Simple Fireside Recipe Collection

[SussexRob]

Hi All,

I am contsantly searching through the Lovely Grub Section for ideas and inspiration to use, and also to pass on to my Explorer Scouts. We frequently cook on open fires, and, it can get challenging to come up with simple new ideas for them to try. There are loads on this site, and I'm sure that people have many more in thier memory banks too.

I thought it might be useful/fun to share those simple, minumal/no ustensil reciepies in one thread. I apologies if it's been done before, and if it has, by all means delete/close this thread. From my point of view, I am hoping that this thread could become a useful resource for fellow scouters, and others who are running short of new ideas!

I'll start the ball rolling withs a couple of my simple favouites.

Egg in a tatty - simple but an effective, tasty and filling.

Cut the top couple of centimeters off a Baking potatoe, and hollow out the main body, leaving a wall thickness of around 5-10 mm. Crack an egg into the hollow, and re-attch the top with a couple of cocktail sticks.

Place in the embers for half hours or so, devoure when potatoe is cooked through! You can wrap it in a couple of layers of foil to protact the skin, but not essential.

Poor Man's Christmas pud

Butter a slice of bread, and place butter side down onto a sheet of tin foil (double layer it, and make sure it is a sheet large enough to completely wrap up the bread).

Dice up some apple, mix in some sultanas, chopped orange, (any other fruit you like really) add some cinnamon, and spread onto the slice of bread. Cover with brown sugar, preferable soft dark stuff.

Better a second slice of bread, and place on to (butter side) up to make a sandwich.

Place in the embers of a decent cooking fire and toast for 15 min, and enjoy! If you are feeling very lazy, you can change out the fruit mix with mince-meat.

 

[SimonM]

Kebabs on a green stick

Thick slices of salami, onion, peppers, mushroom and tomatoes

Fish in newspaper

Gutted trout, stuffed with lemon and a touch of black pepper.
Wrap in 5 or 6 sheets of wet newpaper (like "pass the parcel").
Place on the embers and cook for approx 10 minutes each side.
You'll know when its "done" as it goes quite firm.
Unwrap and eat

"Boiled" eggs

Make a hole in the end of an egg - about 10mm dia.
Using a thin twig, stir the egg to break any membranes
Place in the embers an leave for about 10 minutes.

Caution - if the hole isn't large enough it WILL eggsplode so watch where you are sitting!

 

[Wayland]

I'd have to put in my Gin Gan Goo then. (Properly called "English Rarebit")

Pour some beer into a billy can and add a bit of mustard.

Melt in a lump of cheese until gooey and then dip your bread in and eat it.

Quantities are all completely variable as are the types of beer, cheese and mustard.

No two pots are ever the same but the result always seems to disappear rapidly.

 

[Mesquite]

No two pots are ever the same but the result always seems to disappear rapidly.

That's because it's simply delicious... especially with fresh crusty bread ... Mmmmm

Something your scouts can try is slow roast leg of lamb. 5 hours cooking and you have a gorgeous tasy meal

The pictures explain it all

 

[SussexRob]

Some great stuff there peeps, thanks for the input and help with the thread!

The baked egg is a classic, especially when you see people realsise too late that the hole is too small.

A similiar variation to the fish in news paper, is steaming it on a bed of moss.

The Gin Gan Goo sounds great, one that will be tried next time I am out!

 

[drewdunnrespect]

shot in a pot or in other words stew

any veg and any meet amounts very put in a dutch oven left for five hours on a fire and stired every once in a while

nice

drew

 

[lannyman8]

why not try making a smoking rack to place over the fire, you can place any fish/meat onto it, veg too.....

or a pizza pocket, make some bread mix, enough for a bread roll sort of size. roll out/flatten the base with half the mix to around 8mm thick, place the filling onto the base leaving 10-15 mm around the edge with no filling, you can add what you like as long as its not too wet..... flatten the remaining mix big enough to cover the filling and base, wet the edge of the base with water so the two stick together, place on the lid and crimp the edge... lastly put a hote in the top with your knife to let the steam out, place in the ashes or on a hot rock and cook as normal....

 

[Whittler Kev]

Now this must be worthy of a sticky mods?

 

[RonW]

Sticky mods???
How do these taste??

