# River Menus: Stepping Up My Game



## restrac2000

I live at the rather perilous intersection of self-proclaimed foodie and househusband that allows me to experiment way too much with recipes. Luckily my bread-winning wife is not only supportive but also excited for our food explorations. My boating buddies don't complain too much either. As such, I thought I would start a thread to share some of the better, and maybe worst, river menu options we have stumbled across over the years. So.....

Most Reliable Dinner:

Red Posole: Easily made ahead of time, vacuum packed and frozen. Easy option for first couple nights or can be used as ice until needed on a cool night. Peeps seem to love it and you can garnish it however you want. Favorite choice for meat is a bone-in Boston Butt yet any shoulder or butt roast will do. Don't skimp on the chilis and make sure to bring the extra paste for those who love the smokey flavor they bring.

Most Reliable Breakfast:

Breakfast Burritos: Premade, frozen and steamed in the morning (_this device_ has been awesome for the river kitchen's pots). 

Best Cooler Is Dead End of Trip Dinner:

Either a dry box curry with all the leftover vegetables and some canned chicken (if needed, which its normally not). Mae Ploy makes a reliable product in whatever flavor you prefer, just cook up some veggies, add a can of coconut milk and voila. Or an easy Asian Cabbage salad served with roasted cashews and whatever flavors you like. Hearty, refreshing on a summer night and no worries about spoilage with durable vegetables to boot.

Most Excited for 2015:

Traditional Ramen! You can make the soup base, _tare_, and _chashu_ ahead of time. Spectacular flavor and filling meal. We just made a Miso Ramen from the Sapporo region that maybe one of the most satisfying food experiences of my life. How can you go wrong with pork shoulder marinated in soy and sake and then sliced thin, soy marinated eggs, cabbage and scallions? If you haven't had a real ramen soup in your life you are missing out. The base is so unique and can take as little as 2 hours to make (unlike the Hakata Ramen which can take several days). Definitely a fringe season winner. Premake some gyoza up ahead of time, quickly cook them, serve on the side and you will have people begging for more.

Anybody have success stories, absolute failures or excitement for a new recipe to add to their rotation?

Phillip


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## BilloutWest

restrac2000 said:


> Most Reliable Dinner:
> Red Posole: Easily made ahead of time, vacuum packed and frozen. Easy option for first couple nights or can be used as ice until needed on a cool night. Peeps seem to love it and you can garnish it however you want. Favorite choice for meat is a bone-in Boston Butt yet any shoulder or butt roast will do. Don't skimp on the chilis and make sure to bring the extra paste for those who love the smokey flavor they bring.
> Phillip


The link didn't work for me.
Is it similar to this?


> Pozole is a special occasion dish in Mexico, especially in Guerrero State. Restaurants called pozolerías specialize in it. This dish is a well known cure for hangovers and is often eaten in the wee hours of the morning as a preventive. Pozole is also popular in New Mexico, where it is usually spelled posole.


Pozole Recipe (Mexican pork and hominy stew) | Whats4eats


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## restrac2000

Yep, similar, but that is a recipe for a white posole (which I have never made). 

Must have done something weird in copying link, here ya go:

Posole Rojo Recipe : Food Network Kitchen : Food Network

If you make a little extra it a great addition to breakfast burritos the next day.

Phillip


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## duct tape

Here's my favorite Posole recipe. I've modified it over the years but it is perfect for warm lunches in a thermos or dinner, with corn or flour tortillas.

I generally triple or quadruple the ingredients and freeze the extra. The amounts are pretty general. I'm a throw-whatever-sounds/smells-good-into-the-pot chef and don't spend much time with actual measurements.

Heavy stock pot (or Large Oval Crock Pot)
and a Medium Large Skillet if using a crock pot to stew in.
Garlic, garlic and more garlic (about 8 cloves, peeled & chopped)
Onion, onion and more onion (3-4 onions depending on size, chopped)
Oregano (flakes) – (2 tablespoons or so)
Flour (for dredging the pork).
Olive Oil –(about 1/4 cup).
2-3 T Canola Oil
Butter – The Real Deal (1/2 stick).
Pork for Stewing (about 1.5 pounds - more if you want, cut into 3/4 inch cubes).
2 large cans (49.5 oz. each) Swanson's chicken stock
1 bag Refrigerated or Frozen "half-processed" Posole (NOT dry, NOT canned), wash it good and pick out the bad ones.
4 to 8 Dried Chipotle Pods (NOT canned!) – Use about 4 for a mild posole, 6 for medium and 8 for hot... The chipotles need time to release their essence, which is why this is always better and richer the next day. If you don't have dried chipotle, then the canned in adobo can work - just make sure that you don't use any other type of red chile 

Dredge the pork in flour, then brown in stock pot (or skillet if you'll be using a crock pot) over medium high heat in 2-3 tablespoons canola oil until browned on all sides. Add onions and garlic with olive oil and butter and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the fresh/frozen posole to the onions along with the two large cans of chicken stock, rub the oregano flakes between your hands into the pot and add the chipotle pods. Bring to boil and let simmer, covered, for several hours until the posole pops open. As it simmers, replenish or add water as needed so that it doesn't become too salty. Salt to taste and serve with chopped onions and shredded cheese.

Mmm Mmm. I'm ready for the river.

- Jon


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## duct tape

Breakfast burritos - I made mine for our Main trip last summer. What I would do next time is put 2 or 4 each in vacuum sealed bags, and then just boil them in a large crock pot before serving. I tried the same with Zip Loc bags with a few leaks, ruining at least a few bags.


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## malloypc

*Interesting Posole history*

I wasn't familiar with Posole so took a look at the Wikipedia entries.
from Pozole - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :

_Since maize was a sacred plant for the Aztecs and other inhabitants of Mesoamerica, pozole was made to be consumed on special occasions. 
The conjunction of maize (usually whole hominy kernels) and meat in a single dish is of particular interest to scholars because the ancient Americans believed the gods made humans out of masa (cornmeal dough). 
According to research by the National Institute of Anthropology and History and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, on these special occasions, the meat used in the pozole was human. 
After the prisoners were killed by having their hearts torn out in a ritual sacrifice, the rest of the body was chopped and cooked with maize. 
The meal was shared among the whole community as an act of religious communion. 
After the Conquest, when cannibalism was banned, pork became the staple meat as it "tasted very similar", according to a Spanish priest._​
So I guess that means we taste like the other white meat - who knew?


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## BilloutWest

Uhhhhh

I'm good with chicken.

We buy chicken breasts for under 2 bucks a pound and my wife cleans them of everything but meat. Vacuum sealed they own a corner of the freezer. 

Those frozen chicken breasts on the river are thawed, marinated in nothing more then an Italian Salad dressing and then BBQ'd.
With a rice dish with veges precut. Key here is SWEET Onions. Aluminum foil wrapped garlic bead next to the BBQ works.


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## BilloutWest

Steaming










Rather than this guy we just use a metal steamer insert, w/folding handles, that fits in a pan.

Steamed veges are soooo much better and easy.
With that gear already its no problem to steam burritos.

=========

Anyone know how hazardous it is to heat vacuum seal bags?


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## okieboater

I am a big fan of boil in the bag prepared food from home.

I found out the hard way that you need to keep the bag plastic from touching the metal pot.

Some sort of insert on the pot's inside bottom to separate the bag from the pot bottom and plenty of water (IE don't over load the pot with bags) can help.

No matter what recipe a person uses, pozole is a great river dish.

I appreciate all the recipes.


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## caverdan

malloypc said:


> I wasn't familiar with Posole so took a look at the Wikipedia entries.
> from Pozole - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia :
> _Since maize was a sacred plant for the Aztecs and other inhabitants of Mesoamerica, pozole was made to be consumed on special occasions. _
> _The conjunction of maize (usually whole hominy kernels) and meat in a single dish is of particular interest to scholars because the ancient Americans believed the gods made humans out of masa (cornmeal dough). _
> _According to research by the National Institute of Anthropology and History and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, on these special occasions, the meat used in the pozole was human. _
> _After the prisoners were killed by having their hearts torn out in a ritual sacrifice, the rest of the body was chopped and cooked with maize. _
> _The meal was shared among the whole community as an act of religious communion. _
> _After the Conquest, when cannibalism was banned, pork became the staple meat as it "tasted very similar", according to a Spanish priest._​So I guess that means we taste like the other white meat - who knew?


No wonder I'm not a big pork fan.


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## BilloutWest

> According to the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Agriculture Communication, some bags are made from plastic that is too thin to boil without melting. They recommend calling the manufacturers of the plastic bag and asking them what the softening point is. NDSU reports that Ziploc brand bags have a softening point of 195 degrees, which means they would melt at boiling point, 212 degrees. This will ruin both the food and the dishes the bags are in.





> When plastic is boiled, the chemicals used to produce it can leach into the food being prepared due to a high temperature. Common chemicals in plastic include BPA and phthalates. Harvard Medical School says that *high-fat foods are especially susceptible*. NDSU adds that some plastic bags will leach toxic fumes from the ink, glue and recycled materials used in making them.


High Fat would be *PORK *!!


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## BilloutWest

Checking over the FOODSAVER box we use for our vacuum sealer bags.



> "Safe for microwave, freezer, refrigerator and _simmering_."


BPA Free.

======

A couple thoughts.
They could be lying.
The sealing act itself is not simmering. It is meant to melt.
They do not address the chemical(s), *phthalates*.

Phthalates are the new BPA. From the standpoint of awareness.


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## duct tape

Here's my favorite black bean and corn salad recipe in a lime cilantro vinaigrette.

I doubled this for our Main trip and had too much for 18 but I cooked way too much food for that meal and had lots of everything.

