If you are lucky enough to go fishing during an outing and are even luckier by catching a fish you must then deal with making it edible by cleaning (this is the easy part). Check out the video in this post to see how simple it is to clean a small fish such as a Brook or Rainbow Trout. When cooking fish always use as few additives as possible and avoid overcooking - the tail end will always cook fastest. Overcooking can be prevented by elevating the tail over a piece of wood like a smoker block or by moving the tail to the coolest part of the frying pan and by paying attention to the texture of the fish while cooking. If you are having other foods with your fishcook the most dense foods first (potatoes, carrots, etc.) and cut them into small evenly-sized pieces.Cook the fish towards the end of the cooking session so that everything finishes at about the same time. Eat well and don't be afraid of your food!
2 whole Trout(1-pound each), cleaned (head, gills and skin can be on or off)
Rinse the cleaned fish under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut a few diagonal slashes along each side of the fish. 1 plate of all-purpose flour Salt and pepper Season the flour with salt and pepper. Roll the cleaned trout in the seasoned flour until covered.
2 ounces butter 2 ounces canola oil (or other high smoke point oil) Mix butter and oil in pan and melt/heat. Heat the butter in a frying pan until bubbling and then fry the trout for about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown. Cook trout until browned or until internal temperature reads 140F. Perfectly cooked fish is nearly opaque, should be very moist and will flake easily with a fork. Makes 2 servings.
Understanding which foods can supply your daily needs for vitamins, minerals and general sustenance will help you by giving you a range of healthful things to eat. When you are shopping for camping foods (and food in general) be sure to read and understand food and ingredient labels as well as how the nutritional and energy value of the food fits into your overall daily needs. This is easier for packaged foods than it is for fresh produce but there are nutritional databases available online that may help with the latter. Another strategy for keeping your vitamins and minerals balanced in your diet is to make your snacks like "mini meals" with all of the food groups represented,in greatly reduced portions. Have fun as you are learning about meal planning, grocery shopping and understanding how to keep your body's metabolic fire burning in the safest and most complete way possible.
Trail Mix Bars (Adapted from Allrecipes.com) Cooking spray Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
3 cups crispy rice cereal 3 cups toasted oat cereal rings (such as Cheerios) 1 1/2 cups raw unsalted sunflower seeds 1 cup raisins 3/4 cup chocolate chips
Mix crispy rice cereal, oat cereal rings, sunflower seeds, raisins, and chocolate chips together in a large bowl. 1 cup honey 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 cups peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Stir honey and brown sugar in a saucepan, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Stir and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla extract until smooth and well blended. Pour the hot peanut butter mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until all dry ingredients are moistened. Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish to make an even layer. Let cool and cut into bars. Makes 24 bars.
Much of the anxiety in camp cookery (besides determining what to eat) regards cleanliness. With news headlines regularly frightening the general public about E. coli outbreaks at national food chains it should come as no surprise. Fortunately there are a few simple steps that will keep you, your food and equipment clean and ready for use and will reduce the chance of contamination and resulting illness. Cleaning yourself: Wash your hands thoroughly before beginning cooking, after handling any raw meats and whenever you have the slightest suspicion that your hands may not clean enough. Cleaning food: Rinse fruits, vegetables and meats as part of regular meal preparation.Store raw meat away from other ingredients during food preparation. Cleaning equipment: Wash your cooking gear thoroughly using the three pot method detailed in your Scout Handbook. If you are using a minimalist cooking kit wash anything that comes into contact with food three times (with hot water containing biodegradable soap, hot water rinse, then cold water with sanitizer) then allow to air dry. Also wash all equipment that touches raw meat before reusing it in the same cooking session. Some equipment such as cast iron and non-stick coated pans require special care - be sure to check out the instructions for cleaning them when they are purchased or ask anyone who uses this equipment regularly about proper cleaning.
1/3 cup shortening 1 1/3 cups flour 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder 3/4 tsp. salt 3/4 cups milk Mix dry ingredients. Cut shortening into dry ingredients. Slowly add milk and knead (less is best - the more you knead the harder the biscuits become). Roll out and cut biscuits. Bake until golden brown. Reduce heat to minimum (or turn off and wrap biscuits in tinfoil) to keep biscuits warm until gravy is ready. Serves 6. 3 lbs. sausage 3/4 cups flour Seasoning salt (or salt and pepper) to taste 6 cups milk Brown sausage in skillet or dutch oven. Dust flour over the browned sausage and brown it with the already browned sausage. Add milk slowly and thicken to desired consistency. Serve poured over biscuits. Serves 12.
