Hi Guys
newbie in here wondering if there are any cook books for outdoor cooking or is it make it up as you go along.
newbie in here wondering if there are any cook books for outdoor cooking or is it make it up as you go along.
Cooking books
- Thread starter rockjock
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There's lots out there if you do a search in Amazon and similar sites for campfire cooking.
Basically it all depends on what your set up is. If I've got my dutch ovens then there's just about nothing that I can't cook on a campfire that I cook at home in my oven.
Basically it all depends on what your set up is. If I've got my dutch ovens then there's just about nothing that I can't cook on a campfire that I cook at home in my oven.
Look up two books by Francis Mallman (at least these two).......Seven Fires, and Francis Mallman On Fire.
He is a highly trained gourmet chef from Argentina who gave it all up almost twenty years ago to explore cooking on wood, there's some great things in these and he covers every aspect of outside cooking on wood and charcoal. Highly recommended
He is a highly trained gourmet chef from Argentina who gave it all up almost twenty years ago to explore cooking on wood, there's some great things in these and he covers every aspect of outside cooking on wood and charcoal. Highly recommended
"COOK WILD. Year Round Cooking On An Open Fire" by Susanne Fischer-Rizzi. Good looking book with a nice layout. For each recipe you get ingredients, method, utensils required, type of fire, variations. Inspires you to experiment.
"The Food Journal of Lewis & Clark. Recipes for an Expedition" by Mary Gunderson. Lots of interesting recipes in and amongst a great story. This is the book I dip into for a read as I wait for something to cook.
Your idea of 'making it up as you go along' is definately something you should do, but a book or two is no bad thing to give you ideas to play with even if you never use the recipes as they are given. Good luck and good eating.
"The Food Journal of Lewis & Clark. Recipes for an Expedition" by Mary Gunderson. Lots of interesting recipes in and amongst a great story. This is the book I dip into for a read as I wait for something to cook.
Your idea of 'making it up as you go along' is definately something you should do, but a book or two is no bad thing to give you ideas to play with even if you never use the recipes as they are given. Good luck and good eating.
Above all, do the culinary experimenting in your kitchen, first. First time around, always follow the book.
Write down edits as they seem appropriate.
On your hands and knees at +2C in semi darkness is the wrong place and time to figure it out.
Got it working? Premeasure and bag up what you need.
The above are good plans from BCUK members. Thanks.
Write down edits as they seem appropriate.
On your hands and knees at +2C in semi darkness is the wrong place and time to figure it out.
Got it working? Premeasure and bag up what you need.
The above are good plans from BCUK members. Thanks.
Hi 3 books spring to mind though one is aimed more at expeditions the other is aimed at I'm guessing "Glamping" and the third is aimed at traditional camps and is more of an interesting read rather than useful to bushcrafters.
1) "The Happy Camper", is a nice modern US book it's NOT a dedicated cook book, but includes loads of ideas and advice for all sorts of outdoor activities (including with Children and dogs) it's based on general outdoor activities rather than bushcraft but still worth a look, as it's aimed at people that may be away from home for weeks on rafting/hiking expeditions rather than days, it has a nice section on "GORP eating Etiquette", which is sensible....you should share, but, how do you share GORP?
(GORP basically a bag mixture of sweets dried fruit/nuts etc)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Camp...=1486491529&sr=1-14&keywords=the+happy+camper
2) "The camping cookbook"
just from the front cover and the VW camper on page 5 you get the sense it's aimed at people that aren't roughing it, many of the ingredients are fresh like burgers and eggs and salad so aren't the sort of thing you can practically copy on a bushcraft weekend, and would be impossible on an expedition so more usefull as an ideas book, nice all the same, I'll give an example: (page 169) Chocolate Rum Bananas! ingredients include: Chocolate, Rum, Bananas, Butter, Milk, and Mascarpone cheese....so not the most practical of camp meals, anyhow here is the link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camping-Cookbook-Love-Food/dp/1407562509
3) "Ministry of Education pamphlet no.11:Organised camping".
It's not really a useful cooking book but an "old school" eye-opener it describes and plans a truely huge camp kitchen for up to 34 people!
We'd never consider using even half the kit they used!
My copy, was issued by the British Government in 1951, and details literally everything you need to know to run a scout type camp, including making latrines, timetables, how to contact the local butcher and baker(I kid you not!) as an example the catering equipment list includes:
60 bricks for kitchen fire
8 yards of butter muslin.
