By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 02:34 pm: Edit

Ok Folks, here is a thread of critical necessity for Land Rovers. We all have cool and capable vehicles that can take us to amazing places. But what is the point of getting "there" and eating MREs? Or franks and beans? Or an apple? Or making "sun heated instant coffee??? Blecchhh.

True, many will scoff disdainfully at good cuisine on the trail, arguing instead (a) that the utter simplicity of such culinary camping lends addtiional credence to the Land Rover Mystique, or (b) to eat in such a way *is* the whole point of camping.

Poppycock I say. I suspect such naysayers have many reasons for their attitude: Some are ignorant of how simple it is to cook good food, some maybe stuck in a conservative, reactionary mindset induced by poor parental models, some maybe cowards, others will whine and snivel, saying "I cannnnnn't", and others likely could just not give a hoot.

If we can customize our LR with winches and sliders and CDL and ARB and Lockers and Communciations and whatnot, surely we can customize our cuisine as well.

Let's post to this thread our special insights on trail cooking and recipes. What works, what does not work. What we like to eat (or would love to eat on the trail) and what we detest. What is tasty and elegantly simple or what is tasty and complex, yet fun to make are all fair game.

Food recipes, drink recipes, cool utensils, types of stoves, are all welcomed points of discussion. We can also share how to safely transport seafood or beef or chicken in blazing heat across the desert. How to make good coffee, how to make a real cappuchino on the trail, or how to smoke your bacon in the AM to give it that real trail flavor.

I know most on this board are simply interested in the technical aspects of rovering, of just getting "there" and back again --I just hope this thread is not too bold a move.

For those of us that camp attempting the finer goals in cuisine on the trail, I think this thread could provide us not only with new ideas, but more importantly, new visions of what is possible.

M. Villanueva

By Axel Haakonsen (Axel) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 02:42 pm: Edit

I am very partial to Ho's Tri tip and Sausages after a good day of wheeling.....


Also, if there is enough interest in this subject, we may create a separate section for Trail Cooking. So post away....

By SOLO on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 02:42 pm: Edit

ok i'll bite into this.

Favorite trail lunch, Ritz crackers topped with plain tuna, onions and a little Beaver mustard.

By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 02:47 pm: Edit

Rosemaried Trail Potatoes

Utensils Needed
Large knife
Garlic Press
Mixing Bowl (optional)
Large boiling pot
Tater Peeler (optional)
Large Skillet
Griddle (optional)
Rubber spatula

Ingredients
1. Ten White (AKA Russian) potatoes.
Do not use Russets -- they do not hold up well during this process, nor are they as tasty. Make sure the Russians are *white* -- avoid selecting those tinged green. That means the taters have been exposed to too much light, hence they will stray on the sweet side.

2. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3. Ten + large Fresh Cloves of garlic Do not use powder -- to hard to control the taste and tastes like crap.

4. Oregano (Note: Not fresh; use dried)

5. Fresh Thyme

6. Four large sprigs of *fresh* rosemary. Do not use dried rosemary

Get the fresh spices at some local hippy dippy co-op. They generally have good stuff.

7. Salt

8. Pepper

9. One cube of butter (no, not margarine -- use b-u-t-t-e-r)

Steps:
Preheat Griddle -- medium heat
Boil 2-3 quarts water -- keep on low boil

Peel Potatoes (optional)
Slice in half length wise, slice again lengthwise parallel to the first cut
Slice into strips (should have two stacked)
make 90 degree cut, ultimately making cubes roughly half an inch.



Place potatoes in water while finishing peeling; if not they will turn a bit brown, but flavor will not be affected.

When taters are all cut up, put in boiling water *together* (not one tater at a time). Boil for about 8-12 minutes, or until gently softened, -- but not mushy. You are not making mashed potatoes!

While the taters are boiling....

Strip the leaves off of two of the large sprigs of rosemary. You do this by pulling gently in the opposite direction that the leaves are growing. You should have the rosemary leaves (needles) in one hand and be holding a bare sprig in the other. Do this to two of the sprigs, or three depending on taste. Strip about a tablespoon of thyme in the same way. Thyme is much more delicate with tiny leaves and hence you will likely cut up some of the sprigs -- no big deal.

MINCE the rosemary, thyme, oregano together. I mean mince. Take some time here. Tasting large hunks of rosemary is yucky.

Set spices along with a tablespoon of salt into a cup. Add half to 3/4 cup of olive oil to cup. Mix.

Drain potatoes carefully -- usually a two person job. Drain completely as possible. Set aside

Heat skillet, melt a cube of butter, add one complete sprig of rosemary to butter. Do not strip leaves -- you want to be able to pull out sprig later.

