Need Ideas Kids...For a contest

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SixSix210

Senior Cook
Joined
Feb 9, 2008
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Location
NJ for the moment, heading south next spring to be
I'm going to camp in a few weeks, taking my scout troop. I was recently informed that the camp we are going to holds a campfire cooking challenge for the scoutmasters. I need ideas. I want a real show stopper with basic ingredients that's fast and easy. Maybe easy is not the right word for it... I'm experienced so it can be technical, I just want to make sure it doesn't require TONS of advanced preperation.
 
If it's on the campfire, the really easy answer would be bratwurst with peppers and onions... now since this is a boy scout expedition i'm not really sure if it would be appropriate to bring beer to cook with- that's your call. Slice your onions and Green peppers, toss in EVOO, S+P, and toss on the grill to cook. For the brats, I like to braise them on the grill in a cheapy aluminum foil pan with onions, and beer to cover. Toast some buns on the grill to serve.


Another super easy one that's a go-to recipe for me is teriyaki pork. Marinate boneless country style pork ribs in equal parts soy and brown sugar, and then add garlic and ginger powder to taste (i've recently been adding a little lemon zest + juice to this, which I like). Marinate for maybe an hour, and then straight to the grill. The sugars in this marinade really help you get some great caramelization from the hot grill.

If you're very daring you can grill some fish- something I love to do. I like to do tuna and salmon on the grill, in all of their myriad preparations. Another fun one, if you can afford it, is grilled scallops.

Another great one to do for camping is chili. If you know how to make mole, use that as your base instead of tomato for a very different take on chili. I also prefer to use diced beef when I use mole, rather than ground beef.
 
Fried rattlesnake with smashed potatoes (potatoes wrapped in foil and baked in the coals then smashed) and Dutch oven biscuits with milk cream gravy. This would certainly win a scouting cooking contest ... but the prep work could be a problem - especially catching, skinning and gutting the little critters! :LOL:

Some less dangerous options:

1 - Shrimp and okra gumbo served over rice (you can get pre-made dark roux in a jar) and to kick up the flavor you can make a stock from the shells from the shrimp - otherwise use chicken stock, not water like most recipes call for.

2 - Shrimp Creole served over pasta (angel hair, spaghetti, fettuccine, or linguine) - or rice.

3 - Crawfish Etouffee served over rice - if you can find fresh or frozen crawfish tails.

4 - Smoked sausage Jambalaya

You could also go with ...

Pork pot roast with a packaged onion or mushroom gravy with baked sweet potatoes and DO cornbread.

Braised country style pork ribs with sweet-n-sour red cabbage, onions and apples.

Chicken-fried steak with smashed potatoes and gravy ...

Oh - and a DO peach cobbler for dessert!

This doesn't include the obvious beef pot roast with onions, carrots and potatoes; beef stew, chili, slum gullion, fried/grilled on a stick catfish, etc.

I know that all of these can be cooked over a campfire .... I did it when I was a kid in scouts.
 
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There is a site called cowboy chuckwagon with very good basic information, and a few good recipes. A few minutes googling chuckwagon, campfire or outdoor cooking would probably come up with several world class recipes.
 
Something my friends have me make every canoe trip. simple and FANTASTIC tasting.

Start a charcoal fire-- a big one!

lay out two layers of HEAVY aluminum foil. On top, place a pork loin. Around the loin place potatoes that have been halved(you don't need to peel them). Along with the potatoes, lay carrots, lots of them(fantastic when they are done). Along with those veggies, take onions and quarter. Place them around the meat. Over the top of everything pour a jar(or two if you have a whole loin) of red pepper relish(something like this..Amazon.com: Sweet Spicy Red Pepper Relish: Gourmet Food )
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and wrap up everything tightly. Add more foil if needed.

Lay this directly on the coals. Do not touch it for 1 1/2 hours. At that point, flip it over. Let it cook another hour. You can then cut a slit and see if the carrots are tender. If the carrots are tender, it's done.
Don't worry about the stuff getting dark and sticking to the foil.. that's the best part!!
 
If you're going for a visual...there's nothing like cooking salmon like the Indians do. Using long spears and skwering the salmon in them, then cooking at an angle over the fire. You can season them any way you desire, and they will attract a crowd!
 
