roasting meat over a camp fire

[coloradoclyde]

I think he might have meant a PM, since he has mastered posting without quoting...

 

[frontierman01]

I meant " in response to etc." for example, if I want to say thanks to everyone without the stuff in the quotation marks. Thanks

 

[coloradoclyde]

If you hit the reply button it looks like this...
For example I replied to your last posting....if you click on the name following..."in response to" it will show you the post that was replied to.

 

[coloradoclyde]

If you hit the reply button it looks like this...
For example I replied to your last posting....if you click on the name following..."in response to" it will show you the post that was replied to.

This is what it looks like if I respond using the quote button.

 

[necchi]

I meant " in response to etc." for example, if I want to say thanks to everyone without the stuff in the quotation marks. Thanks

Sure, just scroll up and use the "reply" button to one of your own posts if possible

 

[crockett]

As others have said, the roasting takes a long time since you have to let the wood burn down to coals. I think a lot of woodsmen made stews, etc. simply because it was faster.
The mountain men would, on occasion, cut smaller pieces of meat and pierce them on to a stick which sped the cooking time.
Since a lot of game is lean the roasting is not always as good as roasting a fine fat piece of meat.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Boiling or "stewing" has many advantages over roasting....It requires less wood, adds much needed liquid to the diet, and is almost impossible to screw up....It also stretches the meal to feed more than one.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Mrs and I prefer meals cooked over "coals" and I have found that folks with a little experience can have an acceptable bed of coals in less time than most think. As another poster stated it has more to do with the wood used and how to start a fire. A fellow bucks skinner here can cook a small turkey on a spit over a fire in about 45 minutes, from match to carving.

I keep a 30 gallon drum of dry oak and hickory chunks, By chunks I mean about 2x3 inches. Paper or tinder on the bottom, then some thin poplar for kindling and the oak chunks on top. A bed of coals in no time. The poplar burns very hot and fast and renders the oak/hickory into charcoal quickly. By the time the poplar is consumed the coals are ready. Been cooking dinner this way at least once a week for 30 years. Takes less time to prep the coals than to ready the meat for the spit/grill. I can broil salmon fillets in less than 25 minutes. Inch thick pork steaks in 45 minutes. Whole fryer chickens in the same time or a bit less.

Time to burn to coals is relative, but should be started with proper woods before other prep starts and by the time the food is ready for the spit, the coals will be ready.

Now, when going to rendezvous, I do take a supply of cooking wood rather than be at the mercy of what ever punky, damp or green wood may be supplied.

 

[Billnpatti]

Ever so true about cooking only over hard wood. One should never use soft wood such pine, cedar, etc. It will make your meat taste like....uh...well, it is hard to describe. Well, it just tastes awfully bad, about like it was something found after a house fire and will be difficult to eat.

 

[Black Hand]

Ever so true about cooking only over hard wood. One should never use soft wood such pine, cedar, etc. It will make your meat taste like....uh...well, it is hard to describe. Well, it just tastes awfully bad, about like it was something found after a house fire and will be difficult to eat.

It would be nice if we had enough hardwood to cook over, but this is a pine & fir area. The reality is that softwood COALS will roast meat but I'd avoid cooking meat over flames from softwood. My cooking fires have 2 areas (when needed) - a spot with flames to burn wood and make coals (boiling happens here) and a spot with coals for roasting & frying. If we had to avoid softwoods for cooking, we wouldn't have a hot meal in the woods...

 

[coloradoclyde]

Turn the wood into charcoal first....you remove all the nasty volatile compounds.

 

[Black Hand]

Turn the wood into charcoal first....you remove all the nasty volatile compounds.

I do - by burning in the fire.... :wink: :wink:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Not what I meant....

Burning wood bathes your food in all kinds of chemicals...Compared to wood that has been turned into charcoal.

 

[Black Hand]

Clyde,
I understood what you meant, but it just isn't a viable option for us.
Our average hike is about a mile (sometimes longer) on foot through mountainous and often rough terrain - it makes no sense for us to carry charcoal when there is an abundance of firewood. If you let the softwood burn down to coals, volatiles are no longer an issue when roasting meat.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Turning the wood into charcoal, in the field, is what I was referring to originally. Or building a bed of coals or "charcoaling" in the fire.

Hard to explain, it is more deliberate than just letting a fire burn down to coals....Often with soft woods, letting the fire burn down results in a pile of ashes...

I keep feeding the fire with small stuff to maintain a low oxygen environment for the larger stuff in the center until it has converted to charcoal.

 

[Black Hand]

Thank you for the clarification. If our time in the woods was longer, this might be an option.

 

[tenngun]

As Clyde pointed out boiling food on the trail on the trail is the hc method. Yes we have multi accounts of roasting but soups/ stew of some sort is typical. Grains were made in to hasty pudding, or in to ash cakes,meat was boiled quick and clean.
One way to roast meat quick in the woods is dig a hole, build a hot fire in it and burn down. Remove the ash, toss in your meat, cover with ash, then dirt, build a fire on top. Cook a couple of hours. Dig out and enjoy. Of course in that time I will have boiled my dinner and ate and am enjoying a smoke and a taste of the creature afterwords.

 

[tenngun]

An adendem if you can pick up DRY rocks around it and line your hole it’s even better, wild grape leafs make a good wrap.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Cooking chicken over any kind of grill or fire is very difficult. Results are often just as you experienced. When I ronnied I brought beef and venison. Using hot coals I learned to judge when it was cooked properly to eat. An advantage of having to not be to delicate at dinner is you can put the meat back over the fire if it is not done to your liking. FWIW, I found that most of the firewood provided by the ronny organizers was usually to large, rotten or otherwise unsuitable for use. So I cut up some hickory at home and kept in dry storage just for ronny use. I brought in plastic garbage bags to keep dry. Those were 'disguised' in burlap sacks. Hickory is one of the best woods for that use.

 

[tenngun]

I grew up in an old apple orchard. I learned about cooking over dead apple wood. Trout out of the San Jaun river over apple wood was as close to heaven as I’m likely to get.