Planked Fish—‘‘Flat’”’ fish may be ‘‘planked’”’. Cut off the
head and tail, split open the back, leaving the fish so that it may
be opened wide like a book and tacked on a plank or pieces of
bark. Tack some thin slices of bacon or pork to the end of the
fish that will be uppermost when before the fire, and if you like,
a few slices of raw onion sprinkled with pepper and salt. Sharpen
one end of the plank and drive it into the ground, before a bed of
hot coals, catch the drippings in a tin cup or large spoon, and
baste the fish continually until it smells so good you can’t wait
another instant to eat it. It is then done. Oak or hickory are
the best for fish planks. Lacking these, use any old clean plank
you may come across.
Pork and Beans—Take 4 cups of navy or lima beans, reject
all that are shrivelled or discolored, wash well, soak all night in
plenty of cold, fresh water, and in the morning you will find them
plump and tender. Place them in a pot on the fire with a square
134 Blue Ribbon Cook Book
piece of salt pork weighing one-half pound, simmer gently till
tender and each bean is separate. Strain through a colander,
saving a pint of the water in which they were boiled. Pack in
the bean pot, bury the chunk of pork in the beans, season the pint
of water reserved, as mentioned above, to your liking, pour over
the beans in the pot and put in the oven to bake for several hours.
The flavoring of beans depends upon the taste of the cook. 4 tea-
spoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of mustard, } cup molasses, and 1
teaspoon of salt✪ Pork and Beans are usual. The bean pot buried in the ground
with a slow fire on top at night will be in capital condition for
breakfast in the morning.
General Rule for Cooking Vegetables
Do not wash fresh vegetables until just before they are to be
cooked or eaten. They lose flavor quickly after being washed.
This is true even of potatoes.
Green vegetables go into boiling, salted water. Salt prevents
their absorbing too much water. The water should be boiling
fast, and there should be plenty of it. They should be boiled
rapidly. This has the same effect as in the case of meats; the
surface is sealed and retains the flavor, instead of letting it soak
out. In making soup, of course, the rule is reversed.
Dried vegetables, as peas and beans, are to be cooked in un-
salted water. If salted too soon they become leathery and diffi-
cult to cook. Put them in cold, fresh water, gradually heated to
the boiling point, and boil slowly.
Desiccated vegetables are first soaked in cold water, according
to directions on package. Place in boiling water slightly salted,
and proceed as with fresh vegetables.
To clear cabbage, etc., from insects, immerse for 30 minutes
in plenty of cold water salted in the proportion of a tablespoon
to 2 quarts, or vinegar may be used instead of salt.
To keep vegetables put them in a cool dry place, where con-
ditions will be similar to those in a good cellar. Be careful to
keep the various kinds separate, or they will absorb each other’s
flavor.
Practical Hints
THE CARE OF BUTTER
Rancid butter may be made edible by melting it in plenty
of boiling water and stirring it well. If it is then poured into cold
water the objectionable flavor will be gone. A good way to keep
butter in camp is to pack it tight in a watertight tin pail, such
as a lard pail, covered closely and sunk in a net in the river. If
there is no river, keep it in a spring. If there is no spring bury
it in the ground. Butter, if kept in a hot atmosphere, soon spoils.
Strong brine will preserve butter for a long time. Weight the
butter down so as to keep it covered with the brine.
Bachelor and Camp Cooking 135
Beverages
Page 83 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1905. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Planked Fish—"Flat" fish may be "planked". Cut off the head and tail, split open the back, leaving the fish so that it may be opened wide like a book and tacked on a plank or pieces of bark.ark. Tack some thin slices of bacon or pork to the end of the fish that will be uppermost when before the fire, and if you like, a few slices of raw onion sprinkled with pepper and salt. Sharpen one end of the plank and drive it into the ground, before a bed of hot coals, catch the drippings in a tin cup or large spoon, and baste the fish continually until it smells so good you can’t wait another instant to eat it. It is then done. Oak or hickory are the best for fish planks. Lacking these, use any old clean plank you may come across.
Pork and Beans—Take 4 cups of navy or lima beans, reject all that are shrivelled or discolored, wash well, soak all night in plenty of cold, fresh water, and in the morning you will find them plump and tender. Place them in a pot on the fire with a square
134 Blue Ribbon Cook Book
piece of salt pork weighing one-half pound, simmer gently till tender and each bean is separate. Strain through a colander, saving a pint of the water in which they were boiled. Pack in the bean pot, bury the chunk of pork in the beans, season the pint of water reserved, as mentioned above, to your liking, pour over the beans in the pot and put in the oven to bake for several hours. The flavoring of beans depends upon the taste of the cook. 4 teaspoon of pepper, 1 teaspoon of mustard, } cup molasses, and 1 teaspoon of salt are usual. The bean pot buried in the ground with a slow fire on top at night will be in capital condition for breakfast in the morning.
General Rule for Cooking Vegetables
Do not wash fresh vegetables until just before they are to be cooked or eaten. They lose flavor quickly after being washed. This is true even of potatoes.
Green vegetables go into boiling, salted water. Salt prevents their absorbing too much water. The water should be boiling fast, and there should be plenty of it. They should be boiled rapidly. This has the same effect as in the case of meats; the surface is sealed and retains the flavor, instead of letting it soak out. In making soup, of course, the rule is reversed.
Dried vegetables, as peas and beans, are to be cooked in unsalted water. If salted too soon they become leathery and difficult to cook. Put them in cold, fresh water, gradually heated to the boiling point, and boil slowly.
Desiccated vegetables are first soaked in cold water, according to directions on package. Place in boiling water slightly salted, and proceed as with fresh vegetables.
To clear cabbage, etc., from insects, immerse for 30 minutes in plenty of cold water salted in the proportion of a tablespoon to 2 quarts, or vinegar may be used instead of salt.
To keep vegetables put them in a cool dry place, where conditions will be similar to those in a good cellar. Be careful to keep the various kinds separate, or they will absorb each other’s flavor.
Practical Hints
THE CARE OF BUTTER
Rancid butter may be made edible by melting it in plenty of boiling water and stirring it well. If it is then poured into cold water the objectionable flavor will be gone. A good way to keep butter in camp is to pack it tight in a watertight tin pail, such as a lard pail, covered closely and sunk in a net in the river. If there is no river, keep it in a spring. If there is no spring bury it in the ground. Butter, if kept in a hot atmosphere, soon spoils. Strong brine will preserve butter for a long time. Weight the butter down so as to keep it covered with the brine.
Bachelor and Camp Cooking 135
Beverages
Records on this page
Pork and Beans