Servings: 6-8
Total Time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients

5 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
5 cups frozen corn
3 red bell peppers, diced
Cherry/grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons minced shallots, from one medium shallot
4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder
4 tablespoons sugar
18 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoon lime zest (be sure to zest limes before juicing them)
12 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
4 avocados, chopped
Instructions

Combine all ingredients except for avocados in a large bowl and mix well. Right before serving, add avocados and mix gently, being careful not to mash avocados. Garnish with a more chopped cilantro if desired. Serve at room temperature.


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## duct tape

Here's how brown rice works best for me. Sounds pretty simple but just a few additions really make this simple side dish really good:

5 cup short grain brown rice
10 cups vegetable broth, canned or homemade (can also use chicken broth)
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 (2-inch) strips lemon or orange zest
Kosher salt
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan with a tight fitting lid, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 50 minutes. Don't lift the lid to give a peek or stir or the rice will not cook evenly.
Remove pan from the heat and let the rice sit, covered, for 10 minutes - once again, no peeking. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Reading this makes me wonder why I'm starting a diet for my New Year's resolution????


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## duct tape

Here's my all-time favorite guacamole recipe. Borrowed from Gabriel's, Santa Fe, after many "research" trips and much careful observation. Recipe can now be found online at several places so I'm not really giving anything away here.

These are my estimates for 16 -18 people but who know's how much to make? Depends on if it is a meal, or an appetizer I guess

Guacamole recipe

From Gabriels, Santa Fe

16 medium avocados (peeled and pitted)
2 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 teaspoon chopped jalapeno
2 cup chopped tomatoes
8 teaspoon chopped onion
16 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
16 teaspoons chopped cilantro
Salt

Dice avocados, ideally in a 16 ounce molcajete bowl. Add crushed garlic and chopped jalapeno mashing the mix together with a fork and spoon. Add chopped tomatoes, chopped onion and salt to taste. Mix together. Sprinkle with freshly squeezed lime juice, than add chopped cilantro and stir. Serve with tortilla chips.


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## okieboater

Sunny but too cold to boat much here in the midwest.

However, Duct Tape, man your recipes are spot on good stuff for a river trip soon as it warms up spring time.

Good eating for sure!


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## restrac2000

> Rather than this guy we just use a metal steamer insert, w/folding handles, that fits in a pan.
> 
> Steamed veges are soooo much better and easy.
> With that gear already its no problem to steam burritos.


Metal is horrible for non-stick pots and pans so we rarely have them in our kit. In all reality metal utensils are even bad for most metal and cast iron damages the surface which leads to sticking (and loss of natural non-stick qualities of cast iron). 

We have largely moved to silicon or bamboo utensils, hence the steamer. We still have some cheapo plastic stuff we eventually need to toss when we can upgrade. Mileage will vary for others based on kitchen set.

Phillip


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## tteton

*boiling bags*

I always bring the water to a boil then turn it down and insert bag of food. never had a problem with it leaking from the bag melting. thanks for the recipes


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## CoBoater

nice recipes, Ductape! can't wait to try some out when the thaw comes in the spring



malloypc said:


> _
> After the Conquest, when cannibalism was banned, pork became the staple meat as it "tasted very similar", according to a Spanish priest._​
> So I guess that means we taste like the other white meat - who knew?


hence the name 'Long Pig' for that particular delicacy!


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## BilloutWest

restrac2000 said:


> Metal is horrible for non-stick pots and pans so we rarely have them in our kit. In all reality metal utensils are even bad for most metal and cast iron damages the surface which leads to sticking (and loss of natural non-stick qualities of cast iron).
> 
> We have largely moved to silicon or bamboo utensils, hence the steamer. We still have some cheapo plastic stuff we eventually need to toss when we can upgrade. Mileage will vary for others based on kitchen set.
> 
> Phillip


I should have been specific.
We use stainless in stainless.

For the non boiling we primarily use cast iron.

We have moved away from non-annodized aluminum.
We are moving away from non-stick.

We are moving away from plastic uses near heat.
Especially after hearing about recently and recently reading about more problems with plastics than I imagined.


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## restrac2000

Totally understand. We use the GSI Pinnacle Cookset. Our pots are only used for boiling and related cooking (like rice). Those temperatures are well within the safe limits of modern PTFE which seem to become an issue above 260F (i.e. cooking with high heat oils or left on burner alone).

If we do cook higher we definitely go stainless or cast iron. 

I am back and forth on cooking with plastics. I need to research more as I love the idea of Sous Vide (at home) but don't have enough info to offset my skepticism for basically boiling (mush lower temp) in plastic. We definitely moved away from spatulas, etc that come into contact with hot surfaces and only use plastics for things like ladles. 

My dream river kitchen would include a set of triclad pots but I am not sure when that is gonna happen and I have never seen a set with removable handles that would be best for dry box space. But a foodie can dream.

So much uncertainty with plastics and aluminum out there. Figure the few times a year I cook on it doesn't compare to the bioload we are likely getting from beer cans, which are often lined with BPA-infused polymers. Still confused on the best recourse myself as it seems we move to materials with less background research and sometimes worse health affects. 

Phillip


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## restrac2000

Just grateful food-grade silicon is so stable.


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## malloypc

BilloutWest said:


> Rather than this guy we just use a metal steamer insert, w/folding handles, that fits in a pan.





restrac2000 said:


> Metal is horrible for non-stick pots and pans so we rarely have them in our kit.


For keeping seal-a-meal bags from contacting the bottom of the pot I've taken to just using some small rocks. 
They're generally available anywhere we camp and gives me one less device to pack in the kitchen.
If I were to routinely steam vegetables (it seems they usually end up overcooked), I'd be packing one or the other of these.


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## elkhaven

OK I was on the Dutch Oven thread and finally remembered something I could add to this thread... 

But first my favorite meals... We do enchiladas and lasagna a lot in the DO's... Always a favorite. No particular recipe, almost everything we do is by memory, so sorry I can't help with actual recipes...

My favorite meals are breakfasts, so I like to do big hodge podge skillet meals that can be wrapped in torts, covered in gravy or put onto bagels. I use a modified 24" harrow disk as a wok like device to scramble ingredients into a hardy, yummy pile of greasy fried goodness.

As for one "recipe" I can contribute, we make a very simple cobbler, called a Doge cobbler (after my dad's buddy that introduced him to it). It's simply a can of canned fruit, stick of butter and one box of jiffy white cake mix. (multiply at will in that ratio). Pour in the fruit then cover with cake mix, swirl a few times to lightly mix and cut and lay the butter over the top. 8 briquettes on bottom 16 on top until browned. ~20 min depending on wind, etc. It comes out very rich and is always a favorite. Make a lot because in my mind there is nothing better than the left overs for breakfast on the last day, especially if your in a hurry to get rolling in the morning.


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## BilloutWest

elkhaven said:


> It's simply a can of canned fruit, stick of butter and one box of jiffy white cake mix. Pour in the fruit then cover with cake mix, swirl a few times to lightly mix and cut and lay the butter over the top. 8 briquettes on bottom 16 on top until browned. ~20 min depending on wind, etc.


So the fruit isn't drained.
The cake mix absorbs the fruit juice and butter.
No egg(s) required?

On a doubled recipe would a 14 inch oven be best?


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## restrac2000

Thx for bumping the thread.

Lasagna is definitely a favorite and likely always will be. 

Leftover crumble desserts or cobblers are super tasty breakfasts the next day.


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## elkhaven

BilloutWest said:


> So the fruit isn't drained.
> The cake mix absorbs the fruit juice and butter.
> No egg(s) required?
> 
> On a doubled recipe would a 14 inch oven be best?


not drained, no egg, the canned fruit is already "sauced" i.e. thickened so it doesn't get runny. I usually do a double in my 12", though 14 would probably be better (I don't have one) and wouldn't take as long (thinner)...

I usually get the "oregon" brand canned fruit, my favorite is blue berry but often do a mix of blackberry and peach which is really good.

One nice thing is the meat of it isn't perishable so it can usually go at the end of the trip... if you're low on butter it's fine with less, but really the butter is what gives it that extra somethin' so, you know...

eidt: If we have problems finding jiffy cake mix, a normal box of cake mix will work for a double... again, no egg, water or any other ingredients on the box, just the powder... so I guess, yeah, the mix takes up some of the moisture from the fruit and butter...


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## BilloutWest

Consulting with my wife. Who actually is a good cook.

"Fat and Sugar. That'll work."

I see on the net where busy Moms recommend this same basic recipe with either white or yellow cake mix. "Quick - feed the troops and they like it".

Its common to sprinkle some cinnamon on the peaches for peach cobbler. Thats easy. I have a multi spice and this involves no extra dishes.

The peaches combined with berries is nice because no need to add granulated sugar like most cooks do with berries.


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## elkhaven

you know maybe I should rephrase the canned fruit: It is really pie filling, like this: 










So it all ready has some sugar etc... Yeah it's really good and really simple. You can make way more complicated cobbler that I'm sure some chef would say is better but I sure as hell can't tell any difference...

It is really easy, so it would make sense as a quick feed the troops type of thing... I don't think it matters what pie mix you use but for nostalgic reasons we try to use the Jiffy white.


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## carvedog

I have way, way too many river recipes and I don't do too many bag a meals. So not sure I have much to contribute here if that is what you are looking for. 

I used to work way too hard to season my cast iron but I have learned. Just get your iron hot, like hot enough to make vegetable oil smoke. And do so. Make the veggie oil smoke for a bit swirling it around to get full coverage. And done. It's almost as good as a non-stick pan if you do this. Do your river buddies a favor though. If you have left the DO with oil on all winter, wash it well even with soap and reapply the oil smoking hot. Otherwise you may have rancid oil that will permeate the menu item. And that is just not good. 

