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Wilderness Chef: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking Outdoors
A gorgeous and inspiring outdoor cookbook that goes back to basics, and then beyond, from the master of bushcraft, Ray Mears.
We all know how to cook an egg. In this book, Ray Mears will show readers how to cook an egg, on a stick, over a fire, how to light that fire, and then how to make the egg taste amazing. This is a practical and inspiring book drawing on the love of the outdoors, cooking in the open air and creating delicious food from scratch.
Infused throughout with Ray's experience and enthusiasm, the book begins with setting up your outdoor kitchen, assessing your ingredients, then focusing on key lighting your fire, cooking in ashes and leaves, steaming on an open fire, and smoking. All this practical background is beautifully described using anecdotes from thousands of meals cooked outdoors all around the world, and illustrated with Ray's own photography.
Once the practical elements have been covered, the main bulk of the book is "the menu," featuring fabulous and enjoyable recipes,
- Easy ideas that children and grownups can try out such as campfire fondue and baked apples.
- Gourmet meals, like venison pave brochette.
- Recipes learned from bushmen and native peoples around the world, including sami bread, jungle curry, and Kalahari bushman ostrich egg.
We all know how to cook an egg. In this book, Ray Mears will show readers how to cook an egg, on a stick, over a fire, how to light that fire, and then how to make the egg taste amazing. This is a practical and inspiring book drawing on the love of the outdoors, cooking in the open air and creating delicious food from scratch.
Infused throughout with Ray's experience and enthusiasm, the book begins with setting up your outdoor kitchen, assessing your ingredients, then focusing on key lighting your fire, cooking in ashes and leaves, steaming on an open fire, and smoking. All this practical background is beautifully described using anecdotes from thousands of meals cooked outdoors all around the world, and illustrated with Ray's own photography.
Once the practical elements have been covered, the main bulk of the book is "the menu," featuring fabulous and enjoyable recipes,
- Easy ideas that children and grownups can try out such as campfire fondue and baked apples.
- Gourmet meals, like venison pave brochette.
- Recipes learned from bushmen and native peoples around the world, including sami bread, jungle curry, and Kalahari bushman ostrich egg.
272 pages, Paperback
Published July 14, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 15, 2020
This is a fantastic cookbook for those who want to cook good food outdoors -- anywhere outdoors. I expected it to be a foraging cookbook and it is not, although there are a few mentions of things like garnishing with nettles and a nice list of wild teas. It is mainly designed as a cookbook for those who will bring food with them and cook it in the wild.
The author goes into the best cooking utensils and features some cool natural ones using sharpened sticks, bent branches and such. He uses spices brought in medicine bottles, gourmet ingredients and staples like canned evaporated milk, foods wrapped in leaves and bound with natural fibers, and other ways to make good food in the wilderness. Recipes are heavy on animal products (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) and wheat, making it the best fit for people who eat the Standard American Diet.
Color photos really add to the book, and the author has filled it with stories of his cooking adventures around the world. This will be a great book for outdoor enthusiasts who want to go far past hot dogs and tin foil pouches.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
The author goes into the best cooking utensils and features some cool natural ones using sharpened sticks, bent branches and such. He uses spices brought in medicine bottles, gourmet ingredients and staples like canned evaporated milk, foods wrapped in leaves and bound with natural fibers, and other ways to make good food in the wilderness. Recipes are heavy on animal products (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) and wheat, making it the best fit for people who eat the Standard American Diet.
Color photos really add to the book, and the author has filled it with stories of his cooking adventures around the world. This will be a great book for outdoor enthusiasts who want to go far past hot dogs and tin foil pouches.
I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.
May 25, 2020
I received a copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was around 3.5 stars for me.
It is packed with information on outdoor cooking! From what tools to use to different cooking options there is a surprising number of considerations and recipes in this book. The pictures of the food are beautiful as well! There is a great breakdown of different food options from camping to glamping to help you cook.
I personally like cook books that have pictures of each recipe. While the pictures that are in this book are beautiful, there isn't one for every recipe which makes it hard to visualize some of them that I'm less familiar with. There is also a lot of meat heavy recipes which may not be ideal depending on how long you're outdoors for or how much meat you eat.
While some recipes are a bit complex for me this is definitely a way to step up your outdoor cooking!
This book was around 3.5 stars for me.
It is packed with information on outdoor cooking! From what tools to use to different cooking options there is a surprising number of considerations and recipes in this book. The pictures of the food are beautiful as well! There is a great breakdown of different food options from camping to glamping to help you cook.
