COOKING

Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills CONNECTICUT YANKEE COUNCIL

COOKING This is just a guide to assist you in getting started with your boys on how to cook in the outdoors. It is by no means the end all be all. First words of advice. You cannot pick up a cookbook and immediately head for camp and start cooking. There is much to be done before then. The planning that is done before you go camping can and will do much to minimize any camp cooking problems. This is the first step all boys should learn – plan your meals. And you are dealing with boys who may not know how to boil water! So take your time, allow them to learn how to cook simply, slowly, and healthy. Home recipes work just as well in the outdoor kitchen as in the kitchen at home. Emphasize to them the concept of planning menus and developing a complete shopping list. A boy has a tendency to only worry about the main foods and totally forget the condiments like syrup for the pancakes or ketchup for the burgers. As an adult leader, be ready to assist the boys in the most difficult part of cooking – following the directions. It’s just not in their nature to read and follow directions. One of three things will usually happen with a recipe: 1. Do not read instructions carefully 2. Do not follow instructions at all 3. Do not ask for help or ask questions. When teaching them to shop, encourage them, and their parents, to purchase store brands products. They are cheaper in price and frankly, the boys can’t tell the difference.

And one more suggestion – ONE POT MEALS. They are easier to prepare and easier to clean up. Don’t be surprised when the boys decide to do the same meals for three or four or five campouts in a row. They have limited taste buds and they are finicky eaters. To help expand their culinary skills and their taste buds, invite them to share some of the wonderful dishes the adult leaders prepare. If they like it, they will try it the next time. Above all, be patient. They will learn to plan and cook by themselves. Enjoy! Plan Your Meals • How many are going/ how long will you be away • What will you be doing – activities • How will you reach camp • What will the weather be • Provide a properly balanced diet

The answers to these questions will determine the type of food you will take: • Fresh • Nonperishable • Dried/ dehydrated • Canned

Balanced Diet/ Servings

Meat Group 2 or more servings: Beef, Veal, Poultry, Pork, Lamb, Fish, Eggs Alternatives are: Dry beans, dry peas, nuts

Milk Group Some milk for everyone Children…..3 or 4 cups Teenagers....4 or more cups Adults…….2 or more cups

Vegetable & Fruit Group 4 or more servings including: A citrus or other fruit or vegetable – source of Vitamin C A dark green or dark yellow vegetable for Vitamin A (at least every other day) Other vegetables and fruits

Bread and Cereal Group 4 or more servings of Whole grain, enriched breads

PLUS Other foods as needed to complete meals and to provide food energy and other food values

FOOD PYRAMID

Water Sources • Water at campgrounds – usually tested by public health

officials • Open water from streams, lakes, ponds must be treated • Water treatment: boiling, purification tablets, filters

Good Nutrition – Food should: • Build your body/ keep it in good repair • Provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, and bulk • Serve as a source of energy

Menus Menus make planning possible. Once you know how many meals you need, then you write down what you want to prepare for each meal. And don’t forget that family recipes are a good source of ideas. • Shopping list: list every ingredient for every meal.

Remember staples such as sugar, flour, cooking oil – Condiments such as sugar, butter, ketchup, spices

• Cost per person: figure what the meals will cost.

• Size of Servings:

Repackaging Foods • Lighten your load and save space by packing only what you

need. • Leave boxes and cans at home. • Use Ziploc bags to carry food. Double bagging insures no

spills or leaks. • Cut menus and put them in the bag.

Food Storage • Protect your food from Mother Nature. Use coolers and/ or

bear bags. • Remind Scouts that there is never to be food in tents. You

will invite midnight visitors! Helpful Hints For the cooks there are a few items, basics that must be followed: • Keep Clean: start clean and stay clean. • Allow ample time for meal prep: plan when you will start

cooking • Keep the kitchen area clean: just remember, “You won’t

have a mess unless you make a mess.” • Only the head cook seasons the food • Read instructions and follow instructions: most important

rule for those with little or no cooking experience. • The head cook is in charge • Cooks can, and should, help with the clean-up • Leave a clean camp • Always have a patrol Duty Roster