3 basins or large stone jars to fit in Dixies for steaming puddings.
12 bowls for washing
12 bowls for sugar Jam etc.
it's a wonderfully out of date book, and still has it's uses if nothing else it's a giggle tring to work out what some of the kit is and what it's function was i.e.
2oz Magnezium sulphate and 1oz Boric powder, 8 buckets, 6 duck boards, and no less than 150 blankets!
so my next question is in the 1940's-1950's...how the heck did they get the mountains of kit to a campsite?
anyhow here is the link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINISTRY-E...8&qid=1486492893&sr=1-2&keywords=HMSO+camping
and enjoy!
1) "The Happy Camper", is a nice modern US book it's NOT a dedicated cook book, but includes loads of ideas and advice for all sorts of outdoor activities (including with Children and dogs) it's based on general outdoor activities rather than bushcraft but still worth a look, as it's aimed at people that may be away from home for weeks on rafting/hiking expeditions rather than days, it has a nice section on "GORP eating Etiquette", which is sensible....you should share, but, how do you share GORP?
(GORP basically a bag mixture of sweets dried fruit/nuts etc)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Camp...=1486491529&sr=1-14&keywords=the+happy+camper
2) "The camping cookbook"
just from the front cover and the VW camper on page 5 you get the sense it's aimed at people that aren't roughing it, many of the ingredients are fresh like burgers and eggs and salad so aren't the sort of thing you can practically copy on a bushcraft weekend, and would be impossible on an expedition so more usefull as an ideas book, nice all the same, I'll give an example: (page 169) Chocolate Rum Bananas! ingredients include: Chocolate, Rum, Bananas, Butter, Milk, and Mascarpone cheese....so not the most practical of camp meals, anyhow here is the link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/Camping-Cookbook-Love-Food/dp/1407562509
3) "Ministry of Education pamphlet no.11:Organised camping".
It's not really a useful cooking book but an "old school" eye-opener it describes and plans a truely huge camp kitchen for up to 34 people!
We'd never consider using even half the kit they used!
My copy, was issued by the British Government in 1951, and details literally everything you need to know to run a scout type camp, including making latrines, timetables, how to contact the local butcher and baker(I kid you not!) as an example the catering equipment list includes:
60 bricks for kitchen fire
8 yards of butter muslin.
3 basins or large stone jars to fit in Dixies for steaming puddings.
12 bowls for washing
12 bowls for sugar Jam etc.
it's a wonderfully out of date book, and still has it's uses if nothing else it's a giggle tring to work out what some of the kit is and what it's function was i.e.
2oz Magnezium sulphate and 1oz Boric powder, 8 buckets, 6 duck boards, and no less than 150 blankets!
so my next question is in the 1940's-1950's...how the heck did they get the mountains of kit to a campsite?
anyhow here is the link:https://www.amazon.co.uk/MINISTRY-E...8&qid=1486492893&sr=1-2&keywords=HMSO+camping
and enjoy!
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As others have said, there are plenty of"outdoor cooking" books from which t choose. However,you need to be a competent cook at home if you are to be good at your camp. If you currently don;t cook at home, begin to do so. Understand how different types of food need to be handled and the best cooking techniques for them, then use those same techniques and understanding at camp. There are plenty of primers to choose from, but I have found Delia Smith's "Complete Cooking Course" to be particularly valuable and I frequently refer back to it after 50 years. You should practice at home using the equipment you will be using at camp, then you won;t be dismayed by the limitations imposed by spirit stoves and canister stoves plus lightweight cooking pots(stuff burns very easily in them). Good luck, and don;t be too discouraged by initial failures. For me, as I hike/backpack, I cook the meals I want at home,dehydrate them to save weight and stop them rotting, then all I have to do in camp is boil water, at which the typical camping equipment is well suited
I get to cook on the camping kit at least once a month with our traditional total power failures!
PDA1 makes many good points. If you cook low and slow and it takes some time, at least you didn't burn it. Be grateful for that.
The nights don't get any shorter if you can cook it all in a real flash. "Heart-stopper" (bacon & eggs) always tastes good.
PDA1 makes many good points. If you cook low and slow and it takes some time, at least you didn't burn it. Be grateful for that.
The nights don't get any shorter if you can cook it all in a real flash. "Heart-stopper" (bacon & eggs) always tastes good.