I will share one DO meal that seems popular and easy. 

Take a pork shoulder roast or butt. I trim some of the fat off. Season liberally with salt and pepper and I insert garlic cloves in about ten different spots. Roll it around in a hot dutch for a bit to sear all sides.

Add a couple of cups of rice depending on size of dutch, bay leaves and double your liquid ( I use chick stock or beef broth) bring to a boil. Get your lid hot and cook for an hour with coals. You almost can't put too many on with the amount of liquid in here. 

If there is room for broccoli throw that on the top and cook covered for another 15. 

Done. One pot and awesome.


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## PBR62

One of our party has one of those disc wok doodads, made awesome fajitas on our Gates of Lodore trip. He precooked and froze chicken and beef, cooked fresh peppers, etc at camp. Versitile piece of cookware for sure. 

We really like posole. Making me hungry to read recipes!


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## elkhaven

We call it a Taco Disco and is a staple. It's kind of a bitch to pack but makes up for it in character and usefulness.


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## restrac2000

So I imagine it strength is its ability to cook food at different temperatures/speeds? From appearance it also looks like you need the stove/burner setup its often sold with, correct? If so, does the burner double as a jet/high output cooker/heater like a woodland?

Phillip


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## elkhaven

restrac2000 said:


> So I imagine it strength is its ability to cook food at different temperatures/speeds? From appearance it also looks like you need the stove/burner setup its often sold with, correct? If so, does the burner double as a jet/high output cooker/heater like a woodland?
> 
> Phillip


I'm sure someone makes them for sale but they're pretty simple. I made this one by welding the axle hole closed and adding two rebar handles. It's heavy and takes a seasoning just like cast iron. I also made a tripod like stand that I can set directly in the fire or on top of my blaster but you can set it directly on the fire. In the photo it's sitting directly on the blaster. If you want the heat spread more set the stand on the blaster and the disco on the stand and it'll be 3-4 inches above the flame. Turn the flame up high and the whole thing gets pretty hot for stir fry...

Yes one strengths is different cooking speeds. The other is size and being able to be used over an open fire or blaster type stove - it doesn't need to be flat. I use the sides as a warmer. Cook bacon fist, slide up the side... add potatoes, onions etc, slide up the side. Scrambled eggs, slide up the side, french toast/toast in the middle serve... or warm tortillas around the edge, or...


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## BilloutWest

*AKA*



PBR62 said:


> One of our party has one of those disc wok doodads,


*Discada* or bbq disc blade skillet.

Disc blade cooker also known as a disco, cowboy wok and plow disc cooker.


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## spider

I find the pull tab cans of chili when dented with a rock and tossed in the fire tend to explode, unlike the conventional top cans that just pop the dent when they are hot enough.


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## pinemnky13

Breakfast got to for last year after the burritos ran its course and the mcmuffins got tired was.... Wait for it
Bisguits and gravy with bacon or sausage links. Bake the muffins at home and the rest is easy. I do the sausage links on tne side for the vegitarians(there's always one or 2)
Quick, easy and filling


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## catwoman

One of my favorites lately has been Pad Thai, partly because it satisfies the gluten free crowd and can be veg friendly, and partly because everybody else does Mexican or Italian. We parboil chicken strips in advance, use egg beaters, grated carrots, shredded cabbage, spring onion, limes, cilantro, crushed peanuts, and store bought sauce. The veggies are all uncooked, added to the noodles, meat, egg and sauce by the eater. I like rice noodles better than rice - quick cooking and easy cleanup. Often, we serve fresh-made veggie spring rolls with a spicy peanut sauce for appetizers and a no bake key lime pie for dessert with this dinner. It is a great meal for a warm trip. Very refreshing, no DO required (although I adore DO baking).


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


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## PBR62

Here's the disc made and sold here in Arkansas


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## Down River Equipment

I came across this website recently. Looks like they have some good recipes:

50 Campfires - The Camping Authority

Camp Cooking Archives - 50 Campfires


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## PBR62

PBR62 said:


> Here's the disc made and sold here in Arkansas


clearly the image did not attach


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## rivervibe

I hate cooking on the river. It's such a huge time and equipment suck. Don't you leave civilization behind for the river camp in order to get away from the likes of pots and pans? I would way rather be hiking in the evening than fooling with a stove. So many people get weird about food on the river anyway, I wish we could just take it out of the equation all together...
Cheese plates, hummus, nuts, cereal (preferably with powdered milk of some kind), coffee, maybe a salad wrap, plenty of granola bars. Minimal work, time, and clean up. Done.

Also I just found this on Amazon: Camp without Coolers or Stoves. Ordering it. Stoked.


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## restrac2000

rivervibe said:


> I hate cooking on the river. It's such a huge time and equipment suck. Don't you leave civilization behind for the river camp in order to get away from the likes of pots and pans? I would way rather be hiking in the evening than fooling with a stove. So many people get weird about food on the river anyway, I wish we could just take it out of the equation all together...
> Cheese plates, hummus, nuts, cereal (preferably with powdered milk of some kind), coffee, maybe a salad wrap, plenty of granola bars. Minimal work, time, and clean up. Done.
> 
> Also I just found this on Amazon: Camp without Coolers or Stoves. Ordering it. Stoked.


I support whatever style of recreation people want in their outdoor time. More power to you for wanting less.....

.....but can't we finally kill this idea that there is one appropriate and justified way to recreate? You have no clue why I recreate, RiverVibe, and I am starting to get real tired of the arrogance associated with that stance. While it seems to really prevalent on how one should descend the Grand Canyon it seems to permeate many of the rafting threads. 

I owned my personal desire to cook specific, often difficult and time consuming, meals on the river. I find purpose and benefit from that. You don't have to. I find significant value in cooking for people, especially meals they may have never experienced. Its a form of gifting that I find rewarding and most of my friends agree. People often join our trips for that reason and spend considerable time prepping meals themselves because they also personally value the many aspects of a shared meal. Its one of the threads that binds my river friendships and those at home. Its not the only element of what defines my community but it is a major one.

Another aspect of why I cook the way I do is my wife works exceedingly hard through the year and our river trips are our vacation time. I am a househusband (seasonally a ski instructor) and I have a wife that values unique and quality food. I plan, prep and rig most of trips so she can have a great experience. At home and on the river we explore good food because that is something she and I both value. We don't do much in the way of world travel so we bring world food to our own table. Its cheaper than eating out and provides a much more experiential approach to eating for me. Its a way I show affection and care for her, similar to her getting to sit on the front of the rig drinking a cocktail or taking in the sights while I row. As a hardworking breadwinner its one of the few times a year she gets to turn off and just bask in selfishness. I bring value into her life by providing those experiences and opportunities. She agrees.

I love the exploration of different cooking techniques and the development of skill associated with cooking and food culture. I love the smell of a robust concoction like Posole on a cold night. I love watching a perfectly golden loaf of bread come out of a dutch oven knowing that we took it from scratch, kneaded it and used the sun's warmth for it to rise. I love the camaraderie that comes from people eating appetizers around a shared table, especially if its something like the "Hurry Curried Cauliflower" I bottle at home. 

I applaud you for finding the balance that is appropriate for you. But could you please stop polluting so many threads with a personal, highly subjective worldview that you disguise as universal truth. Its one thing to share a personal preference; its another thing altogether to assume it inherently applies to my life.

Phillip


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## carvedog

rivervibe said:


> I hate cooking on the river. It's such a huge time and equipment suck. Don't you leave civilization behind for the river camp in order to get away from the likes of pots and pans? I would way rather be hiking in the evening than fooling with a stove. So many people get weird about food on the river anyway, I wish we could just take it out of the equation all together...
> Cheese plates, hummus, nuts, cereal (preferably with powdered milk of some kind), coffee, maybe a salad wrap, plenty of granola bars. Minimal work, time, and clean up. Done.
> 
> Also I just found this on Amazon: Camp without Coolers or Stoves. Ordering it. Stoked.


Wow. For someone named rivervibe I don't really care for your river vibe. 

As some find inspiration from the river to paint, photograph, hike, make sexy times....whatever it is - I find the river inspires me to cook more creatively and that other last thing too. 

I do lots of dutch oven cooking which usually allows for a hike while cooking. My wife and I have even gone to Loon while cooking. If you want to eat cereal with powdered milk for dinner more power to you. I don't. 

But why come on to someone's thread about improving their river menu to whine about dishes. It just comes out sounding like sour grapes.


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## PBR62

Restretrac, that last post is spot-on! Could not have said it better on all counts.


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## CoBoater

*what Riverbive REALLY meant to say*

Riverbive's evil twin took over and threw in a bunch of pious self righteousness. what he really meant to say was this -



> i'm a minimalist and would way rather be hiking in the evening than fooling with a stove. im fine to just get by with cheese plates, hummus, nuts, cereal (preferably with powdered milk of some kind), coffee, maybe a salad wrap, plenty of granola bars. Minimal work, time, and clean up. Done.
> 
> Also if you want to check out some minimalist recipes I just found this on Amazon: Camp without Coolers or Stoves. Ordering it - maybe i'll post a great recipe from it when i get the book. Stoked.


amazing how easy it would have been to just post what he likes, and remind us all of nice tasty easy meals instead of pissing on the parade. but hey hes got a picture of budda on his avatar so he must be compassionate to somebody sometime...


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## BilloutWest

Doesn't 2- Beef Stroganoff, 2- Chicken Teriyaki, 2- Beef Stew, 2- Lasagna w/Meat, 2- Noodles & Chicken, 2- Granola w/Blueberries sound good? 
At most boil water and just $7.80 per meal.










