It’s Thursday – Any Recipes Shared Are Welcome!
Until the Platoon Sergeant returns to full active duty, the Mess Tent will happily welcome recipes for field rations, hot dogs, brats, open pit barbecues, Grandma’s upside-down pineapple cake, or whatever is in your MRE pack. I know there’s a way to make skillet cornbread.
Consider yourselves to be the Ultimate Camp Cooks. Anyone know how to roast a whole hog over a fire?
Category: "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves"
Recipe. Wash strawberries. Pick one up by the green part. Dip in sugar. Eat. Repeat.
LOL I just ate a whole bunch of fresh ones.
And, to be honest, most of the time you really don’t need the sugar.
Planning on pressure-cooking a whole turkey tonight… I’ll let y’all know how it comes out.
BeerSteakPotato
1 16oz Kansas City Strip
1 Extra large baking potato
12 Ice cold Stout of the Union
Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper
Butter
Drink a beer
Rub olive oil and salt on potato, cook 60 min.
Drink a beer
Season and grill steak to perfection.
Drink a beer
Eat steak, potato and drink the rest of the beer.
Drink a beer…..what else do you need?
I’m on my grille year round. Charcoal only. No gas. The start-of-summer sales of charcoal get me through the summer and fall, usually into winter–but not deep. I’m talking a few hundred pounds of Kingsford.
A Weber grill with Kingsford charcoal.
There’s nothing finer.
I bought a Weber Natural Gas grill about 6 years ago….charcoal purists hate that! But….no ash cleanup and no filling propane tanks!
Best grill I ever bought!
I am a purist. Who in the blankety blank would make a yellow charcoal grille? Weber, that’s who. A yellow kettle.
And gas? What do use, scented candles to give your food flavor?
Brown.
Properly seasoned….the food tastes great…although there is something to say for charcoal – I’m just at the point in my life where convenience means a bit more.
You like what you like. I’m just kicking at your gonads is all.
One of these days I’ll have to get out my backpacking recipes and share a few here.
No matter what it is, it tastes better by a campfire.
Except beets. Beets are satanic.
http://www.ibov.org/2015/the-unofficial-mre-recipe-booklet/
Honestly, now cooking;
Acorn squash
Butternut squash
Russert potatoes
White sweet potatoes
Lots of garlic
Onion
Chicken stock
Simmer slowly in a covered pan………..just delicious.
And, of course……………..BEER!
Where is the meat in that? What are you, a freakin’ commie?
LOLOLOL!
Hamburgers! Of course!
And….beer!
BTW………..KMIA!
How to make home made bacon:
Ingredients:
1 15lb pork belly (or 2×7 lb prok bellies)
Wet Cure Ingredients:
1.5 cups of Tender Quick salt mix
4 tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
3 tbsp granulated garlic
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp brown sugar
6 cups of water
Rinse off pork belly.
Cut skin off of the pork belly and place to the side; preferably, do not cut more than 1/8 inch of skin off.
Mix cure ingredients in a bowl and stir for several minutes to ensure the cure is equal through out the mix.
Cut the pork belly in half.
Pour half of the cure into a 2 gallon ziplock bag and pour the rest in another one.
Place slabs of meat into bags.
Place the bags on a metal pan and place in the fridge.
Everyday at the same time, flip the bag over so the cure soaks into all of the meat.
Repeat process for 7-8 days.
Do not allow to cure past 8 days.
After the 7th or 8th day, pull slabs from fridge and thoroughly rinse off, you do not want any extra spices or salts on the pig before smoking.
Fire up the smoker and get the heat to 175-200 degrees. You are going to want to smoke it for 3 to 4 hours.
Feel free to add maple wood for smoke or apple for additional flavor.
Slice bacon to the thickness you prefer.
Additionally, you can try out your own cures.
As always, you’re welcome.
Cheers,
MrFace
I forgot to add;
Slice up the skin from the pork belly.
Boil under the fat renders and wash off extra fatty tisues.
Cut skin into strips of 2″x4″ and deep fry.
Makes good chicaronnes.
Side note: cut the nipples off of the pork skin, you dont want to eat those.
Cheers,
MrFace
Or… Send wife to store for bacon. Put bacon in skillet and heat until crispy.
Zero. There is no science to properly cooking bacon. As you know, it is all art. My wife never mastered it so I cooka da bacon round here. You like bacon crispy? Fine. Then there should not be any soft fat. Like it fatty? Fine. Then there should not be and crispy hards. And that Canadian bacon? It ain’t bacon at all. Damn Canadians.
MRE breakfast cobbler
Pack of “MRE bread” crackers
Pack of freeze-dried peaches, strawberries, or other MRE fruit.
Sugar packets (1-4, to taste
Creamer packets (1-4, to taste)
Crush crackers in packet.
Tear off packet top.
Open and inspect fruit. If large chunks, break into small chunks.
Mix fruit into cracker crumbs.
Add a sugar and creamer packet.
Add water to moisten,and stir. Keep adding water until you have a thick, sticky mush.
Taste, and add more sugar and creamer to taste. (2 each was about right for me)
Devour or savor as the circumstances permit.
I much preferred this to lunch/supper menu for breakfast.
OMG!
I was pre-MRE’s – my old time favorite was (you guys will hate me for this) C-Rats ham and lima beans with a can of cheese heated over some C-4!! lol
Memories!
Forgot the tobasco!
I am told they now have breakfast menu items in MREs. Back then (mid 80s) there were none in what we were issued. That “cobbler” appealed to the “cereal for breakfast” crowd, and the “Oh ####, all I have is tuna” crowd.
