Serves: 5
A few years ago in September, I’d horse packed into Bear Valley, Idaho to check archery hunters. I broke camp and pulled out fairly early in the morning. Over a half mile out from the trailhead I could hear a motor running. When I got there I found a big camp had been set up next to where I’d parked my truck and trailer. By the time I’d unpacked and grained the stock this generator was beginning to get on my nerves.
The best description I can give of this camp would be to call it an "aluminum wagon train". There were three travel trailers of varying sizes and two pickups with large cabover campers all parked in a circle. All five “wagons” were connected by extension cords of different lengths to a trailer mounted generator. When I walked up everyone was sitting around in the September sunshine swapping stories and sipping drinks which clinked with ice cubes. Setting on a camp table were two large crock pots which the camp cook told me contained the only game they’d gotten. Dinner, he said, was going to be "Blue Grouse Fricassee". He continued by saying, it sure was nice to come back to camp after the evening hunt and have dinner ready to go.
Now I can’t argue with that, but I prefer camping in a place which doesn’t sound so much like a construction site! Don’t get me wrong, because I like some of today’s amenities in camp, but running a generator of that size just to power a couple of crock pots falls into the "overkill" category. Not only did I have to raise my voice somewhat to be heard, but every other camp within a half mile had to put up with the noise as well.
Other than battery power in my flashlight, the closest I’ve been to having an all electric camp was the time I pitched camp along side a currant bush thicket. These bushes didn’t produce any voltage but the “juice” produced from a couple of cups of berries, with a little sugar added, made for some awful good french toast. But.... read on if you’d like the convenience of a crock pot without the aggravation of having to listen to a generator all afternoon.
When you set up camp, dig a hole about two feet deep right next to where you put your campfire. (Keep the dirt in a pile close by cause you’re going to need it later.) This hole should be about twice the size of your Dutch oven. That night while you fix supper, start a fire in your hole and let it burn down before you hit the bed ground. Next morning as soon as you get the coffee going, start both fires and pile on a fair amount of wood.
While you’re cooking breakfast, get the number two cook to put all the makins’ of a stew or a pot roast in a Dutch. Make sure he seasons it and adds a little more cooking liquid than usual. Put the lid on and spin it around just to make sure it doesn’t have a gap from being on crooked. Take a couple of feet of baling wire and wrap one end on the bail of the Dutch oven. (Make sure you don’t use the handle on the lid.)
About the time breakfast is over both fires should have burned back to coals. With your camp shovel, scoop a small depression in the coals in the hole. Set your Dutch oven in the depression and shovel the coals from your camp fire onto the Dutch until it’s covered. Now shovel all the dirt you saved when you dug the hole over the coals on top of the Dutch oven. You should have 6" - 8" of dirt over top the coals. If you did it right, the wire tied to the bail should indicate where the Dutch oven is. Douse any left over coals in your campfire, so when you leave there are no live coals left to be a fire danger.
That evening when you get to camp, dinner will be piping hot and ready to serve. Carefully shovel off the dirt and coals until you’re down to the lid of the Dutch oven. Using the wire you wrapped on the bail gently lift the Dutch out and set it down. I keep an old whisk broom in my camp box to brush the remaining dirt and coals off the lid. (Most folks will appreciate the meal better without a shovel full of grit added just prior to serving!) Anyway...there you have it, a "camp crock pot" with out having to pack around a generator and an extension cord.
A Back Country Guide to Outdoor Cooking Spiced with Tall Tales - Camp Chili, Stews, Soups and Sauces
This _Camp Crock Pot recipe is from the Cee Dub's Dutch Oven and Other Camp Cookin' Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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