So you want a showstopper. Take one 15 lb. turley and truss the leggs to a stout stick, by the ends. Sew the neck flap shut around some cooked rice, mixed with sage, onion, chicken soup base, and celery. Light your fire in a controllable ring. make a reflector out of a simple lean-to with aluminium foil hanging down vertically from the top to the ground. Place this on one side of the fire. Make a tripod out of stout sticks, lashed together at the top. Tie stout cord from the tip of the tripod to the center of another stout sord attached to either end of the turssing stick that is attached to the turkey leg ends. Place the turkey so that it is hanging close to, but not directly over the fire. Give it a spin and let the radient heat from the cooking fire do the work. Occasionally baste with a honey/water, or honey/mustard sauce. Use a meat thermometer to determine when the bird is done (155' F. in the thickest part of the breast, near the leg/body joint). Remove to a platter and let rest for 15 to twenty minutes before carving.

For this to work, you fire needs to be fairly hot (lots of coals), preferably with glowing logs raised to nealy the level of the roasting turkey. You can also heat clean stones in the fire and place them into the bird cavity to speed cooking time.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
I'm going to camp in a few weeks, taking my scout troop. I was recently informed that the camp we are going to holds a campfire cooking challenge for the scoutmasters. I need ideas. I want a real show stopper with basic ingredients that's fast and easy. Maybe easy is not the right word for it... I'm experienced so it can be technical, I just want to make sure it doesn't require TONS of advanced preperation.

Hi SixSix,
I live on the other side of the pond and in Ediburgh, which is hardly campfire city, capital though it is!;) However, this is not going to stop me adding my two pence worth!:LOL:

I think you really need to find out what the rules are. If judging takes place then there must be rules - or may be not.:ROFLMAO: Love Michael in FtW`s idea of snake and it may be worth seeking more advice from him as his idea suggests he knows a lot about snakes. In my experience "snake, ratlle and roll" is purely musical. However, I digress!

Looking at the suggestions you`ve been given reminds me that you have two sources of heat. First, a large pot suspended above the flames in which you could cook items both savoury and sweet if you could find a divided pan and make a fruit cobbler in one half, from berries collected on site and a lentil casserole in the other half to serve with fish/meat. The fish need to be cleaned and placed on twig skewers and grilled in front of the flames of the fire. Do you get any of the RAY MEARS programmes in the USA. His programmes show living off the land and how to cook. Perhaps you could access them through the BBC web site.

All the best,
Archiduc
 
Sorry for the delay...life happens ya know? The judging is done by a panel of other scoutmasters, the camp chef, and scouts I believe.

No beer. I thought the brats would be a good idea, but I'm a bit worried about making essentially a hot dog... I don't know if they grade on originality. lol.

And yeah. it's very Iron Chef-y

Some great ideas in here!!! Thanks to all!!!

I was watching Diners Drive in's and Dives and saw a guy make Guy's face out of pancake batter. I'm thinking I might take a run at making the fleur d lis scout emblem in a similar fashion. I made some "smores" on the fire at our last scout outing. I brought my triple chocolate cookies and used those instead of grahm crackers, and added bananas and marshmallows in the middle and cooked em in foil...

I dig the pork loin idea... I make kick tail spiced grilled pears....might make a nice addition...

and dang Michael In FTW...almost made my brain pop...tons of great ideas, especially the ribs and the chicken fried steak.. not too sure about the okra...the camp is in maryland, not sure they know what it is :LOL:

And Goodweed... forget camp... I gotta take a crack at that turkey well before i go to camp. :LOL:
 
Hi SixSix,
Do you get any of the RAY MEARS programmes in the USA. His programmes show living off the land and how to cook. Perhaps you could access them through the BBC web site.

All the best,
Archiduc

My boys in the troop ADORE and WORSHIP Ray Mears. :LOL: I don't remember when we had a meeting and I didn't hear his name. Matter of fact, we're going bushcrafting on the 11th-13th. Just dirt and a small survival kit...
 
camp cooking

"Silver Turtles" Cut up/ dice potatoes,carrots, onions, mix in hambuger or sausage( Owen's,Jimmy Dean , Deer/pork...ect wrap in foil and place on hot coals place coals on top of foil cook for 15 min then flip add coals and cook for 15 min ...you can season the meat prior to cooking. Eat the Turtles right out of the foil... caution make sure all coals are removed from foil packet.
 
My boys in the troop ADORE and WORSHIP Ray Mears. :LOL: I don't remember when we had a meeting and I didn't hear his name. Matter of fact, we're going bushcrafting on the 11th-13th. Just dirt and a small survival kit...

Hi SixSix210,

Ray Mears is a giant in respect of "bushcraft" but so accessible, IMHO.

He is a man with integrity and respect for the culture(s) of others. This makes him very rare, IMHO.

Why not get your boys to contact him and ask for his advice? I reckon they would get an answer.

All the best,
Archiduc
 
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