Scout Cooking

[blw2]

.....   A backpacking trek is not a culinary expedition......

That depends a bit I think on perspective.

I'm currently reading Andrew Skurka's book, Ultimate Hikers Gear Guide.

 

I can't remember exactly how he put it, but at the start of the book he defined three different kinds or styles of camping

The two that stuck in my mind were these

The ultimate backpacker which is more about spending time at camp, then hiking to the next camp site.  it's fun to do and fun to tell about it later.

 

the ultimate hiker which is more about maximum distance per day.  It's not so much fun to do and sometimes not so fun to tell about it either... (the pain, the misery, etc..)

 

(I may have butchered it a bit, but that was my takeaway)

 

I'm more of the backpacker, or camping inspired person.... and that is the perspective I'm thinking of when I say that i wish I had more culinary tricks up my sleeve for backpack cooking.

[Stosh]

@@blw2

 

Plop camp cooking doesn't have to be a big ordeal if the boys learn to do it correctly in the first place.  What a lot of scouters teach our boys to do is to make it a big ordeal.  

 

I teach my boys the fastest most efficient way of doing it and we have great food and very little effort.

 

When I went to the BWCA I bought 7 grocery bags full of food to take on the trek.  By the time I got done, I threw away 4 grocery bags full of garbage and repackaged everything accordingly.  The pudding was taken out of the package and dumped into a ziplock.  Then an appropriate amount of 2 cups of powdered milk added.  Identify the package with a Sharpie and toss in the food pack.  Then one just opens the corner dumps in 2 cups of water, messages it for 2 minutes in the bag and the pudding is ready to go.  Pancake mix, the same way,  Everything is pre-measured, just add water.  Mountain Man breakfast?  No problem pre-cut the meat into cooking size, cut up the onion and green pepper, you can dump the two of those together in the same ziplock.  If you want you can crack all the eggs and put into ziplock and if you're not going to eat it until Sunday morning, freeze it and you don't need the extra weight of ice in the cooler.  Basically my scouts have the Mountain Man breakfast in the Dutch Oven before the charcoal is ready.  They even fry up the meat on the charcoal chimney.  No effort or energy is wasted.

 

The way I have seen it is the GrubMaster is out there at the crack of dawn cutting up the onions and green peppers while swatting mosquitoes yelling at someone to get the charcoal going.  Right?  Well, that's how we have taught them to do it.  It doesn't have to be that way.

[Eagledad]

Our troop strives to be the lightest most efficient back county adventures we can be. The scouts will shave the handles of knives to save weight. But we all learned over the years that some comforts are worth the extra weight. No way I would take a dutch oven in the Norther Tier for a week, but I certainly understand why stosh would. Me personally, I HAVE TO HAVE a camp chair. It's like one of those stadium seats that separates your bottom from the cruel cold wet ground. So I understand why some folks value a good tasting meal on a back packing trek. In fact, I envy their willingness of sacrifice for pursuit of the passion. I really like good food, I'm just not a good cook and kind of lazy and would rather sit back in my camp chair after a long days trek. 

 

Barry

Edited September 24, 2015 by Eagledad

[Stosh]

I have a fabric seat/back pad that I do a little lashing and have myself a camp chair in no time.  I camp, I don't suffer.  

[DuctTape]

“we do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it.â€

[blw2]

@@Stosh, what sort of mess kit do you recommend?

 

edit:  

I should qualify..... re your simple mess kit cooking that you've written about.

 

Also not just Stosh, anyone else too.... the std BSA one, or something a little better?

Edited September 24, 2015 by blw2

[Krampus]

@@blw2 depends. I'd say the BSA kit if that's what your scouts use and you do a ton of patrol camping. Always good to show the scouts that you use what they use.

 

If you do a bunch of backpacking I have tried a few dozen systems and found this to be the best value for the weight and price. Depending on what you're doing you can pick and choose what to bring. Of course a sierra cup and splork will do you fine, but I like to have the ability to do a bit more and the Microdualist works great.

[Stosh]

@@Stosh, what sort of mess kit do you recommend?

 

edit:  

I should qualify..... re your simple mess kit cooking that you've written about.

 

Also not just Stosh, anyone else too.... the std BSA one, or something a little better?

@@blw2

 

The cheapest aluminum mess kit on the Walmart shelf will do just fine.  I think the hot spots will be there but they won't be as noticeable as the thin steel more expensive ones..  Stay away from the stainless steel copper bottom with Teflon fry pans, just a waste of money.  The only thing to watch out for is aluminum bends rather easily so make sure you maintain the best seal you possibly can.  

 

Cut the top and bottom off a small tin can, lay on its side and step on it to flatten  The flatter the better.  This is your bottom spacer.  

Break off the stupid little plastic bead handle on the boiler and replace with a nut and bolt.  Use the plastic cup for a backup or toss.  It usually does have measuring markings on it so it might be good for something.

 

The boiler is a bit tight to cook in but small muffins work rather well.  Otherwise use the metal cupcake liners all by themselves, that works too.

 

4 charcoal briquettes on the top and 3 briquettes on the bottom should be enough for 350^o.

 

If you see smoke coming out of the seal area, it means you have bent the cover/pan enough that you might want to bend it around a bit or come up with another $15 for a new one.

 

Remember the fry pan is not as deep as the dish, depending on what you're making that might make a difference.  

 

There is no "easy" way to get it in and out of the fire except brush off the coals  When you are plop camping and aren't as worried about the weight a small vice grips to replace the wing nut and bolt in the handle makes it easier to open and check.  Don't do it often, the heat source is small and takes a while to recover opening.  You can do reasonably well with the time indicated on the box if the temperature calls for 350^o..  