======

The social event of sharing quality fresh prepared food can be avoided.


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## rivervibe

Sheeet! Sensitive much? Everyone is going on and on about all this food and gear and what not, so I thought I'd just offer a different perspective. This is not some universal maxim. I said "I," not "everyone." If you have a thread giving folks the option to extol the virtues of the DO, one should expect differing opinions by page 5. There seams to be an unquestioned assumption in the river camping community that elaborate meals at camp is by definition a universally agreed upon or desired activity. Might that need to be questioned?


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## Andy H.

BilloutWest said:


> Doesn't 2- Beef Stroganoff, 2- Chicken Teriyaki, 2- Beef Stew, 2- Lasagna w/Meat, 2- Noodles & Chicken, 2- Granola w/Blueberries sound good?
> At most boil water and just $7.80 per meal.
> 
> 
> 
> ======
> 
> The social event of sharing quality fresh prepared food can be avoided.


Only if we get to have freeze dried astronaut ice cream for dessert!


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## restrac2000

rivervibe said:


> Sheeet! Sensitive much? Everyone is going on and on about all this food and gear and what not, so I thought I'd just offer a different perspective. This is not some universal maxim. I said "I," not "everyone." If you have a thread giving folks the option to extol the virtues of the DO, one should expect differing opinions by page 5. There seams to be an unquestioned assumption in the river camping community that elaborate meals at camp is by definition a universally agreed upon or desired activity. Might that need to be questioned?


You said...."Don't you leave civilization behind for the river camp in order to get away from the likes of pots and pans?"....your claim was generalized for other readers.

And no, I don't expect every thread to be about weighing in on both sides (or multiple more). 

If it was a one time thing I would let it slide but you have thread jacked multiple times. At some point it becomes trollish. If you want to debate the merits of simple versus complex meals than start your own thread. 

Phillip


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## restrac2000

Andy H. said:


> Only if we get to have freeze dried astronaut ice cream for dessert!


Eeh....I will bring you some colored chalk for dessert next time Andy. 

I do have a soft spot for freeze dried stroganoff for some odd reason though.

Phillip


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## carvedog

rivervibe said:


> Might that need to be questioned?


No.


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## cataraftgirl

I'm a Dutch Oven crazy maniac like C-Dog. Chicken pot pie, Enchilada casserole, pizza, bread, cobblers, cakes, french toast, Mountain Man eggs, cinnamon rolls.... all of it delicious. Cooking on the river makes me happy. It makes my friends happy. We are not really the hiker types, so hanging out in camp playing cards, napping, reading, fishing, or just shooting the breeze while the DO goodness cooks suits us just fine.

We don't do a lot of grilling, so that's one area that I'd like to explore a little more. Brats or burgers is about as far as we've gone. Thus far the DO just works easily to feed a heard of river folks.


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## RiverMamma

So first of all, there are some great looking recipes on this thread! I am excited to try some of them at home! Wow though... it got kinda angry there for a minute...  (Must be January, no rivers flowing & no fresh pow pow.  )

I have to say though that I actually agree about spending less time cooking on the river. For me personally, I cook for my family every night at home (which btw, I really do love doing!) I also cook huge gourmet meals for my guests on commercial river trips. So, what makes private boating an awesome vacation for me, is to not cook!  

True confessions... I will actually spend days on end pre-cooking everything at home & freezing in "boil-in-bags" before a river trip, just to make camp cooking that much easier. (which, btw, if you haven't tried the boil in bag thing... it is AMAZING!  ) I actually once did an entire Thanksgiving meal for a San Juan trip that way! 

And yeah, funny enough, I love cooking in my DO at home in the back yard in the summers! I get super fired up about the DO cook off at the Rio Grande Mothers Day Whitewater Festival too! I rarely take it on the River though... 

Oh! Oh! Oh! And the book Camping Without Coolers or Stoves really is Awesome! It has some Great recipes in it! 

I guess maybe I have a very different take on private river trips than a lot of people... I mean, I have to be social with my guests on the river all day every day, & tend to have a very busy life with lots of "people interacting" off the River too, so I have a tendency to want to recede on private trips... go for long hikes, sit on my boat and write, sit on a hill above camp and play my guitar, curl up under a tree and read. My comrades often complain that I don't "hang out," but often times what my soul really needs on the River is that peace and solitude that only a River can give (for me anyways.) I give so much of myself to everyone and everything around me every day, that that evening alone time on the River is my re-charge... allows me to be the TL/Mom/guide/teacher/manager/wife/friend/etc... I need to be. The less time I spend in the camp kitchen, the more of that River recharge time I get... but that's just me.

Anyways, rant over... I wanted to share my favorite DO recipe with you guys... Chile Rellenos!  Now bare with me here... I'm not a recipe type cook... so this is just me trying to write down something that I never have written down before & I don't really have good proportions other than "eyeball," but here it goes! 

Green Chiles- (I keep bags of frozen roasted green chile in my freezer, but you can use canned if you want, just make sure they are whole. Or if you want to buy them fresh most grocery stores sell them as "anaheim peppers" and you can roast them in an oven or on a grill, or heck even on a burner.) Basically though you want to end up with somewhere around 2lbs of roasted peeled and seeded whole green chiles.

eggs- if I recall correctly, I think I use a whole dozen eggs... 

cheese- ummm... I think I use one of the big bags of shredded cheese? 2-3 of the small ones? Also depends on your taste and how cheesy you like your rellenos! 

salt, pepper, garlic, cumin & oregano- eyeball, or to taste, or whatever you think might be a good amount of each...

Ok, so... the hard part (but so worth it!) is you have to separate the eggs and beat the whites. This part is a little easier with the mixer at home, but you can totally do it on the river! If you don't have one of those spiffy hand crank beaters, you can just pass the bowl around camp and have everyone take their turn with the whisk until the egg whites form stiff peaks. Mix the salt and spices into the egg yokes, then fold the yokes into the whites.

Now the easy part! Cover the bottom of the DO with a layer of chiles, sprinkle a layer of cheese, layer of chile, layer of cheese, layer of chile, etc... until you have used all the chiles. Then pour the egg mixture over the top, sprinkle with extra cheese or spices if you want & bake until it smells awesome! Voila! My favorite DO recipe! Again I apologize for it being such a vague recipe, and I hope the proportions are ok, I haven't made it since last spring & like I said, tend to do a lot of "eyeballing." Feel free to to experiment with it & I hope you enjoy! 

ps. At last years DO cook off, my rellenos got totally spanked by a paella that was out of this world! (a Spanish rice & fish dish) Might be worth looking into paella recipes...


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## cataraftgirl

I'm the opposite of River Mamma. I'm a single person who rarely cooks much at home, so the river is where I get to cook for people & try out new recipes. I think I love the planning of the food as much as the cooking & eating.

Here's my DO enchilada casserole. I cook the meat ahead of time and freeze it. You can add any extras you want to this recipe....corn, extra veggies, etc. These amounts are for a 12 inch DO. I bring extra tortilla chips to serve with it.


1.5 lbs ground beef 
Diced onion
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can black beans
1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese
Tortilla chips - crushed.
Brown ground beef & onion
Add enchilada sauce, soup, chillies, beans
Alternate layers of chips, meat, and cheese, ending with 
cheese.
350 degrees until hot - 30 - 45 min.
Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole


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## RiverMamma

Thanks Cataraft girl, that sounds great! Oh, & totally forgot to say DO size, mine is a 14"


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## cataraftgirl

RiverMamma said:


> Thanks Cataraft girl, that sounds great! Oh, & totally forgot to say DO size, mine is a 14"


I have done the Enchilada Casserole in a 14 for a larger group and just doubled the recipe. It's really easy when I cook the meat & onion at home and freeze, then just open cans, mix, layer & bake. You can ramp up the heat to suit your group by using spicier sauce and hotter chilies as desired. 

Here's the pizza recipe we make every trip. We usually have two 12 inch DOs with pizza on the bottom and stack two 10 inch DOs on top with brownies.

DO Pizza
Jiffy pizza crust 
Toppings - sausage, pepperoni, olives, mushrooms,onion, bacon, green peppers, etc.
1 can or bottle pizza sauce 
Cheese
Prepare crust as directed. Grease DO, and press dough into bottom with greased fingers. Pre-bake crust for 15-20 minutes @ 350. Add pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese. Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.


Last year I made something called Slutty Brownies. I think I did it in a 10 inch DO?
Take chocolate chip cookie dough and press it into the bottom of a greased DO. This will be the crust.
Next layer the crust with Oreos
Then mix up a packaged brownie mix as directed and pour that over the top.
Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the brownie is set & cooked through.

Mega chocolate overload for sure, but damn good. My guys even smeared it with chocolate frosting :roll:


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## BilloutWest

So we're down to that part of the thread.

14" deep w/legs but now with lid that got borrowed from the
14" shallow w/legs but is a reclamation and is pitted. Only used for pan insert cooking.
Three 10 inchers; one with legs and two lids with lips. All nice ovens. Two of these are Lodges and the flat bottomed older one with the rounded lid is really nice.

Plus new Lodge matching skillets that make an oven that I haven't used yet.

I yard sale.
Semi-pro.

======

BTW;
I don't have a problem with Canola Oil coating and leaving over the winter.
I believe rancid is associated with animal fat.


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## David Miller

Regarding oil IMO the best all around oil for seasoning, stir fry and a lot of other uses (I fry eggs in it when I don't have bacon grease) is Coconut Oil. It will not go rancid for years, does not require refrigeration and can be used for dry skin and hair. It is a very healthy oil too. The only other oil I use a lot is olive oil.


