feast for a king

Cooking tips

1 to 20 of 24 messages
14/06/2012 at 13:48
I have gone off noodles and mash, also Mrs sheep wants to try backpacking. So I need to pull out all the stops and wine her and dine her on the hill. Looking for portable one pot recipe's, a good light weight pot set with frying pan and advice on any other nicknack's I should carry. Any suggestions ?
14/06/2012 at 14:00
What does said "Mrs Sheep" like to eat?

I use an MSR flex set with additional skillet.... covers most bases.

Good knives say it all really.
Edited: 14/06/2012 at 14:04
14/06/2012 at 14:08
Good food like steak or any meat, fresh veg, stir fry dish's soups, stews, but definitely no pot noodles.
15/06/2012 at 03:51
You're limited only by your imagination...(and fuel).

First day, a pre-prepared and frozen meal; wrapped in tinfoil and bubble-wrap it'll be fine for at least a day, longer if you weigh it down in a cool stream with a rock.

Stir-fries and the like are easy. I've made fantastic onion bhajis/veg pakora. As with many dishes, just adapt recipes from home cooking.

Make one dish (e.g. potato curry, simple) while rice steeps in a pot cosy in another pan.

Simple pizzas, using modified bannock bread mixes.

In the past I've used two pans, one inside the other sitting on bits of gravel, plus a bit of water - a simple oven/bain marie. I intend trying out whether I can do that with just one pan, sitting within a loose bag of tinfoil. Don't know if it'll work - but why not have a go?
15/06/2012 at 05:25
I'm actually just preparing food for a weekend next week, girlfriend & 13 year old daughter. We'll be cooking on fire, which gives you more options (and has a nice atavistic feel to it). With one eye on the weather and local access, you might want to think about that. Even if it means a day trip beforehand to lay in a discreet cache of charcoal/wood (something I used to do).

So far this morning - Thai chicken kebabs, cubed up in a marinade and now in the freezer; whole spatchcocked chicken, seasoned and rolled into a ball, also in the freezer. Planning on adding potato/cauliflower pakora to that, maybe a couple of steaks, plus another vegetable dish as yet undecided (possibly xianbing, quite easy to do, with leftovers for breakfast).
15/06/2012 at 11:12
Cheers Monty all good stuff
15/06/2012 at 13:03
If Mrs Sheep is unfamiliar with `on the hill' toilet facilities i'd give the curry recipes a miss.
15/06/2012 at 18:56
Speaking of food... link 1... link 2... link 3 (in that order)
15/06/2012 at 19:04
Paddy, most kids these days don't stand a chance the fact its coming from a school is even more shocking. The again Scotland is hardly known for its cuisine well not unless you include deep fried Mars bars FX:Gag
16/06/2012 at 09:25
Aye right enough bedouin, nobody has ever heard of venison, salmon or Angus beef.
16/06/2012 at 20:33
Don't forget the haggis, nips and tatty's
16/06/2012 at 20:41
and Haddock and chips in Broughty Ferry
17/06/2012 at 00:17
or Cullen Skink, Crowdie, Forfar Bridies, Finnan Haddies or Cranachan
17/06/2012 at 07:06
Or Arbroath Smokies.
17/06/2012 at 10:59
Any way we are moving away from the thread now. So any ideas for one pot cooking ? Also looking for a good light weight frying pan.
17/06/2012 at 11:56

Have a look at these... http://www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk/landing

I`ve had a good few of their meals and every single one of them is exceptional! They`re either microwaveable, cook in a pot or boil in the bag. They`re not the lightest meal or the largest but they`re certainly up there with the tastiest and they`re pretty cheap too.

Herdwick mutton stew, chicken casserole and tees valley meatballs are all faves of mine.

17/06/2012 at 12:47
I use a Trangia non-stick fry pan. Probably not the lightest but the non-stick is really good and you can fry with almost no oil, and it is easy to clean which can be an issue when hot water is in short supply.
Bob at Backpackinglight.co.uk has a lightweight fry pan in store. I don't know if it's any good but I don't suppose he'd stock it if wasn't.
I carry oil for frying in a small plastic screw top bottle, double wrapped in plastic bags so any leakage is contained. Been OK so far.
A full fried breakfast tastes even better outdoors and will impress Mrs sheep.- guaranteed.
17/06/2012 at 12:55
cathyjc wrote (see)
A full fried breakfast tastes even better outdoors...

It does indeed. I camped on top of The Merrick once, to get away from a plague of midges in Glen Trool. A couple of Scottish lads turned up just as it was getting dark, and pitched their tent near mine. In the morning, they cooked me a full fried breakfast, and I didn't even have to ask for it, let alone lift a finger to help prepare it!

My best-ever fry-up was to make a couple of chip butties at Midnight on top of Fairfield. Managed it using only one very large potato, one lump of lard, and a small pan on a small gas stove. I guess not many people manage to sample freshly-fried chips on top of a hill, and it was worth the effort. I should do it again some time!

17/06/2012 at 13:38
Variations on this makes one of my staples; extra chillies and diced veg, substitute ground garlic/ginger for fresh if more convenient, or mushrooms/smoked sausage for the chicken if you can't keep chicken fresh long enough.
20/06/2012 at 11:19
Get a decent trail food book such as Linda Yaffe 'Backpack Gourmet' or Cicerone's 'Moveable Feasts' - loads of ideas, recipes and kit suggestions to provide oodles of great outdoor food ideas which are varied, nutritious and easy to prepare and cook using minimal kit.

Get yourself a dehydrator, or use low-oven and you can pretty much eat what you eat at home but on the hill...
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