Remember watching the old Westerns with John Wayne and the chuck wagons pulling up to camp? "Cookie" seemed to be a pretty common name for the cooks, not very imaginative, but very descriptive.
You can be sure Cookie had more than a few cast iron pots tucked away in his supplies. Skillets, corn bread pans, and a sturdy Dutch oven or two helped him prepare filling and delicious meals for his crew! He cooked like his life depended on it, and it did to some degree and so did the lives of the men he was cooking for.
These movies depict a part of U.S. history that was real. They may have some drama included, but the cowboys of yesteryear would ride from Texas to Montana moving cows in the Spring and Fall and stay with them in between. The chuck wagon and supplies would accompany them on the long trek. Along the way they would hunt and fish and eat well thanks to not only the cook but to his pots and pans!
Probably, most of us aren't going on a long cattle drive any time soon, but many people do go camping. Spending a weekend at the lake or a nearby national forest or park means cooking out over an open fire and nothing works better than cast iron! It is so durable and easy to clean. No soap and water need or encouraged. While still warm wipe the pan with a damp cloth.
I have a large Dutch oven on a tripod I can set over the campfire. I can prepare anything from baked beans, stew, to sourdough bread with this one pot. If it's a short camping trip, I do some of the preparation at home, and bring the food to reheat at the campsite. If I'm making bread, I mix up the dry ingredients ahead and then add the wet ingredients, mix it up and bake at the site. Anything prepared in the open just tastes better it seems!
I always take two cast iron frying pans. For breakfast I use one for bacon and eggs, and another to prepare fried potatoes. I then wipe them out, butter both sides of my bread and make pan toast. Pancakes are another easy breakfast that can be prepared in one of the cast iron fry pans. Preparing freshly caught trout is easy using either a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Steaming the fish with some lemon in a Dutch oven or pan frying in a skillet makes a delicious "catch of the day" dinner.
You can also slice potatoes, onions and mushrooms with a little garlic and butter in the covered skillet and set to the side on some cooler coals. Prepare the main dish in the second skillet - fish, hamburgers, steak or chicken. All you need now is your favorite baked beans done in a Dutch oven and you eat like a King or Queen in the beautiful outdoors.
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Terry Retter
Chef Wannabee
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