Cooking Turkeys Outdoors
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Cooking Turkeys On Camping Trips
These tips on outdoor cooking of whole turkey come from the SCOUTS-L e-mail list. Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 00:31:05 -0600 From: Charles Schmidt
Subject: Cooking Turkeys on camping trips Having read with great interest the postings on the method for cooking turkeys by suspending them among columns of charcoal, I proposed to the PLC that we have a Thanksgiving feast on our campout last weekend. They bought into it, and I am writing to give details of how the turkey cooking thing works. It works GREAT! Equipment included four 12.5 lb turkeys, 2 ten foot lengths of ½" electrical conduit, a roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil, a couple of meat thermometers and a roll of 1" chicken wire. (apologies to non-US Scouters for the use of those archaic units of measure) I had intended to use what is called hardware cloth - the small square-meshed net - but it was too expensive. The 1" chicken wire works fine. The method: The turkeys were rubbed with butter and seasoning and then wrapped in a chicken wire basket. (This could use some improvement, but works) We built a frame with two shear lashings and a pole tied between them about 6 feet above the ground - guyed it up so that it would stay up. The turkeys were hung from the horizontal pole with a rope tied around the pole with a taut-line hitch (allowing them to be raised and lowered) with about 6" between turkeys (a row). The birds were hung about 3" above the ground. We cut the electrical conduit into 2' lengths, and made cylinders of the chicken wire about 3-4" in diameter and 18" long and staked the conduit into the ground and tied on the cylinders in the fashion shown poorly below (boy it would be nice to have graphics on this thing)
_____________________________________________ /o o o o o\ | 0 0 0 0 0 | | TT TT TT TT | | TT TT TT TT | | 0 0 0 0 0 | |o o o o o| \______________________________________________/ o = electrical conduit 0 = cylinder of chicken wire | and _ = wall of aluminum foil TT TT = Turkey
Hope you get the idea. It was about 4" from each cylinder to the nearest turkey. We wrapped a strip of heavy foil around the outside of the electrical conduit poles (the wide kind, making the foil wall about 20" tall), and we put a floor of foil under the turkeys. A meat thermometer was placed in one inside and one outside turkey. We placed a pan below each turkey to catch the drippings, put lit briquette (about 6) in each cylinder, and filled the cylinders to about 10" with unlit charcoal. We then covered the gaps with
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Cooking Turkeys Outdoors
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sheets of foil. After about 30 minutes, the turkeys were starting to brown, so we removed the top pieces of foil to slow it down a bit, and as the charcoal was consumed, we replaced it with unlit briquettes, keeping the height of charcoal about 8-10". We basted the turkeys a couple of times by taking the drippings and pouring them over the hanging turkeys. The turkeys were done in 3 hours. They were perfect. The meat fell off of the bone, no meat was burned, none uncooked, and the boys and adults all agreed that the meat was juicier than home-cooked birds. The gravy from the drippings wasn't good - either my cooking, or the nature of the drippings which were entirely oil (plus a bit of charcoal ash). The patrols cooked other dishes including dressing, mashed potatoes, cherry and pumpkin pies, rolls and salad. It was a feast and a great success. I am eagerly awaiting the next opportunity to cook more turkey, and we are thinking that this will make a good demo for the Scout-a-rama in May. Charles Schmidt schmidt@unix3.is.tcu.edu SM, Troop 64 Longhorn Council Fort Worth, Texas
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 10:09:42 -0600 From: "Edward J. Wurtz, J.D." Subject: Re: Cooking Turkeys on camping trips Mr. Schmidt's campout turkey dinner sounded great. For an August "get back together" potluck roundtable a few years ago I cooked an outdoor turkey based on a plan I saw at Philmont. I took a 15 pound turkey and marinated it for 24 hours in a mixture of soy sauce, garlic & lemon juice. I then suspended it on a chain about five inches off the ground from a tripod made from poles lashed together. I then placed three 4 foot pieces of re-bar in a triangle around the turkey. Then, I inserted the 4 foot x 4 inch diameter chicken wire columns over the rebar. Then I wrapped aluminum foil around the three columns that created a triangular oven around the bird. I also put aluminum foil on the ground below the bird. I had lit the charcoal in a separate pile, then filled the columns. As the coals burned down, I merely added unlit briquettes to the columns. The bird cooks for 15 minutes a pound, just like in your kitchen oven. Once you have this set up there is little to do but add more briquettes. This was quite popular at the Roundtable. I think it started off the new Scouting year quite well.
