Pow Wow 2012
CUB GRUB
Safety First!! A few of the Basics…
Fire Safety – “Fires should be built only in a designated fire ring provided by the landowner or, with permission in an off-the-ground fire pit device. Take caution when building your fire:
- Build the fire in the center of the 10-ft circle that is free of flammable materials such as twigs and dry grass.
- Don’t build the fire against a tree or between the roots.
- Keep the fire away from dead logs and stumps and from overhanging limbs and branches.
- Don’t use firewood that spits sparks.
- Break burnt matches before throwing them away, and be sure that they are ‘cold out.’
- Never leave a fire unattended.
- Keep a bucket of water, dirt, or sand handy for emergency use.
- When you are through with the fire, put it out. Spread the coals and ashes and sprinkle them with water. Stir and sprinkle until the fire is cold out. This means it feels cold to the touch.” Cub Scout Leader Handbook
Food Safety – “Keep hot food hot and cold food cold to prevent spoilage.
- Before packing your cooler, chill the food in the refrigerator.
- If you don’t have a thermal container to keep foods warm, make a ‘hot box’. Use a dutch oven or heavy aluminum pan and cook to a point just short of the last 10-20 minutes of the recommended cooking time. Remove from the heat and place in a large cardboard box lined with 2-3 inches of newspapers. Pack newspapers around the dutch oven or pan on all sided and the top and bottom to prevent heat loss. The food will continue to cook in the box and stay hot for hours.
- Commercial coolers will keep drinks and salad cool for a longer time if you use a large block of ice rather than ice cubes. Freeze water in half-gallon or gallon cardboard or plastic milk cartons.
- For meat to be cooked later, freeze them in resealable plastic bags and carry them in a cooler. They will keep other foods cold and will thaw without leaking.
- You can also carry well sealed hot or cold foods wrapped in a sleeping bag to keep a constant temperature longer.” How To Book
- **Cooking outdoors requires more time than conventional methods, Allow enough cook time for foods to cook thoroughly.
Cub Scout Requirements involving cooking…
*When planning to cook outdoors with cub scouts, it is important to consider what technique is age appropriate. The boys should build on skills each year until they are ready for a real camping adventure as a Webelos scout. Keep food preparation simple and fun!!
Tiger Wolf
Elective 25 – Snack Time Achievement #8 – Cooking and Eating
Make a snack and share it with your family or den. 8b – Plan the meals you and your family should have for one day. …
Elective 22 – Picnic Fun8c – Help fix at least 1 meal for our family. Help …, cook the food, …
With your Family or den have a picnic.8d – Fix your own breakfast. …
8e – With an adult, help plan, prepare, and cook an outdoor meal.
BearElective #18 – Outdoor Adventure
Achievement #9 - What’s Cooking?18a – Help plan and hold a picnic with your family or den.
9a – With adult, bake cookies. (How about doing this in a cardboard oven).
9b – With an adult, make snacks for the next den meeting.
9c – With an adult prepare one part of your breakfast, one part of your lunch, and one part of your supper.
9e – Make some trail food for a hike.
9f – With an adult, make a dessert for your family.
9g – With an adult, cook something outdoors.
Achievement #12 – Family Outdoor Adventure
12a – Go camping with your family. (Here are ideas for camp meals.)
12a – Go on a hike with your family. (Make snack to take with you.)
12c- Have a picnic with your family.
Webelos
Outdoorsman Activity Badge
Requirement #7 – Discuss with your Webelos den leader the rules of outdoor fire safety. (This is where it would be fun to use Edible Fire to teach safe fire building.) Using these rules, show how to build a safe fire and put it out.
Requirement #8 – With your accompanying adult on a campout or outdoor activity, assist in preparing, cooking, and cleanup for one of your den’s meals. …
Craftsman Activity Badge - Make a cooking device like a hobo stove, buddy burner, or solar oven for one of the non-wood project requirements.
***An extra thought…For art activities that call for clay, how about using edible play dough for some added fun.
Outdoor Cooking Techniques & Simple Recipes
The Basics…
Buddy Burner The classic Cub scout cooking tool!!!