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## restrac2000

River mamma, thx for sharing. I totally understand what you said. When I was a canyoneering guide in Moab I totally went the same route. Inward and recharge. My fascination with cooking came about later when I stopped doing commercial work and discovered private river trips.

Per response to river vibe...if the affect was perceived anger or emotion than I need to reconsider wording as none was experienced or intended. Goal was to call out consistent behavior if thread jacking, especially that of contradicting content OP requests. River vibe has done so several times when OP is seeking specific information unrelated to his contrary opinion. I personally believe it's better for users to constructively call out such actions to prevent the need of moderators. I have seen too many forums stifle interactions by broader users when a few people consistently contradict threads. Mileage may vary but it's my current approach. Not every thread needs to be a debate about the merits of different techniques/styles unless if course that is the intent of the OP. At the same time I have to be vulnerable to the fact my actions are obviously imperfect and failed at their intent.


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## BilloutWest

Made a couple quiches yesterday.

After cooking/cooling put one in a vacuum seal and froze.

Anyone ever 'stacked' with spacers in a deep dutch oven?
It just struck me that I could do a two and maybe a three layer in a deep 14" oven.

No they wouldn't re-heat evenly. Have to rotate or take out variably. Possibly aluminum foil over and near the crust to prevent its burning.
No this wouldn't qualify one as a pioneer.
Could be a way to come up with special diet needs for some while the bacon crew is gorging.

Yes it would be really handy except for DO cool down.


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## 2kanzam

restrac2000 said:


> I need to research more as I love the idea of Sous Vide (at home) but don't have enough info to offset my skepticism for basically boiling (mush lower temp) in plastic.


Do it...

I tried the sous vide cooler method for the first time a few weeks ago and it worked very well and will be even better next time with a few tweeks.

I suggest finishing the steak (or whatever) by searing it for a *few seconds* on a super smoking hot cast iron skillet on each side right before you serve it (no need to rest the meat)....and also heat your cooler up by filling it with hot water the same temp you will be cooking with for 15 mins or so before hand...then bring it back up to temp and add the meat to minimize heat loss and hit your target temp.


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## elkhaven

Rivermama,

That Rellano recipe sounds like the bomb... we usually grow a dozen Anaheim plants every year and have lot's of peppers. Rellanos are way at the top of our list of uses! - Infact every October we have a rellano party with a couple families. - Can't wait to try that one out!!!

Cataraft girl,

Love the brownie/cookie/goodness recipe! I'll be trying those as well! Thanks!

As far as my preference.... I doubt I'd be as in to overnighters if it weren't for the food. It's an absolutely integral part of our trips and I look forward to what new yumminess I will be exposed to as much as I do getting on the water... and one of the best things is we do get to take a break from cooking. At home we cook every meal, on the river: half? 1/3? maybe less depending on group size. Best of both worlds to me!


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## restrac2000

2kanzam said:


> Do it...
> 
> I tried the sous vide cooler method for the first time a few weeks ago and it worked very well and will be even better next time with a few tweeks.
> 
> I suggest finishing the steak (or whatever) by searing it for a *few seconds* on a super smoking hot cast iron skillet on each side right before you serve it (no need to rest the meat)....and also heat your cooler up by filling it with hot water the same temp you will be cooking with for 15 mins or so before hand...then bring it back up to temp and add the meat to minimize heat loss and hit your target temp.


Its high on our purchase list this year but it might take a while to invest. One of our friend's has one and loves it.

Phillip


----------



## restrac2000

elkhaven said:


> Rivermama,
> 
> That Rellano recipe sounds like the bomb... we usually grow a dozen Anaheim plants every year and have lot's of peppers. Rellanos are way at the top of our list of uses! - Infact every October we have a rellano party with a couple families. - Can't wait to try that one out!!!


Love Rellanos and never thought about making them on the river so I will have to try her recipe as well. 

Our anaheims and peppers never took off this summer. We likely made some novice mistakes since it was our first season gardening. Our friends have a house with a massive garden space so we upgrading this year to two free 50' row with much better sun. Looking forward to a better bounty this year. 

Phillip


----------



## Schutzie

Schutzie (again) joins the party late. Damn job.

Anyway, after reading through the recipes and suggestions Schutzie is appalled.

Proper cuisine on the river requires something more than a boiling bag or steamer. Might as well follow the old Georgie White rule; One can one passenger, toss the cans in a baby pool and let em sort it out themselves.

Nope. You gotta carry a dutch oven (a cast iron dutch oven; no cheating!), and a full compliment of kitchen gadgets and basic food stuffs like flour sugar and butter, and you gotta make it right there, on the river, from scratch.

Of course you can continue to prepare your special recipes in the comfort of your own kitchen, freeze the result, and boil it on the river, but stop calling it cuisine. I don't care how good it tastes. Lets face it; after a hard day in the water a 3 day old Taco Bell tastes good.

Its cheating for you to call it cuisine.

If you aren't cooking on a wood fire, using sticks for cooking implements and burning your fingers while gasping for air and wiping the smoke from your eyes you're just ............... sustaining.

If you aren't up at the crack of dawn working your sour dough and proofing your sweet dough you ain't cooking. You're faking it.

If you ain't up till midnight cleaning the pots and prepping for breakfast you might as well bring along a sack of McDonalds burgers and call it good.

I mean, the hell are you people thinking?


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## elkhaven

restrac2000 said:


> Love Rellanos and never thought about making them on the river so I will have to try her recipe as well.
> 
> Our anaheims and peppers never took off this summer. We likely made some novice mistakes since it was our first season gardening. Our friends have a house with a massive garden space so we upgrading this year to two free 50' row with much better sun. Looking forward to a better bounty this year.
> 
> Phillip


We keep our peppers and tomatoes in large (5 gallon) pots in a greenhouse. If not they're dead by late august/early September. We typically have about 30 pepper plants and 20 or so tomatoes and even with those numbers we don't really get fresh produce until early august. By early October we're over it and harvest everything; green, small, whatever. Tomatoes go in paper bags with an apple and peppers get roasted and if they're fair sized skinned and frozen, if not they're dried and ground into chili powder. Within those 30ish plants we grow cayenne, wax, pablano, bell, jalapeño and of course the Anaheims. We don't do anything fancy just soil from the garden mixed with potting soil and some compost and water every other day (occasionally daily). We should probably manage them better but we kind of like our hodge podge.


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## Brotorboat

In regards to Sous Vide...

Plastics have been around for a long time and we were only told about BPA's within the past decade or so. Being that plastics are a petroleum product and release all kinds of chemicals upon burning, I would think that some of those chemicals are leaching out when the plastic is above room temperature and especially in a hot water bath.

I do not believe anyone that says food grade plastics are safe. 10 yrs from now, they will probably come clean about some other crap that has been leaching into our food and water via BPA free plastics. 

Just wanted to give everyone some food for thought...not trying to be a downer.

Cheers!


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## BilloutWest

We have our tomatoes against a south facing wall.

Obviously it gets more sun and is warmer.

Warmth is important for not just night freezes but to keep temps above 50 degrees. This so they can set. If its getting to 45 at night in early July few tomatoes. Two out of three years this is a big deal locally.

Took me a few years to figure out the best place.
I am unable to rotate the crops there because of the importance of this spot for tomatoes. 

The south face, the masonry and the protection from the wind all make this spot a few degrees warmer and what a difference.

Then I have PVC bends that hold a tarp for those two days in September that freeze here. Used to be more.

========

Tomatoes tolerate chicken manure far better than young fruit trees.
I just have to stop their growing so they put out flowers.
I've have had people gasp when walking around the corner or say things like "what a bounty".

Hint;
Give away your excess to hispanic ladies.
SALSA. best salsa in return.

+++++++

I'm going to order one of those tomato/potato grafts from territorial. That will be in a rolling pot.


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## 2kanzam

restrac2000 said:


> Its high on our purchase list this year but it might take a while to invest. One of our friend's has one and loves it.
> 
> Phillip


While a machine would be great and I would do soft boiled eggs constantly, I had great results using a cooler (actually a cooler inside a cooler). Somehow I assumed you were doing it that way too...dunno why.

Anyways, feel free to pm me if you'd like me to outlline how I did it. All you need is a cooler, vac sealer and a thermometer.


----------



## restrac2000

2kanzam said:


> While a machine would be great and I would do soft boiled eggs constantly, I had great results using a cooler (actually a cooler inside a cooler). Somehow I assumed you were doing it that way too...dunno why.
> 
> Anyways, feel free to pm me if you'd like me to outlline how I did it. All you need is a cooler, vac sealer and a thermometer.


Never heard of it that way. How does it heat consistently and evenly without a heating source of some sort?

I am looking into the cheap to mid line Annova. Its just a heated water circulator. We can use it with the existing equipment we have, including vacuum sealer. It would only be viable for home as I have no interest in finding a way to power it on the river (as I do prefer to get away from electronics on the river).

Phillip


----------



## 2kanzam

restrac2000 said:


> Never heard of it that way. How does it heat consistently and evenly without a heating source of some sort?


Didn't wanna hijack the thread but then I realized you are the op, so here it goes...

I'll try to explain what i did and how I will improve it next time.

The method I've heard described used just one cooler. If I had a yeti or some fancy cooler I would have used that, but I don't so I used a small "lunch" cooler that would fit inside a larger coleman 48 to try and minimize heat loss.

Before hand, put your meat out to come up to room temp, this is an extremely important step. I then seasoned a ribeye right before I vacuum sealed it which was done right before it was to go into the water. I waffled back n forth as to whether I wanted to season it before cooking or after and couldn't find anything saying one way was better than the other.

