Breaking of the michelin(-ish) star wilderness chef

[Emdiesse]

On a longer stay you can often find me attempting some sort of gourmet bushcraft meal (much to the amusement of my friends). Attempting to fry some chicken, boil rice and boil up sugar snap peas and baby corn on the cob is just one of my slightly elaborate meal attempts (now, much to amusement of BCUK also?). It is my ambition to, over time, develop a greater understanding of the wild food around me and start to introduce that into my meals also... So far I have only really cooked with ramsons and charred a load of blackberries to the bottom of my 12cm billy in an attempt of making a nice sauce to dip my bannock into.

Anyway, the times when I wish to be a little adventurous with my meals I am trying to find out how I can actually have a few things on the go at the same time!

I was looking for a handle-less saucepan that will nest perfectly within my 12cm billy can and found an 11cm single tier stainless tiffin on ebay that fit the bill but now I am thinking that I could actually get more out of purchasing one of the 14cm zebra saucepans since it'd be a tidy place to carry food in as well (and the lid could double up as a plate!) since otherwise it all rolls about and gets battered and squashed in my bag! It'll make carrying eggs easier as well for a nice cheeky poached egg on bannock breakfast...

So does anybody else try to break out the michelin(-ish) star wilderness chef within them, or am I the only one not satisfied with one-pot wonders or boil in the bags on a long stay. I mean, so a short trip, one night stay then it's acceptable. However for the longer trips, I find it quite fun to be a bit more adventurous with my dinners!

Or has anyone else managed to find a way of boiling potatoes, boiling veg and grilling a steak to go with some nice stilton sauce in a single 12cm billy can and a 12cm frying pan!?

So how do you carry for food, and how do you cope with cooking slightly more elaborate meals in a single billy!

 

[Satyr]

Take more than one pan! The other alternative is to try cooking with rocks and burrying root veg like potatoes and parsnips or even the meat wrapped up in leaves.

you can make some fantastic stews and curries using herbs and spices and they dont add too much weight to your kit. I find a block of creamed coconut and a spice mix made up before travel will make anything taste great.

 

[Emdiesse]

Take more than one pan!

Trying to be conscious of weight, and the likes. I think I will start taking more than one pan. At least it's somewhere to store food on the hikes to camp.
Yeah, normally try to attempt other ways of cooking without utensils... but find anything that is a liquid requires some sort of pot and sometimes one just doesn't cut it.

Just wondering if others cope with just a zebra billy or if they carry multiple pans also.

I'm tempted to switch my zebra to a crusader cup for the short duration outings that require only instant noodles and the likes and then getting a more versatile, larger cookset for the longer trips where I want to be a little more adventurous!

 

[Emdiesse]

you can make some fantastic stews and curries using herbs and spices and they dont add too much weight to your kit. I find a block of creamed coconut and a spice mix made up before travel will make anything taste great.

Thanks for the tip

 

[udamiano]

MatinK9 is your man, His camp meals are becoming legendary in the Midlands

 

[lannyman8]

use a stick to spear veg or meat and roast it over the fire, use your pan for wet stews brews etc, salt is a must when out in the woods, another is chilli..

 

[Harvestman]

I'm putting in a vote for The Big Lebowski as bushcraft chef extraordinaire. I eat better around a campfire with him than I do if I go to a restaurant.

 

[Emdiesse]

Good, so i'm not the only one against ALWAYS boil-in-the-bag/chuck everything in and see how it turns out. It's just a matter of finding the perfect cookware for myself for longer trips because the 12cm billy just doesn't cut it! Although, still, it's a fantastic bit of kit!

For those who like more than one pot. What do you find the best solution?

Trying to nest pots or keeping the pots unested, since you can always fill the pot up with food/other kit anyway?

 

[Elines]

MatinK9 is your man, His camp meals are becoming legendary in the Midlands

Wot he said

 

[Emdiesse]

Right, so where are these legendary chefs!

I need some tips on the perfect gourmet bushcraft cookware!

 

[winst0nsmith]

I used to cook for a living and love food so here's my two cents..

Thicker walled pans/billies may be heavier but will burn less as they spread the heat more, nothing ruins a dish more than carbonising in a pan; aluminium also has associations with alzheimers.

Butter makes almost everything taste better, the saying "monter au beurre"(ish) is famous in proffesional kitchens, it roughly translates as "frame with butter", ie- first and last thing into the pan. Butter lasts alot longer than billed if you're carefull with it, freeze it, keep it insulated and out of the sun and chip it off when needed, it's very obvious if it has gone off.

A mixture of onion, carrots and celery used as a base in place of just onion will give a broader taste to food and provide more nutrients. This can easily be prepared at home and taken into the woods in a suitable container.

Avoid dry stock cubes like Oxo, the oily ones like Knorr taste way better.

Learn to identify ransoms (wild garlic), the greens are an amazing accompanyment to tomatoes, some top chefs rate the combination as better than toms and basil, you can make a good sauce with just a tin of toms and ransom greens.

Couscous is kick-bum camping carb, just add hot water, flavour and vitamins.

A mixture of chili powder and paprika will bridge between the front-of-the-mouth-heat and back-of-the-mouth-stock tastebuds better than chili alone; a very hot chili and low heat chili mixed with paprika is even better. A touch of cumin too also helps with alot of dishes, all can be combined in a tiny container.

One for the DIYers/foragers/gardeners- Nettle and sunflower pesto; just swap basil for nettle and sunflower for pine nuts, stores well out of the fridge if an oil layer is kept on top.

Cut a bananna on the inside of the curve and stuff with dark chocolate, roast in the embers on the outside of the curve, it's devine, can be messy but it's delicious.

Squirrel baked in a flour and mustard coating is lovely.

Of course, that's just my opinion and experience but I hope sharing it helps

 

[Emdiesse]

I used to cook for a living and love food so here's my two cents..Thicker walled pans/billies may be heavier but will burn less as they spread the heat more, nothing ruins a dish more than carbonising in a pan; aluminium also has associations with alzheimers.Butter makes almost everything taste better, the saying "monter au beurre"(ish) is famous in proffesional kitchens, it roughly translates as "frame with butter", ie- first and last thing into the pan. Butter lasts alot longer than billed if you're carefull with it, freeze it, keep it insulated and out of the sun and chip it off when needed, it's very obvious if it has gone off.A mixture of onion, carrots and celery used as a base in place of just onion will give a broader taste to food and provide more nutrients. This can easily be prepared at home and taken into the woods in a suitable container.Avoid dry stock cubes like Oxo, the oily ones like Knorr taste way better.Learn to identify ransoms (wild garlic), the greens are an amazing accompanyment to tomatoes, some top chefs rate the combination as better than toms and basil, you can make a good sauce with just a tin of toms and ransom greens.Couscous is kick-bum camping carb, just add hot water, flavour and vitamins.A mixture of chili powder and paprika will bridge between the front-of-the-mouth-heat and back-of-the-mouth-stock tastebuds better than chili alone; a very hot chili and low heat chili mixed with paprika is even better. A touch of cumin too also helps with alot of dishes, all can be combined in a tiny container.One for the DIYers/foragers/gardeners- Nettle and sunflower pesto; just swap basil for nettle and sunflower for pine nuts, stores well out of the fridge if an oil layer is kept on top.Cut a bananna on the inside of the curve and stuff with dark chocolate, roast in the embers on the outside of the curve, it's devine, can be messy but it's delicious.Squirrel baked in a flour and mustard coating is lovely.Of course, that's just my opinion and experience but I hope sharing it helps

Great post Thanks for all the really helpful tips . Cous cous sounds like a nice thing to carry for a very quick meal