Basic Cooking Equipment

A set of pots and pans • 8 quart pot • 4 quart pot • Coffee/ cocoa pot • Small round fry pan • Large round fry pan

Measuring cup – 8 oz. Measuring spoons Spatula Large stirring spoon Large fork Pair of tongs for coals Campfire pliers for hot pots Pairing knife Can opener Set of plastic bowls Gloves for hot pots Cutting boards – plastic Small first aid kit Water jug Aluminum foil 3 washbasins 2-burner propane/ white gas stove

Additional Equipment Dutch oven(s) Backpacking stoves

TYPES OF FIRES

Wood • Tinder: dry, small, easily ignitable material – birch bark, shredded

cedar bark, small dead limbs from evergreen. • Fire starters: paraffin soaked materials • Kindling: small, burnable material – need ample supply to grow

fire • Wood fuel: larger pieces for basic fire support

Remember you will need a lot of wood to feed the fire and develop cooking coals. Charcoal • Commercially prepared lump charcoal – burns rather quickly • Charcoal briquettes – burn evenly and long

UTENSILLESS

COOKING Using: ONION: Cut the onion in half and scoop out all but the two outside

layers. Crack an egg into each half or fill with chopped meat. Place directly on hot coals.

ORANGE: Cut the top one third off an orange. Scoop out the orange and

fill bottom – half way – with cake mix. Replace the top. Set on coals to bake.

POTATO: Cut out the center of the potato. Fill with chopped meat –

hamburger – and diced onion or butter and cheese. Plug the hole with the piece removed. Coat with two inches of thick mud or wrap in aluminum foil. Place on hot coals. Cooks in about one hour.

PAPER CUP: Fill with water. Drop a whole egg either with or without the

shell. Set paper cup on coals to cook. PAPER BAG: Place two strips of bacon in the bottom of the bag. Crack an egg

over the bacon. Hang bag on a stick over hot coals to cook. BREAD: Press a wad of dough on the end of a stick and bake over hot

coals. KABOB: Skewer meat, potatoes and one vegetable on a stick. Cook over

hot coals. HOT ROCK: Cook hamburger, eggs, steaks, fish, bacon or bread on a flat hot

rock laid over hot coals. CORN: Remove corn silk and soak in water. Lay on hot coals for about

8 minutes per side. CHICKEN: Using a string, hang a whole chicken from a tripod over a bed

of coals. Fashion an umbrella of aluminum foil over the chicken to reflect heat and act as an oven.

APPLE: Cut away half of core. Fill with cinnamon and marshmallows.

Shove the apple on the end of a forked stick and hold over coals until marshmallow melts or the apple is easy to puncture with a fork or thin stick.

DOG IN A BLANKET: Push a thin stick lengthwise through a hot dog. Wrap hot dog

with biscuit dough and bake over hot coals.

FISH: Leave the head on the fish. Scale the fish but do not remove the skin. Tie the fish to a piece of sweet wood (willow) and put the head into the coals. Let it steam for about 10 minutes or until the fish meat separates easily. Split the fish and remove the bones. Tack the fish to a flat board with the meat exposed. Place a couple of strips of bacon over the fish. Build a hot fire in front of the board. Reflected heat will cook fish and bacon at the same time.

SPIT: Chicken and other large pieces of meat can be cooked over a

fire on a spit. Chicken must be fresh and completely cleaned with pinfeathers removed. The spit is a peeled stick running from vent to neck and supported on forked sticks or another device so it can be rotated. The chicken must be trussed so that it will turn with the spit and so that legs and wings do not stick out. Turn until the bird has an even tan.

COOKBOOKS Camp Cookery for Small Groups BSA Publication Irving, Texas NOLS Cookery National Outdoor Leadership School Lander, Wyoming Dutch Oven Cooking John G. Ragsdale Lone Star Books A Division of Gulf Publishing Company Houston, Texas Camper’s Guide to Outdoor Cooking John G. Ragsdale Gulf Publishing Company Houston, Texas Pocket Guide to Cooking in the Great Outdoors Earl Shelsby Stackpole Books Harrisburg, PA