20 thoughts on “There will be a post-Apocalypse test…”
Short answer; YES.
My set-up isn’t that elaborate, though.
Hell yeah!
Could I do it? ppppbbfff!!! I’ve been cooking since 1954 and have mom’s snapshots to prove it. One of the first merit badges I earned (back when Boy Scouts were not ghey and lame) was in cooking–over a campfire. And while Dutch Ovens can be done in a firepit, the real pro’s have that chart of how many charcoal briquets underneath and around the lid to get the perfect temperature desired.
That is one fancy arrangement of iron and mechanics; continually adjustable grill height and a nice array of options for all kinds of grillin’.
Yeah, that’s some kind of a fancy-dancy setup, darn near anybody that’s NOT a snotflake could *easily* bake a cake!
At campouts I was always the camp cook because I could cook over open flame or coals and not burn stuff.
I think so. Or at least make a decent effort. We presently cook on an open fire – coals, with a 3′ x 4′-6″ long expanded metal grille about 12″ above grade. Meat is cooked directly on grill, with skillets placed along edge to warm and keep food warm while being consumed. Coffee is a rare treat out there – we basically warm up water in pot, make coffee in thermos bottle and keep there for extending warm drinks later. So far, works well IF you don’t mind instant coffee.
That arrangement may very well do fine on open ground with mild temperatures and no wind but add ice and snow, a nasty blowing wind (or in the western PacWest – RAIN) and it’s not going to go so well.
However, that expressed, yes we could do it and have the tools, utensils and cover to make it happen.
wes
wtdb
Ya, it would be a bit more difficult at -40 and 3′ of snow, nice setup though.
If you are in snow country, an outdoor kitchen protected with a set up similar to this would be doable. I had an outdoor kitchen with four walls, a roof and windows that could be propped up when it was hot with a concrete fire pit and a treadle design cooking surface much like this and I cooked almost year round, with out the snow and -40 temps but with torrential rains and after hurricanes. This was in LA, Lower Alabama…
Yup, actually have that setup at my cabin
Glad I received my Eagle Scout badge back in 1973, when we used to teach those skills
That is not a minimalists setup but yes.
The learning curve might be a bit steep on the Dutch oven but other than that I could make that work.
That’s the kind of thing that needs to be learned while still fairly young.
Yep. Did with Scouts. I have also cooked trout on the side of the stream with nothing more than some matches and a pocket knife. But that is a different story.
I would definitely not starve. Maybe not happy but not starving either.
Hell yeah, nice set up. Got a link where to buy?
I am sure Lodge and Griswold cast iron purveyors can stock you up. I find good cast iron cooking utensils at flea markets, swap meets and estate sales.
That’s a chef’s kitchen compared to my normal dystopian setup, sometimes I bury my meal with hot rocks, take a hike and come back in a few hours to dig it back up for dinner.
I have my paternal grandmothers cast iron. She was given it by her grandmother when she got married. I ended up with it since she knew I would use it, and not paint in it to make art.
I can and have used it over coals, on an electric stove and on my gas stove. It’s not an everyday option, but am totally familiar with it.
Cooked like that? Many times. Lived in Central Africa since 1958 and that’s how we cooked on holiday. Ever made bread in an oven cut out of an ant-hill? A wise old African taught me how.
FWIW, my wife took a short look and IMMEDIATELY said, “Hell yeah!”
There’s these two guys at camp that think they are really good cooks. They usually end up either burning things on a gas grill or delivering under cooked food. It’s because they’re mostly three sheets to wind when they decide it’s supper time. In the last couple of years some of us have relieved them of cooking duty. ‘Course they are nowhere to be found when it’s clean up time.
As to cooking over an open fire, never done it. The learning curve would be steep, but I probably wouldn’t starve and initially, at least, would be eating some things that may be a little over done.
Nemo you know how to cook crow on a gas stove.
4 fresh killed birds
4 fresh cow patties
crow in the middle cow patties surrounding
250 for 19 minutes toss the crow, eat the cow patties because on gas grill they would taste better.
