Gone camping...

Fried Chicken, Green Beans, and Biscuits with Pan Gravy

We went camping this weekend at Governor Bebb Preserve in rural Butler County (otherwise known as "the sticks").  While this park only offers primitive camping (no water, one port-a-let), it is one of our favorite places to camp, or to just spend a day, and you can find us here at least a few times during the spring to fall camping season.

We usually eat well while camping, because with a grill and a camp stove you can cook just about anything you can at home.  This time around we thought we would do something that we don't do at home.  The whole family loves fried chicken, but this is something I refuse to make at home, not in my kitchen, not on my deck (or anything deep fried for that matter).  We figured that using the campstove and cooking on a picnic table, we were safe from mess and odor.  Frying the chicken did indeed prove to be a messy endeavor, even using a splatter screen (reinforcing my stance against doing this at home), but the results were oh, so gooood.  After spooning off most of the frying oil, I made a pan gravy with the "leavin's" and served this over biscuits that we had brought along.  Uum, uum good!!

We did not have a thermometer for the oil and I believe we probably had it too hot, but we got delicious crispy skin while retaining  juicy flavorful meat, so mission accomplished.  There are several trains of thought about preparing chicken for frying...some think it should be soaked in buttermilk, some think it should be soaked in a brine...I decided to do both, and with the addition of salt and sugar, made a "buttermilk brine."  The night before we left I got the chicken soaking in this "brine" in a gallon bag, and prepared another bag with heavily seasoned flour in which to dredge the chicken (homemade "shake and bake",,,is that stuff even still around?).

Southern Fried Chicken with Pan Gravy

This recipe is for camp cooking

2 lbs. chicken parts (we used 6 legs)

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk + 1 tbs. lemon juice)

1 tbs, coarse salt

1 tbs. sugar

2 cups flour

seasonings of choice- I used ground pepper, table salt, garlic powder, paprika, and dried parsley flakes

canola oil, as needed

2 cups milk (I used 2%)

Place the chicken, buttermilk, salt, and sugar in a gallon sized zip bag; seal and mush it around to combine everything; refrigerate over night.  If your chicken will be hanging out in a cooler like ours did, you will probably want to seal it in an additional gallon bag (unless you are VERY trusting that the bag won't leak).  Put the flour in another gallon bag and season VERY generously with whatever you like, but you should certainly include salt and pepper. 

Our breading station

When you are ready to cook, heat a cast iron skillet and 1/2 to 1'" of canola oil (we used about 3 cups) until very hot- you will want the oil to reach about halfway up the sides of your chicken.  Dredge the chicken heavily in the flour (a surprisingly thick amount will adhere) and place carefully, skin side down, into the hot oil.  Cook until richly brown on the first side and turn over (you don't want to turn it too much and risk breaking off the crust).  Cook the second side until brown, and remove when the chicken is cooked through (I can't give you a time here...Ben has a weird ability to just "know" when chicken on the bone is done...I don't share this ability).  Cook the chicken in batches so as to not crowd the pan, and remove to a paper towel lined plate when finished, just cover lightly with foil to keep warm (and keep the pesky flies off of it).

When all the chicken is fried, spoon off most of the oil into a heat resistant bowl to cool (then you can pour it into a plastic bottle to dispose of it, don't dump it on the ground).  Pour what is left of the flour into the pan with the oil and cook until a nice golden color (this will happen very quickly).  Using a whisk, stir in a small amount of milk until smooth, then slowly whisk in the rest of the milk, scraping up any brown bits from the pan too (that's the best part).  Turn off the heat and serve with the chicken and biscuits.  I found the seasonings in the flour to be enough, but Ben added some pepper, so have that handy for any who want it :)

We also cooked some green beans (with some bacon :) to go with this fried feast.

The next morning we made a Mountainman Breakfast, our third time making this dutch oven meal, but the first time to actually do it while camping.  We were also able to warm up leftover biscuits from the residual heat.

Mountainman Breakfast, biscuits with honey, coffee percolated on the campstove, and OJ...what a great start to a morning outdoors :-)

A view of the creek near our camp site.

