johnsunter.com >> outdoor >> bushcraft >> spring forager 2
A weekend of wild/improvised cookery at Woodsmoke (2/2).
The next morning, and time for a classic BBC breakfast.
I thought this would involve expensive vegetarian food, served in a plush canteen, subsidized by the taxpayer, but it actually means Bannock, Bacon and Coffee, and had nothing to do with the eating establishment, of the liberal elite at Broadcasting House.
The classic 4 piece pot hanger rig, which I was originally taught to use/make on the woodlander course.
Put to good use making coffee for breakfast and doubling as a bacon rack. The practical simplicity of the design is a sight to behold.
Ben demonstrated various techniques of bread making.
Here he makes a simple pepperoni pizza, made from a few simple ingredients which could be packed in a rucksack.
The actual pizza itself, is cooked using a tin plate or frying pan.
We were also shown how to make bread using other stuff, like beer and suet.
I finally get it right and make a delicious pepperoni pizza myself.
I learned a new technique from Gina, who pointed out that using a bowl/plate combination to turn it over was much easier than using sticks and nonsense like that.
Rob teaches bread making, in a dutch oven (not to be confused with this).
There seemed to be a whole "couples posing with bread" theme to the morning.
We prepare the fish.
Two of the lads improvised this raised table to simplify the job.
The parcels of Sea Bass and Mackerel ready for the Hangi.
The fire was setup, well out of camp, in case the rocks exploded due to moisture content.
Once the hole was dug and the fire embers were red hot, we added rocks.
Once this was done, we did a "brave sir Robin" (a phrase I hadn't heard of, but I have looked up the reference here).
At first I thought Ben was just being overly careful and that there probably wouldn't be any danger from the rocks.
How wrong you can be. Dozens of times, the crack of exploding rocks could be heard, and I was glad to be out of the way.
Once the rocks were hot enough, we placed a bed of greens on them, then put the fish parcels, some yams and some onions on top of them.
We covered them over with more cloth (we had run out of greens) and then sealed it with soil.
It was critically important that it was airtight, as the lack of oxygen was the only thing keeping it from combusting and simply setting fire to the food.
After 2 hours of cooking we return to the hole.
At first, I thought the amount of preparation and wood needed to cook this way, was a bit inefficient.
Later, I realized that 2 or 3 people could cook a meal for an entire village, which is a pretty efficient division of labour.
Back around the campfire, I tuck into some yams and Sea Bass.
We then get a chance to try all the different ways of cooking fish which were illustrated on the whiteboard.
At the bank of the stream, we are shown where to get moss, and its usefulness in cooking.
One technique I had seen used with chicken was to hang the fish "offset" from the embers of the fire, and put a kind of "weather vane" into the wire it was hanging from so that wind would blow it around and each side of the fish would get the heat.
I didn't do a great job of taking this picture, but this is one that Phil did, cooking a fish in mud.
If a fish is cooked this way the scales are automatically removed along with the mud.
Here, a filleted fish is cooked on a stone next to the embers.
Henry poses with this Salmon, our self styled "God of Fish".
I have ponassed trout before, but never seen it done with a fish as big as this (there are normally only 2 cross pieces used on a smaller fish).
Ponasing is a French word meaning to crucify.
It's a really simple way to cook fish and reduces waste to a minimum.
A larger stick is split and fillet and cross pieces are slid inside.
Once done, the top of the stick is locked in place using spruce root (paracord would melt in the same circumstances).
Because of the way the fish is cooked, it's possible to cook it "just right" as illustrated in this picture.
Finally, the slats and frame are removed, the fish is laid out ready to eat and herbs and lemon are added.
Another brilliant weekend away.
Now the downside, Many of the trains weren't running and it would take me 4 hours to get home on bumpy trains.
No problem, To my rescue came this fine lady, who lived just down the road from my house, and drove me 2 railway stops from home.
Driving in this rocket of a car, we were home in no time at all. Time left to wash some clothes, have a quick pint and watch Nip/Tuck.
johnsunter.com >> outdoor >> bushcraft >> spring forager 2
