SC - a grid?

[Lurking Girl]

Steven Cowley wrote:
> Lurking Girl wrote:
> 
> < I've seen a widget of that ilk at Syke's Sutlering at Pennsic.  Almost
>     picked it up last year, too--I am hoping to do all-open-fire cooking for
>     our camp next (this?) year, though I think I'm biting off more than I
>     can chew. >
> 
> Cooking on an open fire can be a very rewarding experience.
> Especially when everything comes together.  Anyone can be successful
> at it if they are willing to be patient and practice.  As in any
> other of the almost forgotten arts, it takes time to learn to do it
> well. 

I'm in tune with that.  My major worry, though, is that I'm
responsible for feeding a group ranging from 10-16 people (with
occasional guests).  This is more of a production than I'm used to,
even in my normal cooking environment.  And in various years, the group
has included:

a person who considers fish the only (and barely) acceptable veg;
a person who was trying to keep an entirely fat-free diet (I know, I know)
  and doesn't like salmon;
a person who didn't like any fish EXCEPT salmon;
a person allergic to beef;
and a person allergic to pork.

Less variance now, but still, it was evil.  We ate a lot of chicken the
year all of them came.

>   1.  For beginners, stick to food stuffs that you are familliar with. 
>      This is not the time to be trying out that new recipe you just 
>      received.  Work with recipes that you know the characteristics of.

This is my worst problem, I think...

>   2. Heat can be your best friend or your worst enemy.  Find and use the most
>      consistant burning fuel available.  

Last year (the first year I worked over an actual firepit, and I did have
stove backup) I didn't have actual fire_making_ problems, unless you count
being stuck in camp all damn afternoon to keep an eye on it. :-/  The major
problem was smoke.  It wasn't smoky like green wood or anything, but there
was enough that I was wheezing a lot and occasionally coughing up crud
(pardon the indelicacy).  A suggestion from a visitor who had done this
rather a lot was to dig a much larger firepit and rake the coals out
from under the pot to the other side of the pit when you need to stick
your face right in there.  However, our traditional camping spot perches
right on the edge of Horde Hill, and there's barely room for all of our
tents before the slope gets pretty steep.

>   3. Wind IS your worst enemy.  It blows the heat away.  Make sure that you 
>      have some sort of wind break that you can move around as well as work 
>      around.

How large does such a thing need to be?  Ankle, knee, waist?  I would
like to rig an actual roof over the cooking area, because getting
rained on while tending the stew really bites, but even with our tiny
cooking fire and a high roof, I imagine the Fire Safety people would
have a cow.

>   4. Cast iron pots and pans are your friends.  They will distribute and 
>      hold the heat better than almost anything else in this environment.  

I am the proud owner of a giant cast-iron skillet and a gianter
cast-iron three legged pot of DOOM.  I can barely lift the bugger when
it's _empty_.  (I call it "Part 1 of my fighter training course".)
The problem is, and this is a humiliating confession which I've been
meaning to get off my chest for a while now so as to solve the problem
but I've been too embarrassed, that I just can _not_ get any of my
cast iron stuff properly seasoned.

I've read the directions that came with them, I read the entire
Florilegium file, I've gone through rec.food.cooking.  I understand
the theory (heat instrument, coat in fat, let fat soak in, never scrub
again) but it doesn't seem to "take".  Rust shows up all the same; or
food gets stuck to it anyways and I have to scrub and start from
scratch.  Every time.

There.  I've said it.  I suck. :(

>   5. Have fun!  Bread on a stick can really liven up a camp. Especially when
>      everyone has to cook their own.

I haven't tried that, but my big success last year was making a bunch of
Icelandic Chicken in advance, freezing 'em, and sticking 'em in the fire
to reheat.  That worked pretty well, except for trying to figure out when
they were done.

Hmm.  Would an oven thermometer work in/around a fire pit?
 
> There are a lot of other howtos and whatfors, but the bottom line
> is, with careful planning and lots of practice, you can eat very
> well without ever turning on a propane stove.

And therein lies the other rub.  I only get to practice once a year.  
At this rate, by the time I'm too arthritic to camp, I'll be _great_.  :-/

Vika
and the fascist town laws probably prohibit firepits


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