Pour olive oil and spices using rubber spatula to get all the good stuff out into the taters that have been boiled in large pot. Mix and set aside.

Pour melted butter and sprig into pot. Mix gently

Crush into pot ten+ cloves of garlic. Mix gently. Aroma will be kicking your ass at this point. Do not rush the job.

Bring griddle (or large skillet) heat up to medium plus.

Critical Step: Pour taters onto hot griddle. Too hot a griddle and garlic will burn completely screwing up your efforts. Nothing is worse than burnt garlic -- it will destroy the dish. Too hot a griddle? Bring temp down by pouring water onto skillet/ griddle. Step back!

Pour taters onto griddle. Again, aroms will make another assault. Hold tight!

Spread out and leave alone for about 3-4 minutes!!! Let taters brown!

Turn over systematically, avoid burning any.



Brown all Taters.

Remove sprig

Serve!

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:02 pm: Edit

solo, that's a good appetizer there.
i'll try that next time.

now, mike, that's some ass kicking recipie there. too bad people cant' get the taste of it on line. LOL

By Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:04 pm: Edit

Ho,
I've spent the last 10 minutes trying to download the food attachment!

-L

By gp (Garrett) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:06 pm: Edit

damn mike that is one hell of a post and pics to go with it!!! bonus points.
my suggestion is much more lame. and no pics.
-i take some good ground beef or venison and make into patties.
-cut up several red potatoes into sections or large cubes.
-slice up some nice tomatoes too
-green and red peppers
-carrots
-spices (oregano, black pepper, salt, onion salt, and whatever else you got around)

add one patty with a mix of the above and wrap in tinfoil.
make several and place in your cooler for later use.
double wrap if cooking on open flame. just toss them in the fire and turn over once and you have a nice easy and quick meal.
and very little clean up.

By Roverine on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:13 pm: Edit

Oh sweet God!! You did it, you posted the recipe for those glorious potatoes!! (BTW guys, the 2 females on the trip both concurred they were the best we'd ever had and couldn't stay away from them.

Axel, cool! We were kind of joking around, but kind of serious about some sort of recipe/trail cooking & tips, or something like that on the board ...

Kim
Once again, Mike in action ...

{image}

By Roverine on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:14 pm: Edit

Oh darn, I messed up - Sorry! I'll go check on how to post an image again ...

Kim

By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:16 pm: Edit

GP

That sounds great! I like it, especially the clean-up easy part. Now, I have never tasted venison, so my question is this: Do the meat and potatoes get done about the same time? How long do you cook this mixture? Open minds need to know....

By Danno on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:26 pm: Edit

...and just for ordering the Discoweb Moab Video, you'll also recieve the "Trailside Cooking" video absolutely free....

By Roverine on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:28 pm: Edit

One more try (my computer's doing a wierd little conversion with Jpegs - see if this works) ...

The Iron Chefs At Work ...

By Kyle on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:31 pm: Edit

Michael , I grew up eating that as a beef replacement. Never ate real beef for years. There is a reason he throws in all the spices . I also was taught to cook the shit by a father that belives in death by fire. When in doubt , burn it.....

Kyle

By Ron on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 03:32 pm: Edit

I like my coleman propane burner I got at walmart. I have the gas powered one too but it seemed to commplicated to chance it so I bought the propane one.

Man I cook soup on high so I can get back out there. In fact I ate like once at MAR.

Tip,

Use thicker pans when cooking outdoors, the thicker pan will yield more even heat.

Ron

PS I will be cooking up some mean bunker hill beef stew in Maine in a couple weeks

By gp (Garrett) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 04:27 pm: Edit

michael-
its all cooked at once.....in the foil. as long as the potatoes are not in too large a pieces it can be cooked all at once. and it all depends on what you are cooking it over. i usually just toss it on the fire directly for about 3 min. on each side. with a hot burned down fire it does not take long. so the time is all according to how large the patties are and how much you pile in there. never had venison?? ah....i love it. very lean stuff and super tasty!!!!

By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 04:41 pm: Edit

Solo

What is Beaver mustard? Name brand difference? Generic yellow stuff? Special good brown stuff? It is very had to come up with a tasty use for tuna on the trail; I want to get it right! Also, what type of onion do you use? Red, white, or yellow?

Yeah, I know, too many questions, just do it and all that, but I would like to get as close as to what your are recommending.

