Food - Self Sufficiency In The City

Ready To Discover More About Survival Fire Cooking? In the current era, we are used to being able to turn on the gas or electric stove and cook up something delicious in minutes. But if the power went down, we wouldn't have that option. This is why one of the key skills you can learn for self-reliance is to how to cook over a fire - otherwise known as survival fire cooking. When survival cooking over a fire, it is important to consider safety and to check all of the local regulations around fires. The best type of fire for cooking over the flames is a platform fire, which burns from the top down and lasts for hours so you can cook your food thoroughly and at the correct temperature. Survival fire cooking can be challenging. I would recommend researching and preparing as much as you can before you start practising. But if you really want to learn, don't feel put of just because it's a bit tricky - after all, our ancestors have been survival cooking for millions of years. Read on for all you need to know about survival cooking. Benefits of Survival Fire Cooking Before we get into the details of what you need to know about survival cooking, let's explore some of the benefits. First of all, once you've mastered the art of cooking over a fire, you will realise what you've been missing out on. Food cooked over a fire has a lovely smoky taste - there's really nothing like it! Survival cooking around a fire is also a very social occasion and a great way to catch up with friends and family. It offers a good opportunity to teach other family members - like children - vital self-sufficiency skills they could need in the event of an emergency. There's nothing like being outside surrounded by family and friends in the fresh air, refining the cooking techniques used by people for millions of years. One thing you may hate about cooking at home (I know I do) is the washing up. When you cook over a fire in your backyard, garden - or even further afield like a campsite - why not use paper plates to make life easier for yourself? This is definitely an advantage of cooking outside! Staying Safe while Survival Fire Cooking The first thing to focus on when it comes to survival cooking is staying safe. Monitoring safety around an outdoor fire - and even a log fire in your house - is not the same as with gas fires because you have to be extra alert for all sorts of hazards. Here are some tips on how to stay safe while survival cooking: Check what the local rules are - in some areas, outside fires are prohibited because of the risk of wildfires and bad weather. Always check the forecast ahead of time. On a windy day, make sure your fire is sheltered or it could be hazardous. Choose your location carefully - ideally build your fire on a rock. If this is not possible, try to build on the soil. If you are at home, you can build a regular pit for your fire, while if you are at a campsite, you can always ask if they have a fire pit you can use. Also, make sure there aren't any trees too close or branches hanging too low over the space where you will build your fire. Wear the right clothes - avoid anything long and flowing that could catch alight and make sure you wear closed-toe shoes. Keep flammable liquids and materials far away from the flames. Always keep a fire extinguisher and or/water close in case the fire gets out of control. Make sure you show consideration to the locals and clean up after you leave. It may sound obvious, but never leave a fire unattended. Building a Fire for Survival Fire Cooking When building a fire, you need will need three basic things: Heat Fuel Oxygen Next, you will need to consider what type of fire suits your purpose. The platform campfire - or upside-down campfire - is the best fire for cooking different types of meat over the fire. It is similar to the log cabin fire which is quite an easy fire to build. The point with both is to make sure the fire stays as hot as possible and burns for a long time. For example, with the log cabin, thick logs are stacked so they fall into each other as they burn with space in the centre for air to flow. You simply place two logs in your fire pit parallel to each other and then put two more on top going in the other direction like a grate. The platform fire is like a reverse pyramid of the log cabin fire. The logs are initially stacked closer together and you set it alight on the top layer. When you do this, the fire creates a 'platform' of coals and you can place your pots and pans on top to cook. For a successful platform fire, build it up to around three layers and place the smaller wood or kindling at the top and remember to place dirt between the logs to stop embers falling to the bottom. Building a platform fire may sound complicated but after a few times you will succeed. When I first started, I made a couple of rookie mistakes, one being that the wood I used was wet. This may sound obvious, but when you start out the smallest tips can make all the difference. So use dry seasoned wood and make sure you have enough of it so you don't run out and the fire dies down quickly. It is also important to be patient. It can take a while for fires to get hot enough to start cooking, so make sure you start your fire early. How to Cook Over a Fire So, you've built your platform fire, now you need to cook your food. There are a few different ways you can do this and it can take time to find a style you are comfortable with. Before we get into cooking methods, here are a few cooking tips that I learned the hard way... Make sure you don't cook directly over the fire. I made this mistake once by roasting a marshmallow bang over a flame and of course it got burned. When cooking food, it is best to put your food to one side of the flame instead. Use the correct utensils - you will need to use metal utensils or utensils especially made for cooking over a fire. Plastic utensils will melt in such intense heat. Make sure you have access to a pot with a handle - this is useful for survival cooking methods such as the 'crane' and the 'tripod' (see below). Don't cook food for too long - remove it from the heat just before you think you should as it will continue to cook for a while anyway in the pot/packet you are using. Try to avoid food that needs cooking with oil as the fat can drip down and cause the fire to flare up. Methods of Cooking Over a Fire Here are some methods you can use to cook your food over your platform fire: The Crane The crane method does what is says on the tin. To cook food in this way, you create a - you've guessed it - 'crane' over the fire. This is a straight stick around three to four feet long that you place into the ground pointing diagonally. You can prop it up over a rock so it is supported sufficiently and it is also a good idea to create a ridge in the end where you are going to hang pots over the flames so they stay secure. This is a simple and easy way to cook food and doesn't take too much fiddling around (always a bonus in my view). Just remember not to overload it or the pots could fall off. The Tripod Again, this is self-explanatory. A tripod involves creating a, well, tripod, with three poles or branches. If you decide to use branches, it is best to source them beforehand because you may not be able to find the right types of branches and that just creates even more stress when you arrive at your chosen cooking spot. If you are in an urban area you may need to order them in ahead of time or go further afield to source them. It is also crucial to have a strong rope to tie all of the tripods together at the top. Tie them tightly together and then hang your cooking pots from a long chain hanging above. The tripod method for cooking over a fire Skewers This is one of my favourite methods for survival cooking and is great for beginners. You may have roasted marshmallows over a campfire as a Boy Scout or Girl Guide so you could well be familiar with this cooking method. Simply make a skewer by making a point out of a (clean) piece of wood. You can use the skewer to cook meat, corn on the cob and even vegetables over your fire. Wood Grill A fun and challenging way to cook food over a fire is to create a wood grill. Think about your metal grill at home in your oven and now replace those pieces of metal with wood. This is a really creative way of cooking food and you can get all of the family involved because children will love searching out the best wood to use in the back garden. In fact, I first did this when I was in my parent's garden with my little cousins. They have quite a few trees and a lot of spare wood lying around. To make my grill I hammered four sturdy mini-branches into the ground in a square shape and tied another four sticks to link each branch. I then laid down dozens of mini-sticks across the square to create the grill. My cousins got a lot of exercise searching for these sticks and learned a few practical lessons along the way! In my view, the above are the best cooking methods for those survival cooking over a fire. Whether you're in a city flat, house or out in the wild, mastering survival cooking will help you build confidence and useful self-reliance skills.