The Buddy Burner is a simple, safe, fuel source for the tin-can stoves. (ex: charcoal and
hobo stoves). They can be quickly and easily made, stored for long periods of time, and used
safely even by the youngest of Scouts. ***Great to make for emergency kits
SuppliesProcedure
Roll-type can opener • Using the regular can opener remove the top from the can.
• Tuna or cat food cans• Fuel type:
• Cardboard or wood chips (not sawdust)1. Cardboard - cut into strips only tall enough to reach the top of the
• Candle wickscan. Fit the strips in the can in smaller circles until the can is full.
• Paraffin2. Wood chips - Fill can with wood chips, compressing as tightly as
• Double boileryou can. Don't use sawdust as it doesn't burn as long.
• Fit a wick in the center of the fuel. (or use a small piece of cardboard)
• Melt paraffin in a double boiler, never directly over heat.
• Pour paraffin into can until it fills and covers the fuel, let cool several hours.
Usage:
• Light wick. Practice before you use it to get a feel for how long it burns
• If you need to extinguish the flame before it's completely used, do so by smothering, do not pour water on the flame.
Snuffer
Equipment
Wire clothes hanger
Duct tape
Foil tape
Lid from tuna can
Using a wire cutter and pliers make a handle out of the coat hanger. Tape the sharp edges of the lid with the duct tape. Attach the handle to the lid with the foil tape.
Hobo Stove
The Hobo Stove is simplicity itself. Made of nothing more than a tin can, and powered by anything that burns - charcoal, sterno, or a buddy .
Supplies:
• Tin can (4-10" diameter)
• Tin snips
• Punch-type can opener
• Roll-type can opener
Procedure :
• Using the roll-type can opener remove one end of the can.
• Using the punch-type can opener, make a series (6-8) of holes around the top of the can.
• Using the snips cut an opening in the other side of the can large enough to slide a tuna or cat food can through.
Usage:
·Light the fuel:
·3-4 charcoal briquette in tuna can
·sterno fuel
·buddy burner
·Slide the fuel through the opening in the bottom of the can.
·Cook directly on the top of the can as soon as it's hot enough.
Smores on Stick
Ingredients: 1 Can chocolate syrup, Marshmallows, crushed graham crackers.
Open a can of chocolate syrup and heat on the hobo stove until runny. Use the buddy burner to then roast a marshmallow on a soaked wooden skewer. Dip the toasted marshmallow in the chocolate syrup and roll in crushed graham crackers. YUM!
***Heat a can of chili on the hobo stove. Open an individual size bag of fritos and add ¼ to 1/3 of the chili with some shredded cheese!
Eat it right from the bag for an easy dinner!
***Cub scouts can roast a hot dog directly over the buddy burner for an easy picnic dinner!
Foil Cooking
Foil Cooking Hints
Use two layers of light-weight, or one layer of heavy duty aluminum foil. Foil should be large enough to go around food and allow for crimping the edges in a tight seal. This will keep the juices and steam in, it becomes a small scale pressure cooker. This wrap is know as the "drugstore" wrap. A shallow bed of glowing coals that will last the length of cooking time is necessary. When placed in a bed of hot coals with some heat on top, diced vegetables and meat cook in 10-15 minutes in this package and whole potatoes in 40-50 minutes. Be sure to allow some space for expansion in the package by not wrapping the raw food too tightly.
Drugstore Wrap
Use heavy foil three times the width of the food. Fold over and roll up the leading edges. Then roll sides for a steam proof seal.
A shallow bed of glowing coals that will last the length of cooking time is necessary.
Cooking Times:
Hamburger: 8-12 minutes, Carrots: 15-20 minutes
Chicken pieces: 20-30 minutes, Whole Apples: 20-30 minutes
Hotdogs: 5-10 minutes, Sliced potatoes 10-15 minutes
TRADITIONAL FOIL DINNER – Sample Recipe
Lay slices of potatoes, onion, and carrots on a sheet of heavy-duty foil then place hamburger patty on top. Cover with slices of potato, onion, and carrots. Season with butter, salt and pepper. Cook 20-30 minutes over hot coals, turning twice during cooking.