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Cooking Turkeys Outdoors
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Date: Wed, 23 Nov 1994 12:08:53 -0600 From: Bob Haar Subject: Re: Cooking Turkeys on camping trips We have used a similar method for a couple of years, for a Thanksgiving turkey dinner, but also for ham. It should work for anything you want to cook slowly. We use three or four "columns" of charcoal held in place by chickenwire around a metal stake. The meat hangs by a chain from a metal tripod in the center of the cooking area. The whole thing is wrap with aluminum foil to a height of about feet. As the charcoal burns down, add a few briquettes at a time. We usually put the turkey in one of the heavy duty plastic roasting bags to keep in the juices. This is supported by a wire basket that is hooked to the chain. This becomes essentially a large oven. You can back bread or rolls just by placing the pans inside the cooking area. Now I am getting hungry! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you scouts and Scouters. And let's remember how much we all to be thankful for. YIS - Bob Bob Haar (email: rhaar@gmr.com ) Chartered Organization Representative, Troop and Pack 188 BSA, Clinton Valley Council, Pontiac, Michigan, USA. Chippewa Lodge #29, WWW
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 1994 17:03:17 -0600 From: John Pannell Subject: Re: cardboard box oven We use cardboard box ovens with our troop on occasion, but make them slightly differently. First. From experience I have found that liquor boxes are about the ideal size and shape. (What irony!) We completely cover the inside with aluminum foil. The lid of the box should swing upward to open. Then cut the bottom from coat hangars-the good metal kind. We use these to make the "racks" for this oven. Generally we use two. Our preference for heat source is charcoal since it is much more consistent that wood coals. We use a cheap tin roasting pan to place the coals in the bottom of the oven. Similar pans are place on the racks. Whatever you are baking is then placed in these. Monitor carefully. The bottom rack will cook faster than the top. If needed, prop the front openremember I said it swings up-this will allow some of the excess heat to dissipate if needed.
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If you watch it carefully, the cooking will be quite good and consistent. We have used it for cookies as well as dinner rolls and even pizza. Monitoring the progress of your food is key. This is one case when the cook must keep looking in the oven! *g* YiS, John E. Pannell pannellj@delphi.com
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994 06:50:13 -0600 From: Gary Sherwin Subject: Turkey Cooking another way with reusable materials I have found the discussion on turkey feast and cooking methods very interesting but have a concern about the use of aluminum foil in so many scout cooking techniques. In our troop we have chosen not to use foil but rather to utilize reusable utensils (translated pots, pans, Dutch ovens and Chinese Woks). We realize the cleanup advantage of foil cooking, but feel we have matched its convenience through the use of cast iron ovens and skillets and cheap steal woks. I want to concentrate on our use of the wok, since it is an ultra adaptable and fuel stingy cooking appliance. It is large enough to prepare a complete meal for a patrol in one pot, light enough to carry on the trail and can be cleaned by simply wiping out then boiling a small amount of water or if suffering from severe burn-on by being burnt in the fire till clean. Last Saturday, our troop held it's annual "Thanksgiving Dinner in The Woods" We had: Roast Turkey Mashed Potatoes Stuffing Sweet Potatoes Mixed Vegetables Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Porridge Cinnamon Rolls and A Selection of home made pies: Pumpkin Cherry Apple Raisin Sweet Potato Peanut Butter We cooked the turkeys as follows:
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& ######### ### ### /___________\ ^-~^--___-^\
Wok Lid
Wire to tie birds legs over top of chimney and to wok handles, holding bird upright in center of chimney.
* * /( )\ / \ / \ ( \ \?\ \_/ _____________ | | | | @| | | | | | @| | |______|____| ) / /?/
I Call it a Turkey (about 12 pounds)
Extension Chimney (Large Oven Adapter) [The @ symbols are rivets] made from sheet steel.
\_______/
Metal Plate
_______________ \ / \ / \ / Wok -_ _-___-
& ######### ### ### /___________\ | * * | | /( )\ | | / \ / \ | | ( ) | \| \ / |/ \ \?\___/?/ / \\_______// -_ _-___-
Whew! It's Thanksgiving morning and the following creative effort, sure made me hungry already Huh Huh. (I digress) Thaw, stuff and season your bird. Place a metal plate in the bottom of the wok to protect the turkey from sticking to the hot wok. Place the extension chimney inside the wok. Using a 4 to six foot long piece of uncoated BARE wire, tie the birds legs together so as to hang it by its
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legs and to leave 2 equal lengths of wire for the purpose of hanging the turkey in the extension chimney by tying it over the chimney and down to the wok handles. Support the structure securely (IT HAS TO STAY PUT FOR 3 OR MORE HOURS) A campfire grate with a wok ring sitting on top works fine. We have had one of the welding fathers of our troop make heavy tripod stands for use with our woks and fry pans when not on the trail. Fill the wok with water to about one half inch from its top edge. Place the lid on the turkey cooker. The cooker can be fueled by camp stove, charcoal or wood-fire. Maintain the water at a slow boil till the bird is finished. Maintain the water in the wok by adding hot water as needed to maintain the level until the turkey is fully cooked. Baste and season the bird as you wish during the cooking. When the bird test done (a fork can be slipped into the bone at all thick places. USING TWO OR THREE PEOPLE, pour the remaining liquid into another pot to make gravy. Return the cooker and turkey to the fire with a very high heat to brown the bird. When golden brown, GIVE THANKS AND FEAST! Enjoy There are many other uses for the chimney and wok used in combination or alone. YiS Gary W. Sherwin sherwin@sunshine.pgh.wec.com
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 11:11:36 EDT Reply-To: SCOUTS-L Youth Groups Discussion List From: Don Izard Subject: Re: cooking turkey over fire (charcoal) I have seen a more simple Turkey cooking design, for a single turkey. A tripod was constructed with 3 x 6 foot(2 meter) metal poles. A chain with a metal hook, was used to suspend the turkey from the center of the tripod, and a fire was built under the bird, in the center of the tripod. Tripod was covered with foil. 18 pound turkey was cooked in about 2.5 hours. An all metal fry pan was used to collect turkey drippings, and the turkey was a SELF basting style. However, extra basting was applied from the drippings, each time the fire was checked and adjusted. I have seen it done with charcoal and with coals from a separate hardwood fire pit. Coals were transferred with shovel as needed. I have also seen the fire under the turkey used for Dutch ovens, but it slowed the cooking time for the turkey. NOTE: as with all poultry, it is important to make sure that it is THOUGHLY cooked. A cooking
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thermometer is the best way that I know. I have also send a metal drum used to cover the turkey, which can be reused. I have seen a all metal 'smoker' oven also used. BUT, at some point, you might as well cook it in your house. I liked the tripod, and foil, because it seemed more rustic. If you used long enough wood poles, it could be done with nothing from HOME, except the chain with hook, and the foil. Scouter Don.
