Suggested foods for a Backwoods camp demonstration

[Womble]

Hi folks

In early May I'm doing a demonstration backwoods camp with a couple of my Scouts for our district open day. I'm looking for interesting and cheap foods that can be cooked on an open fire or griddle - using if possibly no more than a mess tin (or the grill itself) if possible.

What I have so far is:

Baked potatoes (cheese, mushroom fillings)
Fish Fillet parcels with herbs and butter/oil
Baked apples with raisins
freshly made Bannock bread with different flavours
Bannanas and Plantains cooked in their skins
Eggs cooked in Grapfruit skins

This isn't meant to be an actual menu - we're supposed to be demonstrating what can be done!

Any suggestions welcome.

 

[Ed]

Nettle soup... or any stew for that matter... with dumplings..... or you could always try the cooked breakfast in a brown paper bag... that was always a favorite in the cubs/scouts.


Ed

 

[NickBristol]

How about roasting some chickens in the embers of your open fire? Bit bigger and messier than just a griddle but think it'd be an impressive demo...

 

[Ed]

Kebabs are always a favorite....... you could get them to make there own kebab skewers..... most things can be cooked on a skewer... apples, other fruit, meat, shrooms etc....

Ed

 

[match]

If you're making bannock, then making bread twists and putting these on sticks tends to always go down well as a demo...

 

[spamel]

How about using stones by the fire to cook on top of. I seem to remember a recipe by Eddie McGee to make rose hip cookies, or something like that. Anyone know the recipe?

Spamel

 

[allanscot]

Putting chocolate buttons or a mini mars bar in the banana always goes down well with our cubs!

Mini sausages work well if you are getting scouts with a short attention span or fussy eating habits to do it.

We always used to have twists at any backwoods cooking event but found that the kids would not eat them

You can never go wrong with a few bags of marshmallows

 

[hootchi]

I've cooked peas in a melon skin before. Can only use it once mind you...

Shellfish? I think you would be lucky to get them to try them but they might be up for some mackerel eyeball. mmmm.....

 

[simonsays]

You cant beat bacon cooked on the griddle (Once the fire has died down a little), slapped between two thick slices of bread and smothered in brown sauce.

Ok, its not the healtiest option but it always draws envious looks from people -not- having bacon sarnies for breakfast

simon

 

[maddave]

You cant beat bacon cooked on the griddle (Once the fire has died down a little), slapped between two thick slices of bread and smothered in brown sauce.

Ok, its not the healtiest option but it always draws envious looks from people -not- having bacon sarnies for breakfast

simon

I'm with Simon !! Mmmmmmmmmm bacon

 

[mbatham]

If aluminium foil is an option:

Get an arms length on a flat surface, place some bowl shaped cabbage leaves on the foil to for a dish, line with finly sliced potatoe and carrot, next mushrooms and any other bit of veg you fancy.

Next put some meat in the middle, chicken or mince works well, with an associated stock cube and either a spoon of water or juciey tomatoe.

Next reverse the build process to have veg, then spuds/carrots and finaly cabbage to form a parcel, the size of a bag of sugar works well.

The next bit is critical, seal up the foil so its as near as damn it to air tight - think of a cornish pastie for the top and just roll the ends in, in a similar fashion. This package will act as a pressure cooker when the steam gets going.

Spread the fire so you have some nice embers to place the parcels on, you need a good amount to cook the food. Leave it for about 20 mins (this is a very rough guesstimate), my advice is to cook for for 15 mins and take a peak on how the MEAT is doing and gauge on that.

This always goes down a treat with my scouts. Its a very healthy option too, not just for backwoods but it is an easy saturday evening meal standing camp meal to prepare. Finaly, this is comonly know as "Chicken Ding" in my district, dont ask why its like that, and thats the way it is.....

Hope this is of some help

 

[pe1pme]

favourite in my scoutunit are "engeltjes te paard" , in English "angels on horses":
a few cubes of cheese, wrapped in bacon, on a thin stick. Heat above the fire untill the cheese begins to melt.........don't burn your mouth

 

[Womble]

Brilliant!

Thanks for contributions so far folks - it really is appreciated.

I like the idea of Angels on Horses, and Bacon sarnies (using toasted Pitta bread) is already on the menu. I've discovered small pitta and naan breads to be really good camp food; they're more filling than conventional sliced loaf, and are tasty too.

I've had the packages before, and found that a bit of worcester sauce on the meat in the package can work wonders...

Further suggestions welcomed!

 

[tomtom]

how about doing the 'cooking in clay' demo.. because its slow you can show them everything else first!

 

[bothyman]

Hi folks
In early May I'm doing a demonstration backwoods camp with a couple of my Scouts for our district open day.
QUOTE]

I think you have to keep it simple and do stuff that is cooked pretty quickly so People don't get fed up watching you and wonder off.

You can do baked Tatties and stuff then just let people taste them and see what they think but if they have to stand there and watch the Tattie baking they might get fed up and lose interest.

 

[Womble]

Bothy - the idea (at least my idea) is that there's always stuff on the go in or on the fire at any given moment. So people can be told what's been and being cooked, and if there's stuff ready they can be invited to have a taste. I wouldn't expect them to have to wait for a baked tattie. It is meant to be a demonstration - not part of the on-site catering facilities!

 

[jstyles]

I'm with Simon !! Mmmmmmmmmm bacon

Coooor! I can smell the bacon already! Do a pot of 'proper' coffee on the grill (or may even cheat!!) for that fully rounded fantastic breakfast smell!!

 

[Womble]

Nice idea! It might not be feasible (some parents prefer their kids not to have coffee, and it is supposed to be a scout backwoods camp), but the smell wafting over the site... oh yes...

There're references in Wildwood Wisdom and Nessmuck for the "authentic" camp coffee I believe - I'll see if I can find a suitable pot!

 

[RovingArcher]

When I was in scouts, our favorite food was a pig in a blanket, cooked on a stick over the coals of a campfire. Each of us got our own stick and were shown how to cook our own pig.

Pigs in a Blanket

Ingredients: hot dog wieners, Pillsbury crescent-roll dough (or if you're a baker (which I'm not), use bannock)

Directions: Spit your wiener on a stick. Wrap the dough around the wiener. Make sure the dough is evenly and thinly spread or it won't cook properly. Roast the whole over the fire until dough is cooked and wiener is warm. Remove from stick and enjoy!

 

[Womble]

Many thanks to those who contributed reciepies for us to try, the event was a real success!

In the end we cooked:

Baked potatoes

Fillets of Coley with herbs, wrapped in Cabbage leaves

Baked Apples with raisens, cinnamon and nutmeg

Bannock bread, with with raisens, cinnamon and nutmeg (I was going to put some apricot and pineapple bits in as well, but forgot). This was the only itme where we used more than tinfoil to cook with - We cooked it in a frying pan, flipping it over after about 10 minutes.

Everyone had a great time, and everyone (I think!) enjoyed the food. It was a good camp out overall as well, with good weather and some very nice use of ponchos by the scouts to make their shelters.