Ahh - January - time to bone up on trail cooking dreams while waiting for that thaw.... Its raining cats and Irish wolfhounds today... saw a post from Oz - Jacko about using money to get a steak at a restaurant - because its hard to get it inside the Ti - pot... got me thinking...

When was the last time you had dirty steak? Yea - you pass a grocery just off the trail grab a small steak out of the cooler and make sure it doesn't say Chuck. Nothing wrong with a T-Bone... its like having a handle on Dinner. Slide it next to the water bladder inside the sleeve. Its good to have cold stream water, and don't worry you are not going to die. Grab a few potato's and tin foil. Hike out of town..

You get to the shelter or the clearing.. I don't want to get into all the dementia of that sign over there... (No open fire)

Clear away the leaves make sure your rocks are dry and build that circle, never use slate or wet rocks find a oval one or a flat surface. If you can find one tall one use that as a back rest, to draw the smoke away from you.

Wood - well this is something of an acquired skill, I watched many a boy fall flat on this - you are walking under trees looking for half inch thick long branches. Don't come back with logs. There is no need for a axe - or saw, just a good knife. When breaking it up start with twiggy ends and make that into a pile in the middle and as you get to the other end its every 8 to 12 inches. Go ahead and get it started and gather some more half inch stick about 1 cubic foot. If the wood is wet - you remove the bark with the knife. -- now its not wet.

Well now we have our neanderthal cook set going time to prepare those potatos. cut a large x on one side and break out some butter pats from Mcdonalds if you have them. put a little water in there too. Salt & pepper -wrap in tin foil shiny side in...
set aside... nothing to do for a while.... you are waiting for the flames to die.... no kidding, people still think flame broiled - no you cook on the rock and coals...You can nestle the potatoes on the side provided you turn them so often. If you are a patient cus you want coals. then you place them right in there all snuggled up, rotating every once in a while....

Theres one flat rock warming up right? Thats the hearth stone...move it to the middle. Leave a tall one at the back... why? Any smoke at this point will be elective towards this if it is high enough... on a windless day if you are standing next to a fire the smoke will follow you. Let the rock do the work

Cut the meat into 4 oz sizes so its easier to spork it. Stick the meat on the stone - you should hear a sizzle, no sizzle? not hot enough....add more stick if you want.

Take you thumb and push down on the meat... if its soft it sinks in. (not done yet) if its medium pressure you are almost there. if you burn your thumb or it doensn't sink it at all - too much. Time to eat add some more stick or let it go out.

If you are having an issue fishing the potato out - take a stick and whittle a small spear poke and remove.


please make sure its cold out when leaving...my trick is stir water into the fire pit then, pull it all apart, there is not much left - you would miss it if you walked by. So long as there are not hot coals - pulling it apart - works every time.

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This is marinated Caribou

Bass on Green wood
[IMG:http://www.georgiaoutdoorsurvivalskills.com/Video File/Broiling bass.jpg]

Deanna & I was just watching Walter Staib prepare Venison and he took pure fat back from a butcher froze it sliced it into thin strips and used a larding kneedle it insert the lard into the skin - (it melts in) then coated the meat with EVO. Then put fresh herbs on the top and shoved the whole pot into the oven. (PBS)

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TrafficJam wrote:

This summer I plan on learning how to catch, clean, and cook fish. That's going to be interesting.

You can do that now... search on YOU TUBE.

TrafficJam wrote:

WanderingStovie wrote:

The pair of fish look like forearms cut off a zombie, but I was watching "The Walking Dead."

I thought so too, and I don't watch the Walking Dead.

I do - every morning I watch the walking dead when friends come to work without coffee.

OK here is a similar video to what I am talking about. DO NOT USE SLATE - use a stone w few breaks in it.

Scottish? version with Hammock Campers - doesn't appear to be a trail... They appear to be trekking

Its a little long - but they talk about their aspirations, no apparent rock but it worked. They used some pine and I am on the fence about that too. I love the home made tools.

I think you are both right-ash is wood smoke and the higher temp caramelizes any sugars in the meat.

Watch what this guy does with an apple!

After years of Backpacking and camping we take a lot of what we do as not special, just mundane. Try to explain dirty steak to a Boy Scout - priceless.

This guy has the right idea, I found it a bit odd - I would have used ramps or onion grass on the inside of the foil. Perhaps no foil at all - and the wood fire would have been going at the bottom while cleaning the fish... not a fan of the upside down pit... the straws of lemon pepper was great. I was thinking a green switch grate and stick the fish on top.