Christopher, all on his own, decided to start weeding the playground.  Now he wants to go back with garden tools and finish the job.  I think this is a beautiful idea, as the parks in Butler County have suffered severe cutbacks and can use all the help they can get.  Chris and daddy are also scheming a service project for their Webelos den (the last cub scout rank)...I love my guys :-)

Mountainman redux...

Mountainman Breakfast

and toasted English muffins with wild blackberry jam

We had our second attempt at the dutch oven cooking yesterday morning, this time very successfully.  We made the changes we planned after the first attempt to delicious results and will now most certainly make this while camping...can't wait now to try a different dish. 

Mountainman Breakfast

1 lb. ground sausage (use pork sausage for the fat content)

20 oz.bag refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes

6 eggs beaten with a big splash of milk

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper

In a 12" camp dutch oven over a full bed of coals, crumble and brown the sausage.  Remove the cooked sausage with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate.  Brown the potatoes in the remaining drippings; spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle the sausage over and toss with the potatoes.  Sprinkle on the cheese and cover.  Cook with 8 coals underneath and 16 on top for 15 to 20 minutes, until the eggs are cooked.

In the photos you can see that we have the dutch oven on a galvanized trash can lid.  This is an easy method to contain the coals and protect the surface where you are cooking if camping (this was at the gravel area around my potting table).

First attempt at dutch oven cookery...

Mountainman Breakfast

In anticipation of a summer full of camping adventures, Ben and I decided to expand our outdoor cooking skills and bought a dutch oven, a real one that goes on the fire or uses hot coals, not a covered metal oven casserole.  We started with the basic Mountainman breakfast from the Lodge Camp Dutch Oven Cooking 101 book, and from this simple dish learned that we have much learning to do.  Adjusting the heat with the coals is going to take practice, as is the best ways to deal with our ingredients (something we don't give too much consideration too, even if cooking on the camp stove).  From our first attempt we learned to not use frozen potatoes, they cool the pan off too drastically and don't allow the potatoes to brown.  The potatoes were more like mashed potatoes than hash browns; Nicole's comment was that it would have been good with some sort of sauce (again, like mashed!).  We will also try halving huge recipes in the future (we ate from this for days); I don't think we will have burnt food if we do (our fear).  Well, here's what we worked with...I'll give updates as we tweak this...

Mountainman Breakfast

2 lbs. ground sausage (we used 1 pork and 1 turkey)

2 lbs. shredded potatoes

8 large eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup of water (we used milk)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce for serving

In a 12" camp dutch oven over a full bed of coals, crumble and brown the sausage.  Remove the cooked sausage with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate.  Brown the potatoes in the remaining drippings; spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle the sausage over the potatoes and pour the eggs over the sausage layer.  Sprinkle on the cheese and cover.  Cook with 8 coals underneath and 16 on top for 20 to 25 minutes, until the eggs are cooked.

Notes:  Perhaps is was because of the turkey sausage, but we found that we had very few drippings in the pan and had to add a bit of canola oil to cook the potatoes (which never did get brown).  on the next attempt we will halve the sausage and potatoes, but only reduce the eggs to 6.;  We are also going to toss the potatoes and sausage together. rather than layer them, this should allow the eggs to better penetrate the whole dish.  And again, we will not use frozen potatoes.  The salt and pepper were our additions that were surprisingly not listed in the recipe.

Am I ever tired (and the weekend's just started)...

Traditional Three Bean Salad

It's Friday evening and I am tired.  As I have mentioned before, I am heavily (the whole family actually) with Cub/Boy scouts, at the local (pack) level, as well as the district and council levels (Butler County, Ohio and a huge swath of SW Ohio and NW Kentucky).  I have spent the last two days preparing for what is in essence, a double header.