Anyone who has seen The Swedish Chef on The Muppet Show has realized that the comedy comes from the nonsense and the inevitable mess that the character makes. But did you know that these are also common pitfalls in real cooking? The nonsense usually comes from cooking in a hurry, not understanding the recipe or not taking the time to properly prepare ingredients while the mess usually comes from not getting everything organized before the cooking begins. As you can tell, this month's theme is cooking. To help with this there will be two posts per week for the month of April. Each post will also have two sections: The first section will detail some general cooking information or procedures and the second section will feature a recipe that you can try. Check out the online parts of the Scout Handbook on cooking, your regular Scout Handbook and the pamphlet for the Cooking Merit Badge for more information and most of all have fun! A dutch oven is a medium-large cooking vessel with a lid that is typically made of cast iron, steel or ceramic materials. While not the lightest or smallest of options for cooking and extended trips it is certainly one of the best multi-taskers. Many recipes can be used with this single pot to greatly simplify your cooking and reduce the dishes that you have to clean. However, there are some special precautions that need to be used when using a dutch oven. Some recipes require that charcoal briquettes or coals be placed on the lid once it is on the oven - do not skip this because it sounds odd - the purpose is to create even heating and to increase the heat inside the dutch oven. Also, do not scrub the inside of a cast iron oven overly hard when cleaning and do not clean with soap as it removes the non-stick coating or "seasoning" from the oven and will make your next meals taste like soap. Always remember to reseason cast iron dutch ovens after they are clean and dry. Also avoid high acidity foods with a cast iron oven as this will promote rusting.If acidic foods are unavoidable simply rinse the oven immediately after it has cooled and don't delay the washing. Tips like these will help you get the most use out of a dutch oven as you develop your recipes and cooking skills. Blackberry Cobbler (Adapted from Byron's Dutch Oven Recipes) 4 cups fresh blackberries (or 2 bags of frozen then thawed) 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest 1/4 cup water
Wash fresh blackberries and drain (or let frozen berries thaw then rinse). In a large bowl combine blackberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, lemon zest and water then stir to coat blackberries and let rest.
In a separate bowl combine flour, 2 cups of sugar, baking powder and salt then stir to mix. Add milk and beat until batter is smooth.
1 stick butter
Melt butter using 10-12 briquettes under a 12" Dutch oven. Pour batter over melted butter slowly (do not stir). Carefully spoon blackberry mix over top of the batter (do not stir).
1 tsp. cinnamon
Sprinkle cinnamon over top.
Cover and bake using 10-12 briquettes under the dutch oven and 18-20 on the lid for 45 to 60 minutes. Rotate the oven and lid 1/4 turn in opposite directions every 10 minutes until crust is golden brown. Serves 10.
While the Troop prepares for this Summer's "50-miler" through conditioning hikes, gear preparation and trip planning start thinking about ways that you can contribute to a service project that can help to improve the trail once the final route is determined. Opportunities should be discussed with Troop leaders who will then check with the recognized authorities responsible for the trail to determine the most practical options. Bring your ideas to our next planning session for the hike. Be sure to also check out the requirements for the 50-Miler Award to see how a small service project fits into the overall picture for a long-distance hike by demonstrating Leave No Trace principles as well as good stewardship of natural resources.
Altimeter, GPS, compass, digital compass, map, pace-counting beads, cell phone apps, map measuring tool, UTM ruler, etc. The list is long for devices that can potentially help you with your orientation, navigation and routefinding. However, the best navigation tool isright between your ears - that's right, your brain! Just consider what would happen if you were to get separated from your backpack or otherwise damaged your navigation tools (bug repellant and water have been the culprit many times). In short you would be fine but only if you keep calm and concentrate on what you know. The sun, moon, stars, water and vegetation can all help you navigate without the use of a map, compass or other conventional tools. Check out your Scout Handbook to find out more about how to use these, and other, methods of navigation. If you study different ways to navigate, with and without tools, you will become more confident when faced with changing conditions, locations and resources.
There are many tools in your camping equipment that can prove crucial in an emergency situation. Your compass is just such an item, but only if you know how to use it and its different parts.Take at look at the image in this post then write down the numbers on a piece of paper. Try to label the parts of the compass next to their corresponding number.When you are done click the image to see the answers and check your work.You can study your Scout Handbook to get more familiar with your compass as well as how to use it both by itself and with a topographic map. Navigation is a technical and perishable skill - practice often and well!