About 20 mins or so before I wanted to start cooking I "charged" both coolers by filling them with the hottest water I could get from the tap, put the small one inside the big one and let them sit to warm up.....it temped out @ 119 deg.

I also had a few pots of boiling water going this whole time. Right after the steak was sealed and right before I was going to put the steak in, I poured the water from the mini cooler into the big cooler to mix them together so all the water used would be the same temp. Then I added boiling water to bring the water bath up to 137 deg figuring I'd lose a couple degrees over the hour.... I wanted my steak to be 135.

I filled the small cooler up with this 137 deg water put the steak in it, locked the lid down and put the mini cooler back in the water left in the big cooler. I closed the big cooler and let it sit for 1 hour.

Once the hour was up, my water temped out @ 128, meaning my steak was @ 128 deg as well. I lost alot more heat than I figured.

I took the steak out and seared it with a culinary torch because I like a good sear w/ caramalization (i also like my food to look good- I managed a kitchen far too long for me to make ugly food), but this step isn't necessary and it took way more time than I thought it would. I think because so much moisture is still in/on the meat.

It turned out great; evenly cooked, incredibly tender and juicy... even if it was rarer than I had intended. I'll definitely use the method again in times when I am in no hurry and want a perfectly cooked steak. It's easy and hands off, although it takes awhile. It's nice that you don't have to rest the steak after cooking though.

Next time I will warm the coolers up with water the same temp I want to cook at....I believe that is where all my heat went (notice 128 is the average of 119 + 137). I think I will still give it a degree or two above my target temp. Also next time I will sear it in my cast iron skillet by getting it smoking hot....probably by letting it sit under the broiler for a few minutes...that way I can get a sear on both sides in seconds. Alot like making a steak "black and blue" or "pittsburgh style" if you are familiar with that. I also picked up a probe thermometer that I might use for this (if I can close the lids well enough) just so I can watch what is happening.


----------



## 2kanzam

I should say it is also possible my 2 cooler method works against me. The 70 deg (room temp) steak might bring the water inside the small cooler down too much (since it is insulated from the outside water).

It's possible that one large volume bath won't be affected as much by the steak since the heat transference would have alot more water to keep it in check....if you know what I'm saying? I'm having a hard time putting it in words right now...


----------



## restrac2000

Thanks for sharing, always game to learn some new techniques. 

Definitely key to allow meat to sit at room temperature (freaks some people out though) for a while; difficult to get an even temperature in the middle without doing so. I also pat dry most of my steaks/cuts before for an effective Maillard Reaction which is the principle behind a proper sear. 

Seems like what you have done is hybridized a sous vide process with passive cooking like the WonderBag attempts to do. Smart approach that uses existing equipment.

Home page

Thanks again for sharing details. I figure the OP sets some tone so I don't see it as thread jacking by any means and it fits the spirit of the thread anyways.

Phillip


----------



## elkhaven

2kanzam said:


> I'll try to explain what i did and how I will improve it next time.


That sounds like the hardest way imaginable to cook a steak. I'm all for new ways, especially if it turns out a better product but I'm kind of lost on why I would want to try this. Is it that much better than more traditional methods? -or- What's the advantage?

Sincerely,
clueless in cow country


----------



## restrac2000

As I understand it, its a "low and slow" form of cooking that gets the meat closer to ideal temperature evenly instead of inconsistently (i.e. overcooked outside to get center ideal temperature). Sous Vide and the like all do this through immersion. Friends who have done it confirm the claims are accurate. You can get the entire thickness of the meat to be whatever desired temperature you want from rare to medium. Supposedly much juicier and tastier.

The modern sous vide water circulators are basically water immersion slow cookers that keep the water at the designated temperature. They are small machines that attach to either specific containers or pots and move the low temp water consistently. You vacuum seal the food. Many of these devices actually take much longer than the above method.

Beyond the taste benefits are the actually relative ease. I can seal the meat and let it cook with little to no oversight. 

The only downsides I have seen are another single purpose kitchen equipment purchase and the cooking in plastic issue. As I understand it the plastics of concern only become an issue above temperatures above 160F which is well above the range of most people will use it for. But the potential is still there, especially as we see relatively untested chemicals replace the BPA in plastics.

Phillip


----------



## 2kanzam

elkhaven said:


> That sounds like the hardest way imaginable to cook a steak. I'm all for new ways, especially if it turns out a better product but I'm kind of lost on why I would want to try this. Is it that much better than more traditional methods? -or- What's the advantage?
> 
> Sincerely,
> clueless in cow country


 
It sounds WAY more complicated than it is. It's literally add hot water, take temp, seal meat, drop in water and wait an hour. It's so hands off that It's actually kind of awesome to not have to bother with the meat at all during the cooking process and you can just focus on the rest of the meal.

As I said, I ran a kitchen (a steakhouse at that) for many years...thats how I put myself through college and there really is no better way to get a piece of meat to the exact temp than this, well at least with a real sous vide machine anyway (I do enjoy hillbilly-ing things up). 

It is incredibly tender, the likes of which you really only get from aging the highest quality meats and really juicy, even if you push it to med well or well....there is no way one could make a juicier well done steak.

Also it cooks the meat PERFECTLY evenly through and through. Ever notice how the softer end of the ribeye tends to cook up more no matter what you do? You get a med rare (or whatever), top to bottom and end to end....not just med rare in the center, then brown, then grey then the sear. I enjoy the sear hence finishing in a pan/torch. 

There is no chance of overcooking.

Because of that^^ it's extremely useful for caterers....and really shines when you don't know exactly when food will need to be served. With sous vide once it reaches the same temp as the bath it's gonna stay there (with a real machine not my ******* method). SO if people sit down in 5 minutes you can serve them a properly cooked steak immediately or if they wait 45 minutes you can still serve them a properly cooked steak immediately. I believe thats how this method came about?


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## elkhaven

Wow, impressive. I went from laughing through my teeth at your description to ready to try it! 

So are you thinking just monitoring the water temp and adding hot water to keep it up? (to your ******* system). Check it every 15 mins add heat and mix to keep it at temp?


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## 2kanzam

elkhaven said:


> Wow, impressive. I went from laughing through my teeth at your description to ready to try it!


Umm...thanks, I guess?



elkhaven said:


> So are you thinking just monitoring the water temp and adding hot water to keep it up? (to your ******* system). Check it every 15 mins add heat and mix to keep it at temp?


That is precisely how the process was first explained to me, but it seemed like too much work to keep opening, adding water,temping every so often so I thought a cooler inside a cooler might stabilize things and not have to add water. I think charging my coolers with cooking temp water will go a long way to stop the heat loss I saw. Could also start with an even higher temp water I reckon.

Next time I'll do it like I said before with the tweeks I mentioned. The probe is as much just informational as anything (I'm kind of a nerd like that) but it will let me watch whats happening and *might* give me some insights into my process so I can improve it. I might also use two thermometers so I can temp the water inside both coolers and see if I am indeed shooting myself in the foot using the two cooler method.


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## elkhaven

well at first I could not understand why someone would go to so much trouble to cook a steak... Then not only does it not sound like that much trouble, but it sounds like it makes a great steak, that's all I meant.


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## soggy_tortillas

I have a recipe...
I've never done it camping or on the river but I do it in the dutch oven at home (my DO is not camp-friendly, and when we camp it's usually on a super minimalist basis) and I'm sure you could do it fairly easily camping, if you plan well enough.
There's no exact science to this.

Pork tenderloin.

Apples, peeled and chopped into fairly big pieces- good cooking apples, I usually use whatever-the-fuck apples are in the fruit basket at the time... just not fuji. Do as many as you want, whatever looks good.

Brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and I really like throwing in some fresh ginger.
Butter and/or coconut oil (I like to use half butter, half coconut oil because it's lighter but you still get the yummy butter flavor).
Again, there's no exact science or recipe, just what looks and smells good.
Rice- jasmine goes very nicely.

So I've always thrown everything but the rice into the DO and cooked it for a solid two to three hours or just until the pork is falling apart and soaks up that fucking delicious carmel/apple sauce. Serve on top of the rice. Fuck yeah.

As far as camping/river cooking goes, I was thinking you could probably make this ahead of time if you feel like it will take too much time while you're adventuring. If you did that, you could throw rice and all into a big pot and just reheat it.

It's fantastic.


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## soggy_tortillas

Ok wait, I guess I should give a rough recipe. For one tenderloin I usually use 5-6 apples, half a cup-ish of brown sugar, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp coconut oil, the cinnamon and nutmeg, easy on the cloves (5-6), tbsp fresh ginger, 2 cups dry rice.
Totally depends on your own taste though- how sweet/spicy/buttery/apple-y you want it, served over how much rice and how much juice you want to soak into that rice.


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## rtsideup

I like it, and so might my picky ass daughter because there's sugar involved. I'm a neophyte chef but, it seems like there needs to be some liquid involved in order to not burn the shit out of things. Or is the apples, butter, oil and sugar enough? I get that that the rice is it's own, moisture sucking, deal.


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## soggy_tortillas

Yeah the apples juice as they're cooking, along with the pork, while the butter, oil, and sugar melt down and together everything creates this delicious pork-carmel-spiced-apple-juice. Fuck yeah. I think this is where your own style comes in. I like to throw in a little extra sugar and go overboard on the apples so that I have a lot of juices to drizzle over the rice, especially if there's leftovers.


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## 90Duck

There has been a cooking conversation taking place in a recent Dutch Oven thread down in The Eddy, of all places. It was suggested that I post this newly improvised recipe, mined from several different sources, up here in the main current. 