Thanks
mv

By Roverine on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 05:04 pm: Edit

Danno,

>...and just for ordering the Discoweb Moab Video, you'll also recieve the "Trailside Cooking" video absolutely
free.... <

... and WAIT!! There's more!! If you order NOW, you will also recieve a set of authentic Iron Chef Ginsu Trail Knives ...

Kim

By Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 05:06 pm: Edit

Michael,

That is I think the most detailed recipe I have seen - a full 4 lines of instruction to cube a potato!

Damn that is one tasty looking dish - and now its 5pm I'm gettin hungry.

Excellent

Dean

By Danno on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 05:13 pm: Edit

how about this tasty meal prepared by Kyle...

By Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 05:22 pm: Edit

I hope those are sausages

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 05:31 pm: Edit

i dont' care for the sausages, the black shoes there, those are really stylin!

By gp (Garrett) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 06:30 pm: Edit

yeah....they look like some kickin Reeboks!!!! high tops no less. having Flash Dance memories now.

ps: i forgot to mention vadellia (sp?) onion to my mess. they rule. and make sure there is no leakage in the tin foil. want that stuff to cook with the juices.

By Paul on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 06:35 pm: Edit

My personal favorite is fresh trout from a high mountain stream. The trout must be cooked within 1 hour of being caught! This is key.

1. Clean the trout and lightly oil the outer skin with olive oil.
2. Saute the trout in fresh lemon, dill, and lot's of butter. Olive Oil may be used as a substitute for butter. Cook only to the point where the fish starts to flake from the bone.

Serve with your favorite rice and garnish both the rice and trout with fresh raspberries from the camping area.

Fresh trout after a day on the trail is such a treat. I generally like brook trout in the 8-10" range. Depending upon the person you will need to have 2-4 trout per person.

By Paul on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 06:55 pm: Edit

One more favorite!

Get a good camp fire going during the late afternoon. Once you have some really nice coals burning and staying really hot add some charcoal brickettes and get a nice steady heat going, without too many flames. Stand a heavy duty open grill over the coals and start cooking a nice large steak. A porterhouse is the preferred steak. Bring along some hickory or mesquite chips and add some quality smoke flavoring to the meat. You can cook a baked potato in the coals during this time, by simply wrapping the spud a number of times in heavy aluminum foil. Make sure you start cooking the spud early on.



This is simple, but really satisfying meal in the woods.

By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 07:14 pm: Edit

Since you brought up the idea of using wood chips, here are a couple of tips:

1. Buy the chunk bag of Misquite or Hickory or Apple at Home Depot, avoid the smaller "chips" bag.

2. At least two weeks prior to cooking, take a couple of the larger wood hunks and chip them down to say, pieces the length and thickness of your thumb.

3. Get a ziplock bag, add some water, and the chips and stick them in the Fridge. Leave set for a couple of weeks.

4. Use the chips in either the grill or the fire -- the point being is that thoroughly soaked wood chips readily give off hands down much more flavor. They simply do not burn that readily in a coal-driven heat.

5. Misquite goes well with chicken; hickory and apple tend to go well with fish. Hickory is great in the AM with your bacon or sausage. Experiment with different woods, but be careful not to use local wood that has been shot.

Point: Was camping in the desert, saw a good piece of Misquite, wasd going to use it for smoking some ribs (another recipe another time). I looked carefully at it as I always do. Lo! Three small .22 caliber holes with the lead still buried. Leaded ribs?? I do not think so.

Some woods are just plain nasty and give a foul taste. Rule of thumb: Fruit woods are more tasty, hickory and misquite are great, oak is generally brutal, best left to aging wines, but can work to season a nasty polish sausage.

By Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 07:19 pm: Edit

Talking about wood - you know how much a wooden steering wheel is at RN?


Ok hold on to your potatos...


$1600 + shipping!

FTFAGOS!

Dean

By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 07:22 pm: Edit

wonder how much flavor that puppy would add to pork....

By Kyle on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 07:23 pm: Edit

Alright already!! Give the guy a section Ax,,,damn.....

Kyle

By Axel Haakonsen (Axel) on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 07:29 pm: Edit

ok, looks like this is a popular subject, I'll create a new section and move this thread into it.

By John Lee on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 08:27 pm: Edit

OK, here's Ho's top secret recipe for cooking and enjoying rib meat on the trail.



1. Feed beers to onlookers and tasters as you prepare your food. The beers will whet their appetites.



2. Fire up the coals in your Smoky Joe grills. These grills are small enough for easy travel in the back of the Disco. Never use lighter fluid as this will contaminate the pure taste of the beef.



3. Prepare the ribs for cooking. Here Ho removes the ribs from the packaging and lays down the strips on a bed of rock salt. Note the large block of knives on hand for any type of cut that may be required. Also note that the chef is downing cold Coronas while cooking to whet his own appetite.



