What do Old Goats Eat?

Not Hamburgers or Hot dogs. If you think going camping with 50 boy scouts’ means that you’re going to eat Spam or freeze dried stuff in a pouch think again. The Assistant Scout Masters (ASM's) of BSA Troop 55, aka The Old Goats Patrol, do not go hungry.



After a long day of herding scouts we like to enjoy fine cuisine. Over the past several years we have taken our daily nourishment to the next level. Our very own Scout Master, Iron chef Mr. Lu, has inspired an Asian cooking theme.

Cooking on a camp out is not an easy task. Since we lead by example our chuck box is stocked with the same basic equipment as the boys. Our Chuck Box contains the following:

Chuck Box
1 set of Nested pots and pans
1 set of cooking utensils: Paring knife, serrated knife, slotted spoon, paring tool and soap ladle
1 small cutting board
2 coffee pots (the only thing that is really needed)
1 Pitcher
1 salt & pepper shaker
1 6oz of cooking oil
3 tub for the 3 pot cleaning method

Equipment available from the Troop trailer
Woks – what Boy Scout doesn’t have a Wok!!
Charcoal
Coleman Stove

Cooking for 14 hungry adults is definitely a challenge with the equipment but we mange every time.

In addition we have to adhere to the same menu budget as the boys: $3 for Breakfast, $3 for Lunch and $5 Dinner per person. During this trip we had an additional factor extreme cold weather. It was below freezing the entire time.

We had a 4 course meal which everyone really enjoyed.
Dutch oven Oriental Soap
Black Rice with Shrimp and Vegetables
Stir Fried Chicken

Dutch oven Oriental Soap
6 cube of beef bouillon
2 packages of tofu (frozen and cut into small cubes)
1 Bunch of baby Bock Choy washed and cleaned
1 Bunch of Green onions finely chopped
4 dried and crushed chilies
Method:
Dig a hole in the ground and get the coals white hot
Boil water: Place on coals and put a few coals on the lid.
Dump every thing in except the dried chilies
Cook for about 2 hours
Add chilies in 20 minutes before serving

Black Rice with Shrimp and Vegetables
1 gallon plastic bag of cooked Black Rice, and oriental long grain white
1 bunch of chopped green onions
1 bag of frozen oriental vegetables
1 2 lb bag of frozen shrimp (20-25 size)
A few shakes of Korean soy sauce

Method:
Super heat a few table spoons of oil until it starts to smoke
Flash fry the Green onions
Slowly mix in all the ingredients (They will all fit in a large Wok)
Add soy sauce
Keep mixing until done

Stir Fried Chicken
6 lbs of boneless skinless thigh meat (available from Costco)
3 cloves of fresh garlic
2 – 3 fresh Thai Chiles
1 small piece of fresh ginger
1 bunch of chopped green onions
6 cubes of Chicken bouillon
A few shakes of Korean soy sauce

Method:
Chop everything into bit size pieces
Super heat a few table spoons of oil until it starts to smoke
Flash fry the Green onions and chilies
Slowly add all the chicken
Add bouillon cubes and a few shakes Soy sauce
Stir until done


Braised Salmon
1 Filet of Salmon
Salt and pepper

Method:
Heat a few table spoons of oil to Medium to high heat
Fry Salmon until done