 

Start small with inexpensive items.  Maybe do a hobo dinner with the mess kit instead of foil to see how well it works for you.  I normally just boil the carrots and potato in the boiler, fry up the hamburger/onion, put hamburger on plate, add a bit of flour and water to the fry pan to make a gravy, mash potatoes after picking out carrots which get butter/brown sugar glaze on them then add potatoes next to the hamburger pour on the gravy and enjoy.  It is so much better than picking charcoal bits off of aluminum foil.  

 

After a while take along a bit of Bisquick and make small little muffins that you bake on the spacer.  Do that in the fall and toss a bit of crushed raspberries/blackberries on top.  If you're near a blueberry bog, that's even better, just mix them in.

 

If you go with the box mixes, remember they make 12 muffins, make sure you have a ton of buddies around with their mess kits ready too.  They usually take some oil and eggs and bit of milk too.  Bisquick has powdered milk and eggs in the mix already.  Bisquick is cheap and you can try a half dozen times in an afternoon until you figure out the fine details.  Heat source: too hot = black on the outside, raw on the inside.  Heat source not hot enough = dried out all the way through and no browning.  Also remember your briquettes last only about 45 minutes before losing heat.  if you're using wood equivalent, the coals last about half that long even if you're using oak.

 

It doesn't really take that long to figure it all out.  It's good to journal your attempts at the beginning so as to match results to the configuration attempted.

[Stosh]

@@blw2 depends. I'd say the BSA kit if that's what your scouts use and you do a ton of patrol camping. Always good to show the scouts that you use what they use.

 

If you do a bunch of backpacking I have tried a few dozen systems and found this to be the best value for the weight and price. Depending on what you're doing you can pick and choose what to bring. Of course a sierra cup and splork will do you fine, but I like to have the ability to do a bit more and the Microdualist works great.

 

$54? Really? - @@Krampus did you buy stock in the company?    There are parents out there that won't buy a used pair of scout pants for half that.    Naw, the cheapie http://www.brownells.com/emergency-survival-gear/food-amp-cooking-supplies/cooking-supplies/5-piece-aluminum-cook-set-sku100016270-74834-155218.aspx?cm_mmc=cse-_-Itwine-_-pricegrabber-_-Aluminum%20Cook%20Set&gdftrk=gdfV21820_a_7c187_a_7c828_a_7c100016270_d_100016270_d_22437will do just fine.

[Hedgehog]

Also not just Stosh, anyone else too.... the std BSA one, or something a little better?

 

My son and I have two different options for cooking / eating while backpacking (although on weekend trips we take both):

 

The first is the JetBoil, Freezer Bag Cooking  (with homemade cozys) or Freezed Dried Meals, two sporks and two mugs.  Boil water, fill bags, wait 10 minutes and eat.  Can also use the stove and mugs for coffee (Starbucks via packs or the Korean Maxim Mocha Gold which already has cream and sugar), cups of soup, tea.  Nothing but water goes in the JetBoil -- keeps it cleaner.

 

The second is a Snow Peak stove, Snow Peak Titanium 1400 Pot, two black plastic bottoms from black takout bowls and two sporks.  This is used for one pot meals (alll ingredients stored in a freezer bag), Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (with powdered milk) and for faux baking (it fits three of the silicon Silly Feet cupcake holders).  The take out containers work great for holding the food and avoid any spilling when trying to serve and eat on uneven boulders or tree stumps.

 

The other piece of cooking gear we bring is a One Egg Wonder which is a lightweight small teflon frying pan that costs around $6.  Best investment ever - every breakfast is either bacon and sausage with eggs or pancakes.

[Krampus]

$54? Really? - @@Krampus did you buy stock in the company?    There are parents out there that won't buy a used pair of scout pants for half that.    Naw, the cheapie http://www.brownells.com/emergency-survival-gear/food-amp-cooking-supplies/cooking-supplies/5-piece-aluminum-cook-set-sku100016270-74834-155218.aspx?cm_mmc=cse-_-Itwine-_-pricegrabber-_-Aluminum%20Cook%20Set&gdftrk=gdfV21820_a_7c187_a_7c828_a_7c100016270_d_100016270_d_22437will do just fine.

 

LOL...I wish. Since we were talking adult gear I figured I would put out my A list choice. Nice and light, If you are on the trail for two weeks and want something flexible, compact and light, that's a great buy. Expensive? Sure. 

 

When I am at Philmont I simply take my sierra cup and splork, pocket knife to cut anything. I will say that last time we took this instead of the Philmont gear. Took up much less weight and space. 

[Stosh]

Pocket knife, spoon and cup is all I ever take on a backpack trek.  The metal cup is hard to drink out of and hold when it has hot food in it, but one can cook in it if necessary.

[KenD500]

We're having a fishing camp out this weekend.  I really hope someone catches some fish as I don't think any of these Scouts have ever had fried fresh fish.  And I don't mean from a restaurant.

 

I had to look up the recipe for cornmeal batter as it's been awhile for me too.

[Stosh]

Little butter and fish fillets is all you need.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Lemon pepper for a bit of variation.  

[Krampus]

We're having a fishing camp out this weekend.  I really hope someone catches some fish as I don't think any of these Scouts have ever had fried fresh fish.  And I don't mean from a restaurant.

 

I had to look up the recipe for cornmeal batter as it's been awhile for me too.

 

We were south of Dallas last weekend and the fish were biting fine.