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 16:23:51 -0400 Reply-To: SCOUTS-L Youth Groups Discussion List From: Jim Holman Subject: cooking turkey over fire (charcoal) We would dearly love to try cooking a turkey on a campout, and I know I've seen this mentioned on this list, but couldn't find it in the archives. Sorry for the band-width, but could someone e-mail me the directions or point me to the right place. Thanks YIS WWW Jim Holman holman.2@osu.edu
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 1995 20:00:49 -0400 Reply-To: SCOUTS-L Youth Groups Discussion List From: Phil Maus Subject: Re: cooking turkey over fire (charcoal) Jim, Let me try to convey a recipe that my quartermaster used when I was Course Director of SE 526 back in 1990 here in South Florida Council. He called it "garbage can turkey." First clean an area in the center of a fire ring, then drive a 3 foot sturdy stake into the ground so that about 2 feet remains above the surface. (remember we have a lot of sand down here)! Next take a 16-18 pound cleaned turkey and impale it on the stake, neck end up. Take a new 30 gallon garbage can and invert it over the turkey on the stake, and seal the contact area around the can where it meets the ground with some dirt from the fire pit. Next, place hot charcoal on the bottom (now the top of the inverted can) like you would on the lid of a Dutch oven and the remaining charcoal (use a whole large bag) around the area where the can meets the ground. The turkey will be done in 1 ½ to 2 hours. Some additional tips. Try to secure the turkey to the stake with twine as it will tend to slide down as it cooks. Also, put foil on the ground to catch it should it slide too far! It will be fantastic. Juicy and tastes great. YIS Phil Maus Council Commissioner, South Florida Council O/A O-Shot-Caw SE325 I used to be an Eagle
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Phil Maus kudu@bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 08:10:24 EST Reply-To: SCOUTS-L Youth Groups Discussion List From: paul sweeney Subject: Turkey Over Charcoal Someone started to post this recipe and it was not finished. Drive three 3-foot stakes into the ground to make a square about 2-feet on a side. Roll four tubes of chicken-wire about 4-6 inches in diameter and place around each stake and fill ¾ full of charcoal. Place a shallow pan inside the square to catch the drippings. Wrap the box leaving the top open with heavy duty aluminum foil to make your oven. Using a strong pipe as a cross beam hang a 16-18 lb. turkey in the middle of your oven and light the charcoal. Turkey dinner will be ready in 1 ½ - 2 hours! You can make a door in the bottom of the foil to access the drippings to baste the bird. Bon appetite!!!
Date: Wed, 11 Oct 1995 06:42:00 -0500 Reply-To: RALPH ROMIG From: RALPH ROMIG Subject: Re: cooking turkey over fire (charcoal) I have another method: Take 7-4' pieces of half inch rebar. Drive three of them into the ground as a tripod. Use a small bit of chain or cable to suspend the turkey from the tripod. Drive the other 4 pieces of rebar into a square pattern about a foot or so off of the turkey. Form 4 chicken wire tubes about 2 inches (or a little more) in diameter. Slide these over the 4 rebar stakes. Fill the chicken wire tubes with charcoal and light the charcoal. Wrap around the outside of the square formed by the charcoal tubes with aluminum foil. This makes the whole setup a big reflector oven. Then let it cook. Add charcoal to the tops of the tubes as necessary. Takes 4 to 5 hours, but tastes great. Baste turkey as desired. (Don't stuff the turkey.)
Last edited: February 22, 2004 The NetWoods Virtual Campsite, Steve Tobin, Campmaster
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