4. Here is a close-up of the rib meat. Try to select meat that is on the fatty side. Rib meat is naturally fatty and has a pleasantly chewy texture to it. Note the half-full Corona in the background. Don't forget to down Coronas while preparing the meat for the grill.



5. Cover the entire surface of the ribs with rock salt. Use headlamp if working in dim light.



6. Shoot the shit with friends while coals heat up. Don't forget to drink more Coronas while engaging in this activity.



7. Wait until coals are ready. Coals should be hot but with no flames emanating therefrom.



8. Place the salted rib meat onto the grill.



9. When the ribs are ready on one side, turn them over. Experience is required to know when the ribs are just ripe for turning. Cook the ribs until medium rare. Down some more Coronas while waiting for the ribs to cook.



10. Slice the ribs in a transverse fashion using a sharp knife. Note another half-full Corona in this photo. Do not forget to down more Coronas while cooking.



11. If you did everything correctly, you will end up with ribs that are seared/browned/toasty on the outside and pink medium-rare on the inside. Because you used fatty rib meat, the meat will be tender and juicy from cooking in its own fat. The soft inner meat will be nice to savor together with the crispy outside, making for a nice contrast in textures. If you used the correct amount of rock salt, the meat will be very slightly salty. Tasters will feel an irresistible urge to wash down the fatty/salty taste in their mouths with a biggie gulp from an ice-cold bottle of Corona.



12. Pass out the rib pieces to guys who can appreciate good beef. Share the love.

13. Repeat the above steps until all fellow wheelers are gorged with ribs and beer.

By Roverine on Wednesday, October 17, 2001 - 09:28 pm: Edit

THAT was truly beautiful. I just relived that glorious experience ... my stomach is now growling, and I've got a tear in my eye ... I must go cook something now, and practice ... ("I am not worthy, I am not worthy") I must go out and buy my Smokey Joe ...

Kim
STILL smiling

By SOLO on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 08:41 am: Edit

Michael,

Beaver Mustard is a spicy honey mustard, and I don't know who makes it. I was back packing in Montana over the summer and our guides brought with them. I can't find it here on the east coast, maybe one of our Disco web friends in Montana can check their local store for us try maybe in Dillon, Red Lodge or Butte. As for the onions white, yellow or red it doesn't matter. You can also put some sliced cheese on it too, Swiss, Montray jack, mozzarelle (plain or smoked)or whatever cheese you happen to like.

SOLO-feeling like Martha Stewart.

By gp (Garrett) on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 09:34 am: Edit

beaver mustard. i'm sorry.

garrett (acting like 15 year old)

By Leslie N. Bright (Leslie) on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 09:38 am: Edit

I was thinking the same thing, Garrett.....




-L

By SOLO on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 10:29 am: Edit

Garrett, Leslie

I know I thought the same thing when I saw it, it was alot funnier in Montana because I was in the Beaverhead National Forest (two words that go well together Beaver & Head). hehehehe.

Just did a web search and found it at www.farawayfoods.com. Lots of great food enhancers there.

SOLO

By Horness Spencer (Horness) on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 11:09 am: Edit

"Beaver mustard". hehe

LMAO!

Niiiice bea... yeah, you've heard it I'm sure.

Back to food.
Venison steak BBQ'd (or grilled), then put into a pot with leeks, an onion, some carrots basil, rosemary, and a bottle of medium red.

Simmer for about 30 minutes (after starting the venison off under the grill or on the BBQ).

(drool).

Nice if you've shot it yourself before hand. Nice and fresh.

Rabbit is okay on a spit with honey and a certain citrus fruits (lime, orange etc.).

(more drool).

HRNESS

By cartner on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 01:53 pm: Edit

Ok, seriously, if you want to get a good trail cookbook, go the the NOLS (national Outdoor leadership School) website, and order the NOLS Cookery book. its great, trust me I ate that stuff for a month in Alaska in the bush, and I still use it to cook with. really good recipes, and most are really simple.

By Kyle on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 02:10 pm: Edit

What Bud says is pretty real in some areas. Clean up and storage are things that should be addressed....


Kyle

By Bud Lane (Hrrovr) on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 02:32 pm: Edit

The post Kyle referred to was a caveat about not inviting too many unwanted critters into your campsite. The aroma is just too tempting and some of them might not be too friendly.

By Eric N (Grnrvr) on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 02:56 pm: Edit

Waking up to furry things that bite in the night is never fun..