Short answer; YES.
My set-up isn’t that elaborate, though.
Hell yeah!
Could I do it? ppppbbfff!!! I’ve been cooking since 1954 and have mom’s snapshots to prove it. One of the first merit badges I earned (back when Boy Scouts were not ghey and lame) was in cooking–over a campfire. And while Dutch Ovens can be done in a firepit, the real pro’s have that chart of how many charcoal briquets underneath and around the lid to get the perfect temperature desired.
That is one fancy arrangement of iron and mechanics; continually adjustable grill height and a nice array of options for all kinds of grillin’.
Yeah, that’s some kind of a fancy-dancy setup, darn near anybody that’s NOT a snotflake could *easily* bake a cake!
At campouts I was always the camp cook because I could cook over open flame or coals and not burn stuff.
I think so. Or at least make a decent effort. We presently cook on an open fire – coals, with a 3′ x 4′-6″ long expanded metal grille about 12″ above grade. Meat is cooked directly on grill, with skillets placed along edge to warm and keep food warm while being consumed. Coffee is a rare treat out there – we basically warm up water in pot, make coffee in thermos bottle and keep there for extending warm drinks later. So far, works well IF you don’t mind instant coffee.
That arrangement may very well do fine on open ground with mild temperatures and no wind but add ice and snow, a nasty blowing wind (or in the western PacWest – RAIN) and it’s not going to go so well.
However, that expressed, yes we could do it and have the tools, utensils and cover to make it happen.
wes
wtdb
Ya, it would be a bit more difficult at -40 and 3′ of snow, nice setup though.
If you are in snow country, an outdoor kitchen protected with a set up similar to this would be doable. I had an outdoor kitchen with four walls, a roof and windows that could be propped up when it was hot with a concrete fire pit and a treadle design cooking surface much like this and I cooked almost year round, with out the snow and -40 temps but with torrential rains and after hurricanes. This was in LA, Lower Alabama…
Yup, actually have that setup at my cabin
Glad I received my Eagle Scout badge back in 1973, when we used to teach those skills
That is not a minimalists setup but yes.
The learning curve might be a bit steep on the Dutch oven but other than that I could make that work.
That’s the kind of thing that needs to be learned while still fairly young.
Yep. Did with Scouts. I have also cooked trout on the side of the stream with nothing more than some matches and a pocket knife. But that is a different story.
I would definitely not starve. Maybe not happy but not starving either.
Hell yeah, nice set up. Got a link where to buy?
I am sure Lodge and Griswold cast iron purveyors can stock you up. I find good cast iron cooking utensils at flea markets, swap meets and estate sales.
That’s a chef’s kitchen compared to my normal dystopian setup, sometimes I bury my meal with hot rocks, take a hike and come back in a few hours to dig it back up for dinner.
I have my paternal grandmothers cast iron. She was given it by her grandmother when she got married. I ended up with it since she knew I would use it, and not paint in it to make art.
I can and have used it over coals, on an electric stove and on my gas stove. It’s not an everyday option, but am totally familiar with it.
Cooked like that? Many times. Lived in Central Africa since 1958 and that’s how we cooked on holiday. Ever made bread in an oven cut out of an ant-hill? A wise old African taught me how.
FWIW, my wife took a short look and IMMEDIATELY said, “Hell yeah!”
There’s these two guys at camp that think they are really good cooks. They usually end up either burning things on a gas grill or delivering under cooked food. It’s because they’re mostly three sheets to wind when they decide it’s supper time. In the last couple of years some of us have relieved them of cooking duty. ‘Course they are nowhere to be found when it’s clean up time.
As to cooking over an open fire, never done it. The learning curve would be steep, but I probably wouldn’t starve and initially, at least, would be eating some things that may be a little over done.
Nemo you know how to cook crow on a gas stove.
4 fresh killed birds
4 fresh cow patties
crow in the middle cow patties surrounding
250 for 19 minutes toss the crow, eat the cow patties because on gas grill they would taste better.