- Construct an arched structure of green sticks (similar in shape to a beehive)
- Insert a thick stick vertically through the top to form a flue opening and daub with wet clay until it is completely covered except for a front opening
- Pile on successive layers of clay until a thick wall is made
A clay oven can also be made by hammering a thick sharpened stick down through a bank or slope about three feet back from the edge.
- Scoop out the size of the oven you want about a foot or so down the bank
- Leave a thick ceiling
- Leave a narrow front opening and dig back and hollow the bank as far as the stick which you hammered down
- Pull the stick out to form the chimney opening
- Wet your hands and smooth the interior surfaces
- Harden the walls by building a small fire inside
Cooking in Natural Containers:
A stone with a hollow in it makes an excellent container. If it is small enough you can build a fire around the stone. Bark can be used to fashion pots to boil water, cook soups, stews or any foods with liquids over a fire. Peel a square of bark and fold the corners inward and hold them in place with wooden pegs. Keep the flames from touching your bark pot above the liquid level and your meal will cook in this simple container.
Large leaves make an instant “aluminum foil” when baking or steaming food, but be sure to use edible nonpoisonous leaves.
Baking in Clay:
This method is excellent for small game or fish.
Remove the entrails from the animal being prepared. This is easiest to do if the animal is already dead. Do not skin, pluck or scale. Cover with a layer of clay about an inch thick. Place it in hot ashes and build a fire above it. Cooking time varies with animal size and taste preference. A one pound animal will be cooked in approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
The meat will be stripped clean of fur, feathers or scales when you break off the clay.
- Heat a peeled green stick by the fire while you prepare a bread dough
- Mix a GI canteen cup of flour with a mound of baking powder the size of a quarter and a dash of salt
- Add water gradually to make a soft dough
- Work quickly so the bread will rise as it bakes
Cooking in Ashes:
Foodstuff is placed in warm ashes and then covered with embers. Self-contained foods such as vegetables do not need to be wrapped in anything; simply place them in the ashes and dust them off after cooking. Cooking time depends upon the type of food and personal preferences. You can test vegetables by feeling for softness and putting them back if they still feel firm.
Cooking on Wood Slabs:
Select a green hardwood slab (evergreens season the food with a pine or turpentine taste) large enough to lash or peg the animal. Fish and very small game can be successfully cooked this way.
- Clean the animal and flatten down on the slab
- Either pin the animal down with wooden pegs or lash to the slab with whatever is available
- Lean the slab up in front of glowing coals
- Turn a few times so the food will cook evenly
- Roasted Rat
In the Confederate states, when the North invaded and food was in short supply, this was a commonly used recipe: The rat must be skinned, cleaned, his head cut off and his body laid upon a square board, the legs stretched to their full extent and secured upon it with small tacks, then baste with bacon fat and roast before a good fire quickly like canvasback ducks.
This is a good method for cooking a small amount of food. Fish, birds and small animals (large animals must be cut into smaller chunks) can be cleaned and then skewered on a peeled green wood stick. If the food tends to slide, a bark twine can be used to tie it down by splitting the wood down to the game on both ends and twisting bark through the splits. Sear the meat in the flame to seal in the juices. The skewer can be laid over forked green sticks at both ends of an ember bed.
As long as the fire does not flame up, the meat needs only occasional turning so it cooks evenly.
Steaming in a Hole:
This method can be used to cook small or enormous amounts of food with great results.
- Build a fire and place some stones in it to heat
- Don’t select rocks from a stream bed, limestone or sandstone since they can contain trapped moisture and may explode when heated
- While the stones are heating, dig a hole
- Put the stones in the pit and place a thick layer of wet vegetation like grass or seaweed over them
- Lay the food on top of the wet vegetation and place a stick near the edge of the pit
- Fill with dirt
- Pull the stick out and pour water down this opening onto the rocks to steam the food
- Tamp down the top and leave the food to steam for at least two or three hours
Grilling:
Meat can be grilled over the coals if it is fat. Lean game will end up very dry.
- Build a bed of hardwood embers and place a grill matting of green sticks on it
- Place the meat on the grill and turn immediately after the sides are seared to seal in the juices
- Try not to pierce the meat with whatever you are turning it with so you don’t lose any juices
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