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Charcoal or gas?
Jack's post about his new camping toy got me thinking about camping and outdoor cooking.YUM!
At home the convenience of the gas grill is to much to pass up. Fire it up and start cooking, but when camping it's always charcoal or wood.
Turkeys, pigs, big chunks of beef roasted in elaboratly constructed pits. Slow cooked for hours while playing horseshoes, drinking a few happy sodas..ahh.
Cakes, biscuits,beans, rice dishes, and about anything else you can think of done in the dutch ovens..
I even bring a large commercial wok for cooking directly on the camp fire.
A big part of the fun for me is the cooking.
Is it spring yet??
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I never lost a little fish
yes, I'm free to say
It always was the biggest fish
I caught that got away
...Eugene Field
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We have oysters on the tidelands of our community beach here. And some large firepits. Gather some driftwood, put an old rack from a frig over the burned down wood and roast the oysters in their shells.
A little melted butter with some liquid smoke and you have a feast.
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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
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For you deer hunters. Know how the front shoulders don't tend to have a lot of meat? I keep the whole shoulders on a couple smaller deer. Cook in a 'browning bag'. You can do them on a grill or in the oven - with or without vegetables. Makes a super roast.
Dudley - love to pitch them horseshoes. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif
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you are only allowed to use gas here now, no fire no fuel or alchohol stoves - gas only. I see a generation or two of people who light fires without knowing how to keep them safe.
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I have a gas grill at the house but use wood in camp.Mainly oak and use a dutch oven or cast iron skillet directly in the coals.
Dennis
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Charcoal only for me. Save the gas to put in your car! I love to BBQ the real (slow) way, and I use a New Braunfels BBQ smoker with the external firebox.
Where people mess up with charcoal is using lighter fluid to start it.....you can taste it in the meat. Use a chimney starter instead, it fires up with newspaper.
Some purists don't like the smell of Kingsford and use only lump charcoal -- I usually mix the two -- the lump charcoal burns hotter and faster, the kingsford more slowly and evenly. I have a deal with a cabinetmaker for getting smoke wood -- pecan and cherry are my favorites. I don't soak the wood inwater, too much creasote and stale smoke. I burn it in 1" x 12" sticks, just like a little campfire on top of the charcoal that got everything going.
Y'all will get to taste my BBQ at the Idaho fish-in this year....can't wait for that trip!
DANBOB
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Charcoal (Kingsford, lump or combo of the two) with small chunks of hardwood in a Weber bullet smoker. Yum!
Definitely agree with Danbob about the chimney starter. A little vegetable oil on a paper towel under the chimney can really get things going and not leave an aftertaste.
Mike
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The Shack Nasties are settin' in! "Sound Off" has turned to our favorite camp meals and how to cook 'em! Lot's of good ideas and suggestions guy's! But me and Mike have about 10 weeks befor we can use them.
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I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
Cactus
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I went on earlier about the Weber gas grill I have. We also have a fire pit here on the farm, brick lined and on goes the dutch oven. This is a twice a year ritual, game night, as in game (venison, goose, what is on hand) you can eat. I also smoke game (again, venison, trout,salmon, especially Lake Superior Lake Trout) in a homemade smoker. I have my son in Oregon send me a box of Alder and Vine Maple. Good enough for my Indian friends that smoke, good enough for me. It cost about $20.00 to get a big box of the chips, twigs and things to Michigan but worth it. We call it flavor of Oregon.....I suppose smoking would be another subject??? Jonezee
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Well, Jonezee -- instead of starting another thread, we could define the difference between hot smoking (BBQ) and cold smoking.
;~)
Cold smoking is how folks make jerky, smoked fish, smoked cheese, smoked hams, and other smoky treats. It often involves a brining process, the temperatures are very low, and the time involved is very long -- sometimes 10 hours and more. The key is that the brine and long smoking time also act as a preservative,so the meat will also keep for a long time.
Hot smoking can just be called 'BBQ', but because some folks think BBQ is the same as grilling, people that make competition BBQ put the meat in their....smokers. I've had the chance to tag along with friends who enter BBQ competitions every summer...oh, my, it's good.
My BBQ smoker (I'm not sure about the bullet smoker mentioned earlier--nice units, by the way) is great for hot smoking, but I can only do cold smoking on very cold, windy days -- did some smoked jerky the other day when the temps here hit -16--but otherwise it's tough to keep the temps down far enough. I BBQ at about 220-250 F. Cold smoking happens way under that.
So, on my list for 06 is a vertical, shelf-type cold smoker that runs on charcoal. Lots of info out there for building one from an old fridge, but modern fridges are full of plastic and paint inside -- bad news. Plans are also available for building hot smokers from steel barrels...easier, but you have to have a welder to build it.
I tried to condense it down, please correct me if I got something wrong. I was confused about the issue for years until my Cajun friend showed me how to do both hot and cold smoking!
DANBOB