I personally like cook books that have pictures of each recipe. While the pictures that are in this book are beautiful, there isn't one for every recipe which makes it hard to visualize some of them that I'm less familiar with. There is also a lot of meat heavy recipes which may not be ideal depending on how long you're outdoors for or how much meat you eat.
While some recipes are a bit complex for me this is definitely a way to step up your outdoor cooking!
July 14, 2020
“Fortunately, in most wilderness areas, viruses are a minor threat” - wow, this makes me want to go to the woods more than ever right now.
Book is full of handy tips I never even knew I needed, like how to aerate flour. Or how to knead bread on a canoe paddle. Or the art of broiling sticks - not actually hung over a fire like we see in imagery, but in embers.
Unlike many cookbooks, technique, tools, and recipes are mingled throughout, rather than all technique centered at the beginning.
As you would expect from the photos, some of the photos are very “warts and all” when it comes to showing you the process behind these concoctions. Having reviewed a touchy-feely gluten free cookbook just before, this was quite a difference.
While sometimes I find myself thinking that cookbook authors overshare, here I wish for a bit more background.
Book is full of handy tips I never even knew I needed, like how to aerate flour. Or how to knead bread on a canoe paddle. Or the art of broiling sticks - not actually hung over a fire like we see in imagery, but in embers.
Unlike many cookbooks, technique, tools, and recipes are mingled throughout, rather than all technique centered at the beginning.
As you would expect from the photos, some of the photos are very “warts and all” when it comes to showing you the process behind these concoctions. Having reviewed a touchy-feely gluten free cookbook just before, this was quite a difference.
While sometimes I find myself thinking that cookbook authors overshare, here I wish for a bit more background.
May 17, 2020
So much information, all of which reminds me of one important detail...I "glamp" not camp and really, I'm leaving the outdoor cooking to those who enjoy actually roughing it.
That being said, I definitely think it's a great gift book for those who actually go hiking and canoeing, etc., and would bring actual outdoor cooking supplies with them (see also: one as a gift for my husband and brother-in-law at Christmas time, but not so much for our friends who enjoy their RVs parked at comfy cushy resort campgrounds...you know, the ones like me). The pictures really made it interesting if you are also interested in reading about these styles of cooking even without being interested in actually cooking that way.
That being said, I definitely think it's a great gift book for those who actually go hiking and canoeing, etc., and would bring actual outdoor cooking supplies with them (see also: one as a gift for my husband and brother-in-law at Christmas time, but not so much for our friends who enjoy their RVs parked at comfy cushy resort campgrounds...you know, the ones like me). The pictures really made it interesting if you are also interested in reading about these styles of cooking even without being interested in actually cooking that way.
May 12, 2020
Nice book! It reminds me of my childhood when my family and I used to go camping in some random places. I'll give this book to my dad and I'm sure he will love it too! My dad loves hunting, fishing and camping so this book would be great for him. It has some very cool tips and ways to cook several different foods outdoor. I love that he uses stuff that you can find in the wild to use as a cook tool like for example using sticks to hold meat. I'm surprised with the bread recipes! I really want to make it! I can't wait to go camping again and be able to use this book as a guide. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review
May 20, 2020
This is one gorgeous cookbook. The pictures alone are worth picking it up, but I'm always a sucker for beautiful nature and good food. This cookbook will up my outdoor game 1000%. So many amazing dishes that I would never have even considered cooking outside of my kitchen. Breads, Pies, Curries, Meats. Methods that work for everything from backpacking, car camping, canoe trips, exhibitions, sun and snow. The recipes are organized by cooking method: Campfire (in embers, skewers, leaves, cookware), Dutch Oven, In Ground Ovens and so many more! I would actually gain weight backpacking with this guy. I have got to try stabbing an egg with a stick an roasting it over a campfire!
January 27, 2025
Beautifully edited with amazing shots that will get you dreaming about your next camping trip. The only downside is that it's not practical or doable for occasional wilderness lovers. I was looking for something aimed at wild campers or perhaps an inspiration for a meal that could be prepped on a few hours-long hike on top of a mountain. As much as I loved it for pushing boundaries of what could be achieved (no cooking tools, no problem, just use sticks to roast a chicken or how to bake a cake on a camping trip) there is little practicality for less seasoned folks. Still, worth glancing over :)
June 5, 2021
Wow. This was wayyyyyy more than I was looking for - just wanted some decent one pot meals for weekend camping trips. But. Should I ever want to cook meat in a pit for feeding hungry hordes, this is the book that tells how to do it.
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June 22, 2024Very enjoyable to read, and certainly inspiring! But I haven’t cooked anything outdoors yet or used the recipes so I’m not going to rate it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews