Survivalist Cooking

a reply to: seagull

What I need is a survivalist trap...???

a reply to: Terpene

That is the title of the thread...

Skills like trap building are not only useful, but can be fun, too.

I learned how from my Grand-dad when I was a kid--not with soda bottles, but using plant material and weaving them.

I also learned how to tickle trout into my hands, and catch 'em that way. I'm not good at it, as I'm not patient enough, but it was fun learning that, too, from my Dad.

You never know when skills like that might become useful.

a reply to: seagull

I'm having a hard time imagining, tickling a survivalist into my hands...

a reply to: Terpene



Me, too.

a reply to: seagull

2 quarts (1/2 gallon) of water is 4 pounds. So weight isn’t as bad as it sounds at 3.5 lbs.

You might get two burgers on the underside of the lid. But two strips of bacon cut in half seems very likely. Probably only one egg at a time unless you want scrambled or an omelet. But a 5” lid would be great for tortilla making. Filet some fish.

$30 sounds high, but consider that Lodge’s smallest offering is two quarts at $72 and weighs in at 8.2 lbs is 9.5” wide and over 6” tall.

a reply to: firerescue

Simplest recipes

Flour/Cornmeal

1 Cup Flour

1/2- 3/4 teaspoon salt

Enough water to make dough

Deluxe (if have)

1-2 Teaspoon sugar

1 Tablespoon melted fat (Butter, margarine, lard, bacon fat)

1 Teaspoon Baking powder to give lighter bread

Mix and knead into stiff dough Form into patties about 3 inches by 3/8 inch thick Cook directly over coals (ash cake/fire cakes)

Can wrap in green leaf and cook over coals , Can place clean flat rock or piece of wood propped up at angle (Bannock Board) Place dough on it to cook, when edges begin to brown flip over and cook other side

Dough Gods

Take dough, roll into small amount raw flour, knead into log or rod about foot long and 1 inch thick Wrap around stick
Soldiers would have used ramrods from rifles) prop over fire, turn to keep from burning until evenly browned

Dumplings

2 cup flour

1 /2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Mix with water to form dough, knead into rod/log. Cut into pieces about size small chicken egg Place in boiling water cook about 20-25 minutes If toothpick/straw/knife pushed in center comes out clean are done

Flapjacks/Slapjacks

Flour, salt, water to form dough. Little looser than above recipes Form into thin patties Fry in hot fat When edges are browned flip over and cook other side


Johnny Cake/ Hoe Cakes

1 cup cornmeal

1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon salt

1 Cup hot (boiling if possible) Water

Deluxe

1-2 teaspoons sugar

1 Tablespoon melted fat

1 teaspoon baking power for lighter consistency

Mix cornmeal, salt and water (and other ingredients) Let sit for several minutes for cornmeal to soak up water

For Johnny Cakes

Form in patties, cook as above over coals or with Bannock Board

Hoe Cakes

Form into thin patties

Fry in hot fat

These recipes were what soldiers in the Revolution and later Civil War ate when issued rations of flour or cornmeal on the march

originally posted by: Terpene
a reply to: seagull

what Nature allows you to catch.

I found them rather hard to catch... Very evasive

Next time i will try brown trout for bait, thanks for the heads-up

Careful. I hear they can get a bit aggressive around fish. Lots of hooting and hollering.

Can draw attention.

I recommend pit traps. That way you can fatten them up before cooking. And if they won’t eat, they can get the hose again.

Better buy yourself a load of pasta and toilet paper

Regardless of what you cook, remember for lack of a better term, "Fire discipline". Always try to conceal your fires especially at night. An open fire can be seen for miles under normal conditions. Use dry wood as green wood produces lots of smoke, and cover your windows at night to decrease your visibility to others.

As for what, and how you preserve and cook your food, look back to Medieval times. They had little to no technology, and made out fine. They're main problem was a lack of food!

Most survivalist guys i watch on youtube aren't survivalist at all. They always have nice store bought foods and cook beautiful meals. Real survival after SHTF wont be anything like that at all. You will be hunting or trapping or fishing for every single meal. Sure you might have some preps stored up and might even be able to scavenge for canned goods, but eventually all of it run out and you will be back to the basics again. Townsends is actually pretty accurate although he doesn't really hunt or kill anything in his videos, but that's to be expected since he's not really a survival channel. but his cooking methods are definitely how a lot of people would cook after power goes away.

a reply to: ncsky

One thing to keep in mind is that few videos are produced during hunting seasons and that “processing videos” usually have very limited appeal. In a survival situation, hunting (more specifically trapping) out of season isn’t as big of a deal. The least exciting part is that you are more likely to be eating fish as opposed to mammals in a survival situation. Which goes for both wild edibles as well as breads made by grinding your own flour substitutes. Sad but true.

Of vegetable seeds to carry, plant and eat. Hope you like carrots, radishes and leaf lettuce. As they are the easiest to grow from seed. And also the hardest to harvest seeds from after planting. All around best bet is beans. Especially red beans and kidney beans. But again, that is more prepping than survival.

a reply to: Ahabstar

Some good points but i suppose it really depends on where you live. I myself am about 3.5 hours from the ocean and i have family there so i could in theory get to the ocean and try to survive there. that's always been a plan of mine if shtf. the way i see it, unlike lakes and streams, the oceans has essentially infinite fish in it, so that means the likely hood i can find food is much higher there than in central NC where i reside. If i were to stay here, i would have to hunt in the already over hunted and densly urbanized areas here and would likely not be alone. everyone and their grandma seem to have the same plan around here, go in the woods and hunt. lol. i don't think that will work out too well for them when the time comes.