My other trick was to skip most pogy-bait items, and instead take 4 bottles of spices to the field. After a week of “the basics” people would trade desserts for a few shakes of garlic powder. I tended to pour it out generously into paper scraps for closer acquaintances and known “good guys”. One 2LT noted me passing out little bindles of garlic, etc, and though he had found a major dug operation. Hilarity ensued.
My merry little band tended to eat well in the field.
Me and you both, LiRight. Loved my Ham `n Mothers! It made for good trading as well, ie: yeah, I`ll take those, but you`re going to have to give up that John Wayne or peaches, too.
Too many fricken years ago, 20thEB67. Where in the hell does the time go?
Got me, but it sure does go quick, and the older I get the quicker it goes.
For any of you Sailors or Marines that ever were stationed in Subic i Give you the following recipe that was good enough for me to marry my wife 26 years ago!
Pork Adobo
3 lbs of pork belly or shoulder
1/4 c vinegar (coconut is best)
2 C pork or beef broth
1 C Soy Sauce
3 bay leaves
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 thumb sized nub of Ginger
1 lg Onion
1 tsp peppercorns
Put a little olive oil in a pot and sweat the onions and ginger together until soft,
add garlic making sure it does not burn.
slowly add pork and give it just a hint of brown on the outside.
add soy sauce, broth, vinegar, peppercorns & bay leaf and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.
if you are using pork shoulder, 20 mins should be just about right. if you are using pork belly with skin on, plan on 40 mins of simmering until tender
Serve over white rice (Jasmine from a rice cooker is best)
Enjoy
ohh i forgot, garlic, onion should be diced and ginger should be Julienned!
Hack Stone helped his lovely bride, Rosetta Stone, a big batch of atsara, a Philippine sweet version of Kim chew. She makes it without the handy reference of a recipe, but I did find a version on line. We do not use raisins, and I never had atsara with raisins. If you are going to have adobo, you need atsara on the side.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/212921/atsara-papaya-relish/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/212921/atsara-papaya-relish/
Atchara (Papaya)
Ingredients
3 to 4 lbs. green papaya, julienned
2 medium sized carrots, julienned
1 large onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tbsp whole peppercorn
1 large red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 knob ginger, cut into thin strips
¼ cup salt (to dehydrate papaya)
1½ tsp salt (for the brine or syrup)
2 cups white vinegar
1⅓ cups granulated sugar
2 small boxes raisins
Instructions
Place the julienned papaya in a large bowl and combine ¼ cup salt then mix until the salt is well distributed.
Cover the bowl and place inside the refrigerator overnight (the salt will dehydrate the papaya).
Place the julienned papaya in a colander or strainer then rinse with running water.
Using cheesecloth (or any cloth) as a container, put the rinsed papaya inside the cloth and squeeze until all the liquid comes out.
Put the papaya back in the large bowl and combine with carrots, garlic, ginger, onions, whole peppercorn, bell pepper, and raisins
Heat the saucepan and pour-in the vinegar and bring to a boil.
Add the sugar and 1½ tsp salt then stir until well diluted
Turn off the heat and allow the syrup to cool down until temperature is low enough to handle.
Place the combined vegetables and spices in a sterilized airtight jar and pour-in the syrup
Seal the jar and place inside the refrigerator for a week (or 5 days minimum to achieve the expected texture and flavor).
Serve cold with fried dishes. Share and Enjoy!
My wife is from the north, but every region has its own take on how to make it.
i’m done with all the grating in about 10 mins, she takes about an hour to turn carrots in to lil stars…. Its almost as much fun as watching them wrap christmas presents!
Chocolate Lava Muffins
Hat tip to Alton Brown
• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• Butter, to coat muffin tin
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a small metal bowl over a saucepan with simmering water.
Melt the chocolate and butter in the bowl. Stir in vanilla.
In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt.
Sift these into the chocolate and mix well with electric hand mixer. Add eggs one at time, fully incorporating each egg before adding the next.
Beat at high until batter is creamy and lightens in color, approximately 4 minutes. Chill mixture.
Coat the top and each cup of the muffin tin with butter.
Dust with the cocoa powder and shake out excess.
Spoon mixture into pan using a 4-ounce scoop or ladle.
Bake for 10 to 11 minutes. Outsides should be cake-like and centers should be gooey.
While muffins are in oven, melt the ice cream in a small saucepan.
Stir in the espresso powder. Serve over warm muffins.
Bask in the accolades from friends and family.
My wife bought a “multi-function gizmo” a few weeks ago.
For years I tried to convince her that food cooked in a pressure cooker is way better in flavor than conventional stove top cooking for most things.
She was, over the years, terrified of pressure cookers. Her Italian (legal immigrant, Ellis Island type) Grandmother had one blow up on her when my wife was about 10 years old.
So she sees this “gizmo” and buys it. It is multi-function, including pressure cooking. I guess she “lost” her fear because it’s a gizmo device.
Now almost everything she cooks (except for the first iteration, that was your’s truly) is in the pressure cooker. I think she’d commit hari kari if it broke.
Raspberry/Chipotle Sauce
I make this in a stock pot so I am able to can 6 or 8 pints each time. Most everything comes out of the garden.
Saute in olive oil:
4/5 French shallots
8/10 cloves garlic
4 fresh jalapenos
6 smoked, peeled poblanos
Salt & Pepper
De-glaze with balsamic vinegar-cup or 2 and simmer for about 20 mins
Add a couple of bay leaves, cup or 2 brown sugar, and 2 cups of apple cider vinegar. Bring to boil and add about a gallon of fresh raspberries. Simmer until desired consistency-about an hour, I reckon.
Use as BBQ sauce. Really good on chicken or grouse. Works well on deer and elk, as well. Or pour a pint over cream cheese and eat with crackers.
This stuff will make your socks run up and down!