This was made last weekend for a Dutch Oven potluck party (not a competition, but this was the group fave), so it was all made up fresh at once. However, it would be really easy to prepare the whole sauce mixture in advance and freeze it. Or, you could go with canned chicken and corn and dry bouillon to make the broth for the mole in order to save cooler space for use later on a long trip. You might lost the avocados by then, however, and those are a crucial part IMHO!

Disclaimer: I've made this exactly once now, and there is always room for improvement or enhancement. Consider this more as "guidelines".

Dutch Oven Mole Enchilada Casserole:

INGREDIENTS:
•	2 lbs lean pork or chicken, sliced into bite sized chunks
•	3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
•	1 jar mole sauce base, prepared with broth per directions. (For those like me who aren't fluent in Spanish, the seemingly detailed opening instructions on the unusual lid basically say "use a can opener" - thanks Google!)
•	2 cloves garlic
•	onion powder to taste (I really dislike onion chunks in my food, but feel free to add all the actual onions you want unless you are making this for me)
•	12 oz corn (I used a 12 oz bag of frozen corn I had on hand – doesn’t need to be precise, and could easily substitute canned corn here)
•	18 corn tortillas
•	3 avocados
•	sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS:
•	heat olive oil and minced garlic in cast iron skillet on medium high heat until garlic turns golden brown
•	Add pork or chicken and braise outside quickly; add onion power to taste, turn heat down to medium and simmer covered until done, about 5-7 minutes 
•	Remove cooked meat from the skillet, leaving any remaining liquid in pan; prepare mole sauce per directions using remainder liquid in the skillet and additional broth as needed; set aside 1/2 cup sauce, then reintroduce meat to remaining mole sauce, stir in corn, simmer on medium-low for 5-10 mins, adding water as necessary to keep sauce from getting too thick to pour.
•	In 12-14" DO, pour the 1/2 cup of previously separated mole sauce into bottom of DO and spread a layer three overlapped tortillas spread across bottom of DO; add a layer of combined meat, corn and mole sauce; top with 3/4 cup cheese; add another layer of 3 tortillas and repeat above steps until all ingredients have been used, finishing with last of the remaining sauce and cheese
•	Cook in DO at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (roughly 10 briquettes on bottom, 20 on top); rotate lid and DO over coals in opposite directions every 10 mins. 
•	While DO is cooking, slice avocados into wedges; garnish each serving with avocado slices and sour cream


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## tmacc

Duck,
Nice! Love Mole sauce.

We're on a GC trip in April and are trying some late in the trip meal experiments at home. One my wife recently cooked, was to dehydrate green and red peppers, serrano and jalapeno peppers, garlic and onions for for a chicken curry dish. We used either Trader Joes or Pataks curry paste. It came out prefect except for the onions. They were slightly leathery. The peppers still retained their heat. 

She's planning on canning chicken for this meal. Just ordered a pressure canner. 

We're (she) also trying out a breakfast sausage bake in the dutch with a bed of quinoa instead of diced or shredded potatoes due to the PH being allergic to potatoes. We tried a somewhat similar spinach breakfast bake at home last weekend and it was quite good. Basically, the egg and milk mixture cooks the dried quinoa in the bottom of the baking dish. Easy to duplicate in the dutch. The quinoa was well cooked, but still retained a slightly crunchy texture. It bakes into a crust.

On most of our river trips, everyone brings their "A" game when it comes to the meals they prepare. We still somehow find time to get hikes and fishing in.


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## BilloutWest

Thread is heating up.


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## Panama Red

Here is how I like my steak. In a step by step form.
1. Knock its horns off. Bulls are for eating hefers are for breading.
2. Wipe his nasty ass. No need for ecoli.
3. Give it a tan. Everything looks better tanned.


Sent from my ADR6410LVW using Mountain Buzz mobile app


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## tmacc

My grandfather always said to just walk his steak thru the kitchen and it was done enough for him.


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## 2kanzam

tmacc said:


> My grandfather always said to just walk his steak thru the kitchen and it was done enough for him.


I used to run the kitchen in a steakhouse and this lil' 95yo lady used to come in every tues evening by herself....everytime she'd order a 16 oz ribeye, seasoned and raw. Well we couldn't give her a raw steak legally (she knew this yet ordered it raw everytime)...but we'd just slap it on the grill for 10 seconds a side, sear the edges real quick and send it out. That wasn't technically legal either, but we'd only do it for her....I just couldn't say no...


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## soggy_tortillas

2kanzam said:


> I used to run the kitchen in a steakhouse and this lil' 95yo lady used to come in every tues evening by herself....everytime she'd order a 16 oz ribeye, seasoned and raw. Well we couldn't give her a raw steak legally (she knew this yet ordered it raw everytime)...but we'd just slap it on the grill for 10 seconds a side, sear the edges real quick and send it out. That wasn't technically legal either, but we'd only do it for her....I just couldn't say no...


Anyone that makes it to 95 is entitled to have a steak however the hell they want it!


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## Whetstone

Anyone tried this Bone Collector Can Cooker out? I would like to hear your thoughts on it. I received one for Christmas and cant wait to break it out on the river. It fits in a large drybag and holds a ton of my kitchen stuff inside when packed. 
Amazon.com : CanCooker BC - 002 Bone Collector Can Cooker : Pressure Cookers : Patio, Lawn & Garden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHBZE8oSRRk

It comes with a great recipe book as well.


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## BilloutWest

Whetstone said:


> Anyone tried this Bone Collector Can Cooker out?
> 
> It comes with a great recipe book as well.


It doubles as an IED.

71 reviews:
Amazon.com : CanCooker BC - 002 Bone Collector Can Cooker : Pressure Cookers : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Built out of food grade anodized aluminum

One guy didn't like it because he burned a hole in the bottom.


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## B4otter

When I'd order a steak rare, and explain to the server what I meant (what the 95 year old wanted or received), my grandfather would say "I've seen cows hurt worse than that get well..."
Also best description of seafood from a rancher in northern CO: a cow standing in a pond...
Foodies on the 'riv are more than welcome on my trips, always interested in discovering new cuisine. Worst that can happen is one missed meal, most of us could use that...
River trips can accommodate (almost) everyone. You want to spend 2-3 hours preparing a killer meal, I'm happy to eat it. But 9 out of 10 times, will be hiking instead. 
As we age, most of us tend to prepare dinners that can be fixed in 45-60 minutes. That usually involves preparing sauces/meats ahead of time, and an easy re-heat to serve. As the trip gets longer (past 6-7 days), you move into more Mex/Thai/Italian stuff. 
It's all good!


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## restrac2000

90Duck said:


> There has been a cooking conversation taking place in a recent Dutch Oven thread down in The Eddy, of all places. It was suggested that I post this newly improvised recipe, mined from several different sources, up here in the main current.
> 
> This was made last weekend for a Dutch Oven potluck party (not a competition, but this was the group fave), so it was all made up fresh at once. However, it would be really easy to prepare the whole sauce mixture in advance and freeze it. Or, you could go with canned chicken and corn and dry bouillon to make the broth for the mole in order to save cooler space for use later on a long trip. You might lost the avocados by then, however, and those are a crucial part IMHO!
> 
> Disclaimer: I've made this exactly once now, and there is always room for improvement or enhancement. Consider this more as "guidelines".
> 
> Dutch Oven Mole Enchilada Casserole:
> 
> INGREDIENTS:
> •	2 lbs lean pork or chicken, sliced into bite sized chunks
> •	3 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
> •	1 jar mole sauce base, prepared with broth per directions. (For those like me who aren't fluent in Spanish, the seemingly detailed opening instructions on the unusual lid basically say "use a can opener" - thanks Google!)
> •	2 cloves garlic
> •	onion powder to taste (I really dislike onion chunks in my food, but feel free to add all the actual onions you want unless you are making this for me)
> •	12 oz corn (I used a 12 oz bag of frozen corn I had on hand – doesn’t need to be precise, and could easily substitute canned corn here)
> •	18 corn tortillas
> •	3 avocados
> •	sour cream
> 
> INSTRUCTIONS:
> •	heat olive oil and minced garlic in cast iron skillet on medium high heat until garlic turns golden brown
> •	Add pork or chicken and braise outside quickly; add onion power to taste, turn heat down to medium and simmer covered until done, about 5-7 minutes
> •	Remove cooked meat from the skillet, leaving any remaining liquid in pan; prepare mole sauce per directions using remainder liquid in the skillet and additional broth as needed; set aside 1/2 cup sauce, then reintroduce meat to remaining mole sauce, stir in corn, simmer on medium-low for 5-10 mins, adding water as necessary to keep sauce from getting too thick to pour.
> •	In 12-14" DO, pour the 1/2 cup of previously separated mole sauce into bottom of DO and spread a layer three overlapped tortillas spread across bottom of DO; add a layer of combined meat, corn and mole sauce; top with 3/4 cup cheese; add another layer of 3 tortillas and repeat above steps until all ingredients have been used, finishing with last of the remaining sauce and cheese
> •	Cook in DO at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (roughly 10 briquettes on bottom, 20 on top); rotate lid and DO over coals in opposite directions every 10 mins.
> •	While DO is cooking, slice avocados into wedges; garnish each serving with avocado slices and sour cream


Thanks for sharing this one. Heading out for the maiden voyage of our Old Avon Adventurer and our newest dogs first river trip. This is gonna be one of the two meals we cook on the trip. Its a good place to start for us so thanks for a recipe to experiment with.

Hope everyone is having a great start to the rafting season. The first trip is like thawing out for us and I can't wait for more river time.

Phillip


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## 90Duck

Phillip - 

hope you have a great trip and enjoy the enchiladas! It's supplanted DO lasagna as my new #1 go to camp meal.


