Survivalist Cooking

Problem I find is that the recipes and cooking advocated seem to be too elaborate requiring too many ingredients and time

Been watching number of video on YOUTUBE

18 th Century Cooking by John Townsend, historian and re enactor

Civil War Digital Digest - which features method Civil War soldiers cooking rations of flour and cornmeal/hominy

Here the recipes and techniques are to say , particularly for soldiers - basic . Just cupful of flour or cornmeal , some salt, sugar if fortunate and a
campfire

In 18th Century cooking use of a pudding bag or cloth, undyed natural fiber (linen or cotton) to wrap food up and submerge in boiling water to cook

Some are pretty inventive - rice pudding with some rice, flour, sugar and bit of spice

Well there is camp cooking and then there is survivalist cooking. One will be elaborate recipes with a Cast Iron Dutch Oven. The other may start out with trimming willow saplings, debarking them and tying into a loop to make a crosspiece basket for cooking your fish that you will be filleting in a few minutes.

Bannock is a fry bread made with at least flour and water, although you might be using flour made from acorn, cattail or amaranth depending on what you gathered. But if you are camping by all means pre-mix all the dry ingredients in a ziplock baggie and add water a little at a time. Kneed into dough right in the bag (old trick to keep hands dough free). Even with baking powder and a taste of salt it will not rise much. Work it into a soft dough (but not sticky) and wrap around a stick to cook over fire like a hotdog. Or prepare your cooking pot to use as an oven with a little aluminum foil mod.

Pro tip: if you are going to bake your bread, do that first and sit aside for it to rest while cooking your meal.

a reply to: firerescue

It very much depends upon your definition of "survivalist".

True survival cooking is about nutrition first and foremost. Flavor is a happy accident .

In my BOB, I have sealed containers of salt, and pepper. I also can identify some plants that will aid in making survival cooking a bit more flavorful.

When I'm camping out, I have my Dutch Oven, and various ingredients available...something I might not have in a true survival situation, though I'd certainly attempt to have 'em available if at all possible.

I try to keep enough ingredients in stock to make almost everything for a year. I should get another two pound brick of yeast I suppose, and maybe boost my flour from ta hundred thirty pounds to a hundred fifty pounds in stock.

Usually got at minimum about forty pounds of salt in stock...got freezers with beef in them, might need to salt the beef or can it. Got the canning supplies too, but right now we are down to around two and a half gallons of vinegar...dangerously low...darn plastic bottles, the vinegar gets a taste to it after three years and is only good for cleaning stuff. I should invest in some gallon glass jugs I suppose so I can boost the vinegar up. Much of the year here it is below freezing so I can just put a fridge in a building that is cold and it will stay frozen for the winter.

I am not going to leave my home if things get bad, too old for an exciting adventure now...that is for the young people to enjoy. The wife and I will survive...damn peanut butter recall....I have two jars of the recalled peanut butter, lowers my stock to six jars now....I am going to email the company to see if they will send me a coupon for the two jars...I am not just throwing it away, my daughter has five jars of Jiff left with the effected numbers.

a reply to: rickymouse

I have been getting flour/cornmeal /rice and putting it in sealed containers with tight lids Have salt, pepper, spices, cinnamon, allspice, along with garlic and onion powders, chili and curry powders in tightly sealed containers to flavor food

People should keep some spices available for use in cooking - makes food taste much better

Tried out rice pudding recipe from Civil War Digital Digest - came out all right , Little bland so added some more spice

a reply to: rickymouse

Peanut Butter

Can get dehydrated peanut Butter in large No 10 cans - add some water and mix Have a can of that around

a reply to: seagull

Allow me to direct you to the spice aisle www.mccormick.com...
Lemon pepper, Cajan, Salad Supreme and Italian blends should be of interest.

And if you like southern style cornbread (not sweet) then I have good news. You will eat cornbread more often than regular bread because all flour is a PITA to acquire.

a reply to: firerescue

Marginally been stocking up on chicken and beef bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, rice, dehydrated beans, dehydrated chopped veggies, canned meats, a dutch oven, rocket stove, etc., etc., etc. I would not encourage going overboard but I would rather be prepared for when the SHTF then not. I live in a rural area and have my own garden, raise chickens, a couple cows, some rabbits and a n old fashioned well complete with rope and bucket. kekw. Be assured, there are other things I and my wife could marginally stock but we doing things at a pace.

Personally, not giving a crap about survivalist recipes cause if crap actually does hit the fan, snapping together rice and/or beans, some bouillon cubes, water, bit of salt, pepper, dehydrated veggies and a can of canned meat and done, good to go. Keep it simple. Again, keep it simple.

Cooking survivalist is the worst, they are boney, and stringy

originally posted by: Terpene
Cooking survivalist is the worst, they are boney, and stringy

Get hungry enough, even that 'boney and stringy' will look heaven sent. Bet.

a reply to: Terpene

Depends upon what you're eating.

Nice brook trout, or brown trout, good eatin'.

It will also depend upon the time of year, obviously. Winter could indeed be stringy, and boney. But you eat what Nature allows you to catch.

Practicing that sort of cooking helps, too.

Everyone probably already knows to freeze your flour & cornmeal for a few days after you buy it, to kill the bug eggs in it. Or else vacuum seal it. Or both even.
Of course you could always sift it before you use it. Or leave the worms in for protein!
If I remember right, meal worms in cornmeal are bigger than the ones in flour. I can’t remember if they were big enough to use for fishing bait though. Don’t want to waste anything! Only ever had it happen once. I freeze everything now. Had it happen to ditalini once too! That one surprised me!

Also found out that mice can squeeze in under Tupperware type bin lids too! Now everything is in big glass jars, big metal containers with lids, or new metal garbage cans. I read that people even had them chew through five gallon food storage buckets! Worms & grubs I could handle, mouse turds, not so much!!!
WOQ

dutch oven? something different herea reply to: seagull

a reply to: firerescue

Yuk!!

Who knows what sort of diseases they carry.

a reply to: seagull

You dropped the gauntlet for bug out sized Dutch Oven. It is Amazon so made in China. I have four smaller ones that are for making individual chicken pot pies that Mom found somewhere. Not sure they are campfire thick enough without charring or breaking if you tried.

originally posted by: Ahabstar
a reply to: seagull

You dropped the gauntlet for bug out sized Dutch Oven. It is Amazon so made in China. I have four smaller ones that are for making individual chicken pot pies that Mom found somewhere. Not sure they are campfire thick enough without charring or breaking if you tried.

The dutch ovens I have are big, big enough to stuff six people. I also have a few smaller ones, about big enough to feed three people, but we rarely use those. No little tiny ones though, the smallest is about maybe three quarts. I used to have a tiny one, but I think one of the daughters borrowed it and probably left it at some friends camp or something.

a reply to: Ahabstar

Well now, that is something I'm definitely going to purchase at some point in the very near future.

Squirrels. Easy. Birds. Easy. Fish. Easy. just shoot it or hook it. Do the thing. and cook it.

a reply to: seagull

what Nature allows you to catch.

I found them rather hard to catch... Very evasive

Next time i will try brown trout for bait, thanks for the heads-up

a reply to: Terpene

Here is a useful, and very easy to make, fish trap.

Fish Trap.

You won't catch big fish, but you will catch lots of small ones. Minnows, and etc... Useful for bait, or in stews, that sort of thing.

Low energy, high yield. Very important if your food supply is limited to what you can harvest.