Serves: 5
While being a game warden for over twenty years, it was my good fortune to be invited into many camps. Of course I ended up being an uninvited guest in many others, but I will save those stories for later. Anyway...I couldn't come close to putting a number on how many camp cooks I've crossed paths with over the years, but it for sure numbers in the hundreds. As you might expect, the skill level of these cooks runs the gamut from totally inexperienced to a chef who quit the big time and went to work for a wilderness outfitter to escape the concrete jungle.
It's probably safe to say that many of these cooks began their camp cooking education with a wiener on a stick or a can of stew set in the coals at the edge of an open fire. Properly done, you can cook canned goods without a pot and save having to wash some dishes. Improperly done, however... you might end up with beans on your face!
As taught to me when I was a Boy Scout, cooking in cans is simple and easy. Even now these many years later, I will occasionally heat a vegetable up in a can if all my DO's are in use. To do this, I merely take a can opener and pierce the top in three or four places on the top, then set it on a couple of small coals right at the edge of the fire. As liquid begins to bubble out the openings, I turn the can a quarter turn with a pair of leather gloves. I keep turning the can until liquid has bubbled out of each of the three or four holes that I put in the top. This allows for even distribution of heat and prevents burning the contents.
I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT THE TOP OF THE CAN MUST BE PIERCED BEFORE YOU APPLY HEAT TO THE CAN! The openings allow pressure to escape as the contents begin to cook. Failure to provide for the release of pressure will in a very short time result in a 'Culinary Bomb' proportional to the size of the can and how much heat was being applied!
A fellow officer responded to a call a couple of years ago to a site along the Little Salmon River in Central Idaho where some subjects were reported to be fishing with 'Dupont Spinners'! For those of you who do not know, a 'Dupont Spinner' consists of one or more sticks of dynamite, or similar explosive, deposited into the water. The explosion in the water stuns the fish, which allows for them to be retrieved merely by using a net.Needless to say, such actions are contrary to regulations and constitute a major violation.
When Roy arrived at the riverbank campsite where the explosions had been reported, evidence of the explosions was readily visible. The rookie cook in this camp had set two family size cans of chili con carne with beans in the fire and HAD NOT PIERCED THE TOPS OF THE CANS! Not only did dinner turn out to be a 'bomb,' But he had to endure ridicule from his buddies and a grin from the game warden!
Spiced with More Tall Tales - Vegetables and Salads
This _Culinary Bombs recipe is from the Cee Dub's Dutch Oven and Other Camp Cookin' Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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