This evening the district (Ft. Hamilton) is running an adult training out in the sticks, otherwise known as the western and rural portion of Butler County.  Ten instructors will be teaching 30 scout leaders outdoor leadership skills for scouting.  While I may have made the arrangements, purchased the food, and helped set up the lodge (including hauling firewood- thanks for the help there Ben, not), I am not on the instructional staff for this one.  This gives me the night at home to rest up for Saturday and Sunday.

Back to the sticks with me tomorrow evening (with the Christopher in tow this time).  As the training wraps up, we will be getting ready for a cookout and campfire ceremony for our pack at the same location.  I'll be cleaning up from one event, to turn around and set up for the next.  I am really looking forward to this gathering- there will be 120 people (scouts and families) gathered for food, fellowship, and a cool fireside program that will include the boys "crossing over"- this is where they move up in rank.  After the festivities, it's off to our individual campsites for the night.  I'm really excited for this too, as it is our first chance to camp this season, and the weather is supposed to be fantastic for the rest of the weekend (it is however, rainy today, another reason I'm glad to be home tonight).

One of the lovely fun things I have done for the weekend (besides buying a TON of food), is making burger patties from ground beef donated to the pack by a local grocer (no names to protect the innocent).  This was not an experience I wish to repeat, EVER.  We have only ever bought ground chuck or sirloin, never the mysterious "ground beef."  These packages did not even list a fat to lean percentage as I am used to seeing, but in the end, I managed to transform 20lbs. or so of fat into 64 burger patties (it will be exciting to see the fire these start on the grill).

Lots of cheap meat.

64 patties ready for the grill.

Not for those with weak stomachs- the fat left filling in the ridges of my

pattypress when I was done (yuck!!); my hands were left in a similar state.

On a more appetizing note, I also prepared a huge bowl of three bean salad to take along.  I have made this recipe, pretty much unchanged, for 20 years (that would be before I could really even cook).  While I don't usually use canned veggies, I do for this salad- this is the way I have always made it, and this is he salad that I am always asked to bring to the big family cookouts.  This recipe can easily be doubled. tripled, or even quadrupled (as I did) for large gatherings.  This is one of the easiest recipes to make, but my mother refuses to do it, claiming mine tastes better (?).

Traditional Three Bean Salad

1 15oz. can cut green beans, drained

1 15oz. can cut wax beans, drained

1 15oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained (I use the dark red ones)

1 8oz. can mushroom pieces, drained

1 small onion, quartered and thinly sliced (I used red this time, but Vidalia is really good)

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. dry basil

Combine the ingredients at least a day before you wish to serve it.  Refrigerate, tossing occasionally.  This salad is great to take to picnics since it does not contain mayo.

Some (foodie) things that make me happy...

I have been really busy with scouts and working outside, so the dining the last few days has consisted of leftovers, and last night we ate at the Texas Roadhouse, an inexpensive and kid friendly chain that Christopher loves to eat at.  Today I thought I would share some things that make me happy (at least as it relates to food).  These are in no particular order, but let you know a little about me...

 

 Christopher loves to help with the cooking when we go camping...

and he makes the best veggie soup and chili :)

 

Salsas Picantes...

I usually have 8 to 12 different hot sauces around at any given time.

 What is better than to sit at the end of the day
and drink wine with friends...James Joyce

The wine rack was a wedding gift, and 

Ben gave me the wine fridge for our last anniversary.

Avocados, chilies, limes, and tomatoes...

Some of the best fresh veggie ingredients.
 (just need to add summer corn, red bell peppers, sweet onions, and tomatillos)

Coconut
This is toasted coconut on a Pastel Tres Leches I made.

Carnitas...
Carnitas is a food group all on it's own...
( although al pastor is pretty darn good as well :)

A pairing of wine and cheese...
(but, oh, let me tell you about red wine and dark chocolate...)

When my darling husband cooks for me :)

Grilling...
Ben does the charcoal or wood fire grilling, but
I probably cook on the gas grill as much as he does.

Leftovers...

More often than not, I will cook with the intention of having leftovers.  These provide not only ready lunches and frozen meals to share with my grandfather, but provide endless opportunities to "re-purpose" the leftovers into new meals.