Summers coming in the great wild north and my amp level is rising. How about you?

I have a few possibilities swirling about and are rather polar opposites, as distinct as night and day or should I say, land and water. Much depends on who wants to see me in their town.......rejections mean more flexibility for trips.

Trip "A" is the dreaded backpacking trip. I have spent no little amount of time trying to figure out the best way (light, fast and easy) to cook some trout. Lugging a frypan and oil is out of the question. I suppose I could just boil the meat but that sounds less than appetizing. 2 options present themselves.......some foil and a grill, or a bakepacker.

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I was digging around on the net and several guys claim good results with a plastic bag and one of these gadgets. Shake the trout in a tablespoon of flour and rub the insides with some garlic salt and "bake" away inside the plastic bag. Weird? If it works it sounds promising.

Anybody use one?

Yeah, but why bother.  You can achieve the same result using a pot with a lid and either another pot or a heat resistant plate that will fit inside.  Anything else you need, you can pick up as you go.  You may or may not need a "plastic" bag, depending on what you are cooking.  Your "meal" will be fully cooked, just not browned as in a conventional oven scenario.

This method is known as steam vat cooking and has been around for at least 20 years that I know of.  I've used it on both backpacking and canoe trips.

Just find yourself, 3 or more smallish flat stones/rocks (usually readily available on backcountry trips).  Rinse them to remove any debris.  Place them in the bottom of your larger pot (the one with the lid).  Arrange them in such a way that they will keep the pot/plate to contain the cooking item above the surface of the larger pot's bottom ... in other words, the rocks are spacers.  Add water until the rocks are nearly submerged.  Carefully place the smaller pot or plate containing the item to be cooked on top of the rocks.  Place on the heat source (camp stove or fire) and wait.  You can start your timer when you see steam start to exit the top.  Check periodically to make sure you still have steam and haven't lost all of your water.  Add more water as necessary.

Technically you can't burn your food with this method, as as long as you have steam and you can't dry it out.

So, where does the "plastic" bag come it.  It is used both to contain your item to be cooked and limit the additional moisture added to the item.  Personally, I prefer "boil-n-bags" for this use because they are a bit more heat tolerant should your bag touch the interior of the pot at a point where live flame is licking it.

Personally, I find the bag somewhat messy when serving time rolls around, plus it is just one more thing to pack and keep track of.  If your smaller pot has a reasonably tight fitting lid, you've got the same type of cooking vessel as the plastic bag.  Although I must admit, having steaming hot tortillas coming out of a plastic bag is hard to pass up.

Oh, by the way ... you want to actually bake something and have it browned (e.g. chocolate cake, bread, etc)?  Just turn your larger pot upside down and let the lid become your base.  Place the stones on the lid (as spacers), put your "cake" pan on top of the stones and then place the pot (face down of course) over the other items.  The pot is now your oven and will build up heat from the top down as it sets.  Without water in the arrangement, its pretty much like your oven at home.  Just resist the urge to peek before cooking time is up ... you'll loose all your heat and push the cooking time out longer.  You might choose to put a conducting thermometer on the pot (just lay it on top) as a way to judge internal temperature of your oven.

Traveling in the dessert or other places where you might not find suitable rocks ... you may be carrying "spacers" with you.  Check your repair kit and see it you have any larger hex nuts in there.  They weigh a bit, so if I know I'm going to be in that kind of terrain, I'll usually grab something like a length of metal conduit and lop off a few 1" sections ... just cut them square so they will stand up.

dd

MT, if you're going to carry a grill, which, from my perspective is the best way to cook a meaty fish like trout, then there is only one for you.  I can't believe you don't already own a Purcell Trench grill.  The best one for your purposes would probably be the Streamside Voyageur Grill.  They are pricey but absolutely the best, lightest and most durable grills available.  I have a couple that I've been using for 10 years.  These grills are absolutely brilliant.  One of the best pieces of gear you'll ever own.  Honestly.  I don't get a penny for this endorsement.
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MT -- I own a Bakepacker, and I used it for many years.  I used it primarily to bake muffins and brownies.  I used the Reynolds oven-proof bags, the kind you cook a turkey in.

The brownies and muffin came out as one big glob.  The "presentation" wasn't great, but hey, you're in the bush.  We just cut/tore it apart and enjoyed it. 

Very cheap, simple, light, and fast. 

I don't use it much now, preferring the reflector oven.  But the bakepacker actually requires less work. No need for cutting and gathering a pile of small wood for burning, and turning the pan.  The reflector overn is kind of a group effort and treat when we're base camped somewhere. 

But for one or two guys, the Bakepacker is fine. 

The photo is a shot of muffins just out of the oven.

puckster

Kerry wrote on Feb 16^th, 2015 at 11:32pm:


Ahem, yes it is with some sheepish embarrassment I admit to owning a Purcell trench grill along with 2 titanium rods with all fitting into a nice case. Extremely lightweight and excellently made it rides very nicely in the bottom of my red "cooking" duffel. It has been on numerous trips......occasionally I pull it out and admire the nice clean shiny surfaces and envision actually putting the thing to use.

Arrrgh! OK, I admit it......I have carried the thing around for years and either forget I have it or can't be bothered with making a fire and instead whip out my stove so I can get back to what ever it is I want to do. I know I'm missing it, KF showed me clearly how quick easy and effective cooking fish over a fire can be.

The little grill is an option.......but some thoughts. If I wrap the fish in foil don't I still need some oil of some sort? If I put the fish right on the grill I still need to try and flip it and of course I would need to clean the thing thoroughly as I would not want to contaminate my pack with odors of any kind.

The attraction of the Bakepacker is it would fit perfectly inside my Evernew oatmeal pan and there would be zero mess, only a self contained plastic bag to deal with. The plan is to use a solo stove (twig stove) to cook on (the Northwest being dry in late summer).

But who the heck knows what is going to happen. I need at least 3 weeks to pull it off and that is probably pie in the sky wishful thinking. I might just end up parking at Burt and basecamping for my usual couple week trip. Besides, I'm fat but otherwise in great shape (that shape being round ). 

Guys, if muffins and brownies are your thing the Outback oven is fantastic. Really incredible results and fun to use. A stove which simmers really well with a wide flame is key however. 

Bill, what is a JMO?