, I don't think anyone here wants to start a long boring commerical chest beating thread on whose style is better. I'm just illustrating that there are limits to scouts growing from their experiences. That is why scoutmasters are part of the program. They are sometimes the spark required for a dying fire. Remember Blws, 300 ft. means a loooonnnggg waaaays from the adults and other patrols. So helping scouts mature naturally sometimes requires some creativity.

 

Barry

[Stosh]

I guess as a compromise between adult "strongly suggested rules" about nutrition in the meals. why not suggest at least one meal (rotate around: breakfast, lunch, supper) as a patrol potluck competition.  You eat your own creation but get a sample of everyone else's.  The adult "patrol" is part of the competition and can put out some better than average meals for the potluck and have copies of the recipes to pass around.  If the boys realize there are good things to eat out there, they'll make the appropriate changes.  I have collected recipes that are like super easy and yet feed a lot of people out of a Dutch oven or fry pan.

[DuctTape]

One way to encourage more nutritious meals is through sm conferences and sm minutes. At sm conference... Keeping oneself physically strong -- ask the scout how his food choices helps or hinders in this regard. For a SM minute spin a yarn about an adventure where the group that ate simple sugars didnt have the energy to continue on and had to miss out on the best part while the patrol who ate a well balanced meal had the energy and stamina to continue on. Good nutrition = more fun.

 

I use these approaches instead of arbitrary rules. I want them to make better choices not just at campouts, but in the school cafeteria, at home, etc...

[Krampus]

Have tried the scoutmaster minute route. Fell on deaf ears. My predecessors tried that at least once a month. Beef smokies and pop tarts were the haute cuisine of choice. Tried the parent route. That got no where. Many parents were fast-food junkies themselves. We found out the hard way one time when a scout brought individually packaged microwave burgers for a camp out.
 

After years of trying (literally 5 years of one scoutmaster's reign) the suggestion route, the scoutmaster "encouraged" the PLC to adopt cooking competitions, drawing recipes from a hat and other such methods to steer the patrols away from cheap eats. Did the same for the adults (no pre-cooked bacon, etc.). Fixed the problem inside a year.

 

Five years later the guys are now dutch oven gurus. Haven't seen pop tarts in years. No one eats beef smokies anymore unless it is a canoe trip. Noodles ramen make it out on hiking trips.

 

Nothing wrong with adult pearls of wisdom being drooped backed up by a carefully steered PLC. That's the adult function.