I always like to go for some sort of chili. All you need is a lerger pan with or without lid. Beans, kidneybeans, bacon, some onions, corn, pepper, garlic, a dash if chilisaus.... maybe 2.
Serve with a freshly baked bread form the DO.... and a decent cup of campcoffee afterwards...

 

[silentbob]

Our Scouts have done lots of cooking in tinfoil parcels over the last few camps - variations on a theme mostly;

Make a pouch out of tinfoil, throw in a chicken breast, approx half a cup of stock (depending how dry you like your chicken), chopped onions, potatoes, carrots and apples, place over embers for around an hour, turning occasionally. Smells amazing when you open it. We also added a ring of fresh pineapple last time - tasted great.

We've also covered chicken breasts in tomato puree, added some sliced peppers and salami, covered it in mozarella, and a little oregano, put it in a tinfoil pouch, cook for around an hour then add grated cheddar at the end.

For breakfast we put diced potatoes at the bottom of a foil pouch, made burger shapes out of sausage meat, placed it on top of the potatoes, cracked an egg over the whole thing, sealed the foil and cooked for about 20 to 30 minutes over embers.

None of these require much more than a knife and some foil.

 

[SussexRob]

A Great bit of fun is the reflector oven.

Basically, Build up a good hot cooking fire, then next to it lay out some tin foil, about a meter, shiny side up, with the shortest edge at the edge of the fire. Place two upright sticks, with "v" about half a meter off the floor, either side of the tin foil.take another stick, wider than the tin foill and roll it up a couple of turns and then lay it in the "v" shape stick. I'm not explaining this very well at all.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6045/5911724412_21ff2280fa.jpg

It works great as a grill. A leader favourite is grilling halves of grapefruit that have been sprinkled with little brown sugar!

 

[Elines]

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[SussexRob]

edited post 11 to give direct link.

 

[Stringmaker]

One we did on site last week was a pig's foot wrapped in fresh dock leaves, rolled in clay and then just placed in the embers of a good fire.

I can't remember how long we cooked it as it was an experiment, but I think it was at least an hour.

It came out very well.

 

[Elines]

Thanks for the link

i find all this amazing - I can't even get bannock to work

 

[SussexRob]

Start simple, and work up. I also find that the fie is key. You need a good hot bed of embers, with very little flame.

 

[Mesquite]

i find all this amazing - I can't even get bannock to work

You're not the only one Chris

 

[SimonM]

Thanks for the link

i find all this amazing - I can't even get bannock to work

As has been said, the fire is the key...

It's easier to start with charcoal rather than wood. Wait for the flames to die down and then start cooking.

As a rough rule of thumb I work on "Hand mark 5" for cooking meat - You should be able to hold you hand over the flame for no more than 5 seconds without getting uncomfortably hot. Less than 5 seconds, move the meat away from the fire, more than 5 seconds move it nearer.

Start with something simple and then as your confidence grows, get more adventurous. An easy meal is the foil pouch breakfast:

• Use a double layer of heavy duty foil on the bottom.
• Add a layer of sliced new potatoes (these are sacraficial if you leave it too long, preventing your breakfast from burning - but get it right and they saute in the bacon fat)
• Add two rashers of bacon on top.
• Make a "nest" of chopped mushrooms and crack an egg into it.
• Add some tomato slices (if using cherry toms, slice them in half as they end up like lava bombs if left whole) and black pudding chunks.
• Black pepper on top to tast.
• Seal the foil, taking care not to tip th egg out of its "nest" and leave for approx 40 minutes.

Our Scouts often make breakfast this way, and just slide it out of the pouch onto a piece of bread to eat. Mmmm


Simon

 

[Graham_S]

Now this must be worthy of a sticky mods?

Good idea.
I've made this a sticky.
Try to keep the posts to recipes.
If the thread gets cluttered with posts saying "this was great, well done" etc with no other content, they may get deleted in the name of clarity.

 

[ickyan]

Get some rice, Dolop of Pataks Madras paste (or your choice) add some cayenne pepper if you want heat. Put in plastic takeaway tub for down woods.
Put in pan, cover with 2cm water, stir. Cook for a while testing to see if its ready.

Curry Rice!!

Mine was really hot (2 tbsp cayenne) so was very nice inside a bap with other grub.