The only real problem i need to work out is how i'm going to get to my moms house a the coast wshtf. i don't want to get on highways when it's anarchy. i have to keep an eye on the news and situations around me. that way when i start to see things going to sh*t . i can just go ahead and leave early.

a reply to: firerescue

I took a wilderness food foraging survivalist course a while back and if you want to keep things simple then eat as much foraged food in its raw state as you can find - Spring greens, crab apples (sweeter in Winter), pine seeds (raw - some people claim the taste is bitter/metallic and may last for a while), maple tree seeds (in those paper wings) may taste astringent but I think they taste okay, red sumac berries (not white berries) you may like the taste but it tastes like old socks to me, rose petals are edible and rose hips (Winter) - or add to your basic meals as you described for extra taste and nutrition.

Most of these edibles will have strong flavours which may require you to acquire a taste for them, or just add a little at a time to your basic cooking. I do this now with fresh ginger and turmeric and jalepano - adding more and more with each meal - and my palate has changed so that the once strong flavours are now very pleasant and tolerabe.

a reply to: quintessentone

Many common weeds found in your lawn - clover, plantain, dandelion, chicory are edible and easily gathered

The tops or "greens" of some vegetables like radish and turnips are edible and can be steamed, sautéed

Biggest problem is getting sufficient calories to survive

Rule of thumb is that it takes 6000 sq feet (80 x 75) of grains, potatoes to support a single adult

Corn and potatoes are the most likely source as can be grown with simple hand tools . Corn can grown using the Native American "three sisters" of corn, bean, squash grown together in simple mounds

Potatoes can be grown in similar methods like pre famine Ireland

Harvesting of corn can be down by simply picking cobs off stalks, the cob are dried for several weeks then came be shelled by simply rubbing them together to remove kernels

The corn kernels can be ground or pounded into a meal or made into hominy be soaking in alkaline solution for 36 hours then rinsing. The resulting hominy can be cooked or dried and ground (grits)

Check out Cresson Kerney "NUCLEAR WAR SURVIVAL SKILLS" for the skills referenced above

a reply to: firerescue

You know it's calories in - calories out. So foraging for nut and seeds, which are calorie rich, is always a good idea plus researching which plant roots/tubers are calorie rich, such as cattails. If fishing can be done easily with traps, then that would be on the top of my list. It really boils down to foraging/hunting with the least amount of energy output.

One thing I always try to have on hand is lard. Beef lard. I save all my strained beef lard and when my skillet gets full, I reheat it, do a fine strain and save it. It doesn't have to be refrigerated and lasts for years. It travels well in plastic wrap or a ziplock. You can keep it in a glass jar as well but that's definitely a personal preference.

It makes a huge difference between edible and good food. Even in survival situations, you can make your circumstances more tolerable. This helps with a positive attitude and a positive attitude in survival (or pretty much everything) is key.

a reply to: firerescue

I've got enough canned or dried beans of various descriptions to keep me stocked until society is rebuilt.

You can eat the canned ones raw or cook them in a pan, and the fried ones can be ground to make flour.

My favorite survival recipe is the one for loading rifle rounds. If you have enough rifle rounds you don't need to worry about cooking, you just find someone who can cook but who doesn't have a rifle.

originally posted by: AaarghZombies
a reply to: firerescue

I've got enough canned or dried beans of various descriptions to keep me stocked until society is rebuilt.

You can eat the canned ones raw or cook them in a pan, and the fried ones can be ground to make flour.

My favorite survival recipe is the one for loading rifle rounds. If you have enough rifle rounds you don't need to worry about cooking, you just find someone who can cook but who doesn't have a rifle.

You are describing the beginnings of a tribe. Many hands make short work.

originally posted by: quintessentone

originally posted by: AaarghZombies
a reply to: firerescue

I've got enough canned or dried beans of various descriptions to keep me stocked until society is rebuilt.

You can eat the canned ones raw or cook them in a pan, and the fried ones can be ground to make flour.

My favorite survival recipe is the one for loading rifle rounds. If you have enough rifle rounds you don't need to worry about cooking, you just find someone who can cook but who doesn't have a rifle.

You are describing the beginnings of a tribe. Many hands make short work.

Tribe, wasn't that a TV show from the late 1990s?

We prefer Militia, it sounds more organized, and it scares more liberals.

originally posted by: AaarghZombies

originally posted by: quintessentone

originally posted by: AaarghZombies
a reply to: firerescue

I've got enough canned or dried beans of various descriptions to keep me stocked until society is rebuilt.

You can eat the canned ones raw or cook them in a pan, and the fried ones can be ground to make flour.

My favorite survival recipe is the one for loading rifle rounds. If you have enough rifle rounds you don't need to worry about cooking, you just find someone who can cook but who doesn't have a rifle.

You are describing the beginnings of a tribe. Many hands make short work.

Tribe, wasn't that a TV show from the late 1990s?

We prefer Militia, it sounds more organized, and it scares more liberals.

How many tribes do you know of that aren't armed?