HOBO POPCORN
1 teaspoon cooking oil, 1 Tablespoon popcorn kernels, butter ,salt. In the center of 6 inch square foil, place the oil and popcorn. Bring the foil corners together to make a pouch. Seal the edges by folding, but leave room for the corn to pop. Tie each pouch to a long stick with a string and hold the pouch over hot coals. Shake constantly until all the corn has popped. Season with butter and salt.
CUPCAKE IN AN ORANGE PEEL
Ingredients: 12 to 18 oranges (per box of cake mix), 1 package cake mix, plus the ingredients called for on the package, Heavy duty foil
Directions
Cut 1” slice from top of each orange. Scoop out orange fruit and pulp. Leave the peel intact as a baking cup. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fill each orange peal 2/3 full with prepared cake batter. Replace top of each orange. Place filled orange in the center of a 12” piece of foil. Bring foil together at top and twist to make airtight. Place in coals for 15 to 20 minutes.
Cooking on a Stick
Usually involves baking a simple dough or roasting a hot dog. Try using a refrigerated dough from the grocery store for some fun and easy variations. Bake twister biscuits or create a pastry cup to hold pudding or jam. Try this easy one for a fun outdoor dessert:
TWISTER CINNAMON ROLLS
Twist a refrigerated cinnamon roll dough around a large dowel. Bake over hot coals until golden brown. Spread the included frosting on and enjoy a simple warm and gooey treat.
Cooking without the fire…
There are also techniques that can be used outdoors that require no cooking. These can be easy and fun to do indoors or out.
ICE CREAM IN A BAG
(For impatient cubs it might just be a milk shake in a baggie)
Ingredients: 1/2 cup half/half or cream , 1 Tbsp sugar, 2- quart size zip-loc bags. - At least one of the bags should be a freezer bag, 1-gallon size zip-loc freezer bag, A hand towel.
Flavorings:
Vanilla –1 TBS sugar, and ½ tsp vanilla
Chocolate – 1 tsp. of chocolate syrup
Strawberry – Heaping spoonful of strawberry jam
4 cups of crushed ice & ½ cup of rock salt
Add ice cream toppings if you like.
Mix the cream and flavoring in one of the quart size bags. Seal tightly, removing as much air as possible. (The bag will pop if air is left in.) Place this bag inside the quart size freezer bag, removing as much air as possible. Put the ice and salt into the gallon size freezer bag. Put the bags with the ice cream mixture into the bag of ice. Wrap the bag in the towel and shake or massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the mixture. It takes about 10 minutes to make ice cream.
The more you shake the bag the thicker the mixture becomes. (This will determine if you get a milk shake or ice cream)
OTHER OUTDOOR COOKING TECHNIQUES AND IDEAS… go to
Box Ovens – How to make and use…
SOLAR PIZZA BOX OVEN
CARDBOARD BOX OVEN
Cooking with Cans
CHIMNEY CHARCOAL STARTER (FOR GETTING CHARCOAL LIT AND READY FOR USE)
CHARCOAL CAN STOVE
ICE CREAM IN A CAN
HOBO STOVE OVEN (FOR SMALL ITEM BAKING)
Cooking with Plastic bags
COOKING WITH HEAT – SUCH AS OMLETE IN A BAG
NO COOK ITEMS – SUCH AS ARMPIT FUDGE
Dutch Ovens – Great to teach to the older cub scout…see the addition for extensive info on use and technique! Almost anything you cook at home can be cooked in a dutch oven .
Cooking in other food – usually accompanied by use of FOIL
Cooking in Paper – YES IT IS POSSIBLE
DIXIE CUP COOKING
PAPER BAGS AND PAPER BOWL
More Cooking on Sticks
Also included: Cooking directly on coals, on rocks, on leaves, with clay/mud, and lots, lots more!!!
NOTES:
CHECK HERE FOR MORE CUB GUB CLASS INFORMATION -
Here are some great resources for more recipes and helpful outdoor cooking tips!
(my favorite)