By Ho Chung (Ho) on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 05:28 pm: Edit

JL, how can you publicly post my recipie here?

now i have nothing to show for....

By John Lee on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 05:46 pm: Edit

Recipe? What recipe?

Wait until coals are ready? Take some beef and season it with salt? Cook the beef, not too rare and not too well done? Drink lots of beer throughout the process? Serve beef to hungry wheelers?

What recipe?

By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 05:51 pm: Edit

Notice how he left out the second night of the cook-off: Sam, Jay, and myself heaved ourselves into yet another cooking frenzy-- Jay with his spectacular cuts of tender beef, yet more shrimp; Sam with his orgasmic Korean BBQ -- and what of that mornings fixin's of blueberry pancakes, maple syrup, scrambled eggs, sausages, and Starbucks coffee (w/ half and half no less) for any who AM needed fare?

Will no one post and sing of these tales? Illustrating that the cooking only *began* on that fateful Friday night?

I sing of Food and the Man!
(Bastardized Virgil)

For God's sakes, let us sit upon the ground and and sing aromatic songs of culinary marvels!
(Bastardized King Richard the Third)

Oh, well, how quickly they forget....

Sorry... back to work.

By John Lee on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 07:48 pm: Edit

Mike,

It's not that I forgot. Rather, it's just that I don't know your recipies. Posting Ho's secret to success is easy. But your Pancho Ninja Chicken is a mystery to me. Same with your lemon/garlic chicken. Same with your blueberry pancakes. Too much for my brain to handle.

By michael on Thursday, October 18, 2001 - 08:04 pm: Edit

Ok, as long as you did not forget. Besides, to bewail gave me a chance to wax poetic.

I have seriously been thinking of composing an epic poem in the tradition of Beowulf or the Odyssey or Paradise Lost about Rovering and cooking.

But the essential epic theme, *why* such a song would be important and worthy has eluded me.

I cannot seem to cook and not quote; however, at Truckhaven, I did manage to nix that impulse compeletely!

By Bud Lane (Hrrovr) on Friday, October 19, 2001 - 01:56 am: Edit

Please, Michael, a poem. You have all the ingredients (pun intended) to create a modern day Odyssey. By virtue of your recipe alone it would be a massive work. And, oh, the tales of trek and table. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to see the Coen brothers immortalizing it on film. "Oh Rover, where art thou?" But where could they ever find a cast to portray this motley crew?

Bud

By Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) on Friday, October 19, 2001 - 08:03 am: Edit

It could start:

"Sing, muses, of the Hunger..."

The main character would, of course, be Akyles

By Bud Lane (Hrrovr) on Friday, October 19, 2001 - 08:12 am: Edit

Or perhaps our own version of the 4th most widely read book in the English language. It would be titled "The Shepherd of the Trails", with the opening line - "In life there are two trails....."

By Michael Villanueva (Michael) on Friday, October 19, 2001 - 09:49 am: Edit

>The main character would, of course, be Akyles

God, what a gift of sound you have Dean, that was the best!!! Busted a gut this AM laughing when I read that.

Beautiful, just beautiful!!

By Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) on Friday, October 19, 2001 - 09:58 am: Edit

mênin aeide thea Pêlêïadeô Achilêos
oulomenên, hê muri' Achaiois alge' ethêke,
pollas d' iphthimous psuchas Aïdi proïapsen
hêrôôn, autous de helôria teuche kunessin
oiônoisi te pasi, Dios d' eteleieto boulê,
ex hou dê ta prôta diastêtên erisante
Atreïdês te anax andrôn kai dios Achilleus,
tis t' ar sphôe theôn eridi xuneêke machesthai;

Translated as:

Sing, Goddess, of the hunger of Peleus' son, Akyles, that destructive hunger that brought untold pain to the bellies of the Akyians, and sent forth to the camp-fire many great sausages. Thus Zeus accomplished his will, and then separated in strife the smouldering ashes and brilliant Akyles, macho beer in hand, to continue ever-forward, in the great machine.

By Bud Lane (Hrrovr) on Friday, October 19, 2001 - 10:10 am: Edit

Hmmm. According to the Trail Brew thread, brilliant Akyles seems to prefer his Pepsi over macho beer. But then again, it would appear that we might be straying just slightly from reality here anyway.

By Al Hang (Alhang) on Friday, October 19, 2001 - 11:45 am: Edit

I agree with Danno, Kyle cannot cook to save his life.

-Al H.

By Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d) on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 01:39 pm: Edit

I don't know - the Son of Peleus certainly appears to be cooking some fine sausages, and man, if you're hungry.......

I need some lunch!
dean