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## tmacc

That is a great looking recipe. We've done a similar one in the past. 

We just got off a 21 day Lees to Pierce GC trip and I thought that I would contribute a few the recipes for meals that got a lot of positive comments. None of the 58 meals got negative comments, but these really generated the most.

My wife with me as chopper and griller prepared 13 meals for the trip. All ingredients are for a 16 person trip.

Shakshuka Israeli Breakfast. (We had a young Israeli, couch surf with us this winter to hit the Vail resorts here in Park City and he fixed this breakfast for us one morning)

We have a 16'' steel skillet that we fixed this in, but it could be fixed in a couple of 12'' skillets for a large group.

Tomatoes, Diced (6) 15 oz. cans
Tomato sauce (6) cans
Mushrooms (1) can
Red Bell peppers, Diced (6)
Yellow onion, diced or sliced (4)
Garlic, fresh, mince (1) bulb
Jalapenos (6) On the river, we may have gotten confused and added a few Seranno peppers, but I could be wrong. 
Cilantro, Fresh (1) bunch
21 eggs
Feta cheese (1) block
English muffins (24)

Dice peppers, onions and saute till soft. Add garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes. 
Add 2 tsp Cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 2 tsp paprika and cook another minute or two.
Pour in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer about 10 minutes till tomatoes have thickened.
Add mushrooms at some point.
When tomatoes have thickened, stir in crumbled feta. 
Gently crack eggs and drop into skillet on top of sauce. The sauce will cook the eggs to desired doneness. 
We found that if you take a spoon and create a pocket in the tomatoes to drop the eggs into they cook a little faster. 
While this is going on, you can "toast" the english muffins. 

Serve with dice Cilantro and hot sauce.

We launched on 4/6 and we fixed this a few days into a chilly beginning of the trip. This warm breakfast was a big hit on a cool morning.

I'll add a few more recipes over the next couple of days as I have time.


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## tmacc

Here's another recipe that we used for day 11 lunch.

I marinated and grilled the chicken breasts at home. 

Grilled Chicken Wraps 
This is for (2) chicken breast. Serves 2-3 people. Extrapolate as needed.
Amazing Taste Malibu Seasoning, 1 oz packet (We get it a Smith's by the packet, but the meat dept will order you a 20 oz container. This stuff is killer and we use it a lot.)
Olive oil
Water
Empty packet into a quart size ziploc. Add 3 TSP of olive oil. Add 3 TSP of water. Mix thoroughly. Cut (2) breasts into "chicken finger" size strips and add to ziploc. Thoroughly coat the chicken and put in the fridge overnight.
Cook chicken strips on the grill and cut into cubes after they've cooled. Vac seal and freeze. 
We cooked some bacon at home and crumbled it and vac sealed and froze it as well.
While in camp on the morning of the lunch, we diced a red onion, put it in a ziploc and threw it in the lunch cooler.
At lunch we had various warps, shredded cheese, lettuce, diced onion, and crumbled bacon for everyone to make their own wrap. We had a ranch dressing and Hidden Valley Southwest Chipotle dressing for folks to add to their wrap. We also had some guac for folks to add to the wrap.

We also made a marinate from McCormick Mojito Lime Seasoning and it taste pretty good, but the Amazing Taste Malibu was the favorite.

This was a real easy lunch to lay out at the lunch spot and everyone raved about it. The Southwest Chipotle dressing was the favorite dressing. One guy said that these were the best wraps he'd ever had, but he's from Missouri and you know they're deprived back there. (Kidding, Lew) 

Non-GC uses.
On shorter MF or Main length trips with a smaller group, we'll marinate the chicken strips, freeze them at home and grill them at camp for dinner. Folks really love these.


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## tmacc

Super easy lunch recipe.

Crunchy hippie friendly. Even the Vegans like it. Mid-western steak eaters tolerate it pretty well. ("Needs bacon.") No cooler needed.

Chana Masala pita pockets or warps.

Tasty Bite Chana Masala , 10 oz package
Red onion, diced
Feta Cheese, crumbled
Pita pockets or warps.
Serving spoon.

Directions;
Open package.
Spoon into pita pockets or on wraps.
Garnish with onion and Feta.
Have crumbled bacon handy.

I think we used about (5) packages for 15 people. Buy the TB Chana Masala online. The store price is crazy expensive.


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## restrac2000

90Duck, the recipe is great. I didn't even scale it right and it turned out amazing. My wife wants it on our regular rotation. Thanks again!

Phillip


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## restrac2000

Whetstone said:


> Anyone tried this Bone Collector Can Cooker out? I would like to hear your thoughts on it. I received one for Christmas and cant wait to break it out on the river. It fits in a large drybag and holds a ton of my kitchen stuff inside when packed.
> Amazon.com : CanCooker BC - 002 Bone Collector Can Cooker : Pressure Cookers : Patio, Lawn & Garden
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHBZE8oSRRk
> 
> It comes with a great recipe book as well.


Seems like a smart, simple pressure cooker of sorts; I could see a lot of use for it on the river. Only question, how did they attach the handles (rivets, etc)? It would be a better design for a dry box if it had removable handles which would be easy to design with a keyhole like attachment that snaps vertically into place. Its size could be offset by storing food in it. It should also be fine to lob in a drop bag.

Would make cooking larger chunks of meat easier and faster for groups of 8 or more. I am sure you could set it up for braising as well. I could see doing a pork butt or even stacking some country style pork ribs in it. Lots of options. 

Phillip


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## agreatchef

*Menu idea*

I was the V.I.P chef for OARS rafting company many years ago and thought the best meal was shrimp Creole. I made the entree ahead and kept out the shrimp and added when I reheated.


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## 90Duck

restrac2000 said:


> 90Duck, the recipe is great. I didn't even scale it right and it turned out amazing. My wife wants it on our regular rotation. Thanks again!
> 
> Phillip


Glad you liked it. I did DO enchiladas on a trip this weekend, but my wife ordered up the traditional kind for her mother's day request. I definitely prefer the mole' kind mylself.

Dale


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## gmmccalden

pinemnky13 said:


> Breakfast got to for last year after the burritos ran its course and the mcmuffins got tired was.... Wait for it
> Bisguits and gravy with bacon or sausage links. Bake the muffins at home and the rest is easy. I do the sausage links on tne side for the vegitarians(there's always one or 2)
> Quick, easy and filling


If you make the biscuits in the dutch oven it makes them way better than you ever could at home


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## restrac2000

Biscuits and gravy has become our layover day breakfast for fringe season trips. We make the biscuits in a DO but we often just get one of the pre made, refrigerated rolls from the store to cheat.

We made a dutch baby on the last trip and really enjoyed it, served up with powdered sugar and a little lemon. 

Phillip


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## toptop

You sous vide folks may also like this recipe.


-Fill your system with water at 135F.
-Pour a 750ml bottle of rum and 1 pint strawberries (washed) into a large zip-top bag.
-Zest and juice 4 lemons and 4 limes into the bag and seal.
-Submerge the pouch to cook for 2 hours at 135F.
-Remove the pouch and quick chill in an ice water bath.
-Strain out the solids, and reserve the strawberries for another use.
-Pour the infused rum into a clean screw-top bottle and store chilled until ready to use.


You can do all this ahead of time and bring it to the river. For a cocktail
pour a couple ounces of fruit infused rum into a cocktail shaker with clean ice. 
Add a splash of simple syrup to taste. Shake well and serve on ice.

If you brought your 2-stroke blender you can try it blended as well.


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## stuntsheriff

I do not go on the river to eat,I eat to go on the river.


Sent from my iPhone using Mountain Buzz


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## restrac2000

We go on the river to do all sorts of things, including eating great food. The river can accommodate us all.

Phillip


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## shappattack

very popular on cold mornings, or before a portage on the upper Owyhee, or near the end of a trip when cooler is toast. 

Enough instant hungry man shredded hash browns (they come in a container that looks like a small milk carton). Re-constitute per the package, chop onion an green pepper and saute in your pan, then fry up the browns, in another pot, mix up some instant country gravy and add the big real bacon bit pieces from costco, more bacon please!. Serve the gravy over the browns. A good accompaniment is some real good old dark cowboy coffee, the real hecker pard kind, with a couple doses of Canadian Hunter.


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## restrac2000

Its Pie N Beer Day in Utah (an outsider twist on the actual Pioneer Day celebrated every June 24th) so we are making a Tomato and Cheddar Pie that would be super easy on the river with a DO


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## sammyphsyco

restrac2000 said:


> Seems like a smart, simple pressure cooker of sorts; I could see a lot of use for it on the river. Only question, how did they attach the handles (rivets, etc)? It would be a better design for a dry box if it had removable handles which would be easy to design with a keyhole like attachment that snaps vertically into place. Its size could be offset by storing food in it. It should also be fine to lob in a drop bag.
> 
> Would make cooking larger chunks of meat easier and faster for groups of 8 or more. I am sure you could set it up for braising as well. I could see doing a pork butt or even stacking some country style pork ribs in it. Lots of options.
> 
> Phillip


These are the shniz! Use them all the time especially when ice fishing. Dump veggies and meat in there and 45 mins later is good to go.


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## okieboater

"We go on the river to do all sorts of things, including eating great food. The river can accommodate us all.

Phillip"

restrac2000 got it just right in my opinion. When I first started boating rivers many many years ago my main goal was to get to the point where I felt I could do it, after I got the basic skill set down my goal was adventure and adrenalin, at some point I got into rafting and after a while I began to enjoy cooking and eating really good meals on a river some where. At this point, I still enjoy the meals, am past the adrenalin kick and just enjoy being outside with river buds. 

I think like Philip, there is a river out there for all of us.

dave


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