Camp Oven

[TheGuy]

I read an article about what I think was called a camp oven. You can use tinfoil and set it up in a way that it reflects the heat of the fire and cooks our fish. Has anyone done this and did it work for you? We want to try it in the BWCA next week and see if we can get it hot enough to work with onions and peppers on our fish.

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[Jackpine Rob]

There are different ways to skin this cat.

Coleman makes an "oven" that sits atop your campstove, if you have a 2 burner. I have one, and it works fine, but due to weight and limited capacity, I rarely bring it.

Sounds like you may be referring to a reflector oven. I've made dozens over the years, usually when we have a base camp, and plenty of down time in which to screw around cooking. Winter camping will often find me sitting by the fire constructing one while imbibing in "anti-freeze".

My normal method of construction involves creating a W shape, utilizing two W shaped sticks of roughly equal dimension. Using wire, I then attach a series of straight sticks so the two W's are around 15-18 inches apart, and firmly held. The center of the W is going to be your cooking tray, so I then use picture hanging wire strung from one center of the W to the other, adding enough wire so I have a firm enough suspension bridge to hold whatever I'm planning on cooking.
Finally, cover the INSIDE of the W with foil, making very sure you have full coverage over the sticks. This contraption is then loaded up with your baking stuff, and place with the open end facing the fire. You'll want to get it fairly close to actual flame, which is why you were careful to cover the sticks with foil. You can monitor food visually.

Another way I have used is when the campsite has lots of nice thin flat rocks. Cover some slabs of rock with foil, and construct your "oven" immediately adjacent to the firegrate. The biggest drawback to this method is getting your food in and out of the oven - heavy gloves and long pliers are a must.

[TheGuy]

Jackpine,
Yes, I was thinking of a reflector oven. I like the idea with the rock. I never thought about that. Have you ever cooked fish on it and how long does this take? Thanks for your great response on this!!

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[Jackpine Rob]

The question of how long fish takes is a tough one, since you have so many variables, including how thick the fillet is, quality of wood, etc. Typically when doing fish with the oven method I shoot for a 4 or 5 minute, flip it over, and 4 or 5 more, assuming a normal thickness (say a 3 to 4 lb trout), and an average fire. When you are doing this type of cooking, avoid spruce, cedar, balsam - and if your food isn't totally foil covered I stick to birch, maple, popple or ash. Beaver wood drifted up above the high water line is a good choice. Burns clean and not much spitting or sparks. The various pines and firs have a tendency to impart a flavor I don't care for, and the pitch will cause headaches as burning sparks land on food, unprotected forearms, etc.

Mostly I use the oven for baking stuff like pop n fresh breads/rolls, single pan cakes (you buy the box which has everything including a cake pan), and the odd duck or partridge.

For fish I usually use plain old tin foil, put the fillet in, add onion, green peppers, lemon juice, garlic, seal it up carefully, and place on the firegrate. About 4 minutes per side or so, and you are good to go. I'm not afraid to carry a bit more on the portages, and almost always travel with a cooler, so I'm using real onions, fresh peppers, and minced garlic. Some poor schmoes stopped by our camp up on Agnes a couple of years ago, just as supper was being served. They couldn't figure out how to find Kawnipi, stopped for directions, and the one guy spent about 5 minutes going berserk at the fact that we were eating fresh crescent rolls, baked trout, au gratin spuds. He was po'd that his partner had packed freeze-dried food, gotten them lost, and night was approaching. Took pity on them and gave them a snack, pointed them in the right direction, and we toasted their departure, glad we weren't them.

[Jackpine Rob]

Check out this site
http://www.mojakka.com/recipe.htm

Mojakka can be a real treat out in the woods. We use a northern - about 4 lbs is perfect. Gut, gill, scale, plop in the pot. The head makes a good conversation piece - your partners eyes will bug out, but just pretend you don't notice... You will end up discarding the carcass and head anyway when you pull off the meat near the end of the process - but leave the skin attached.

The evaporated milk comes in cans - so you need to plan ahead here. I put the required amount in a bag, freeze solid, and transport in cooler. Real butter is necessary for best flavor.

Mojakka with fresh bread, and a Windsor/water chaser. Oh boy!

[TheGuy]

I also bring in fresh onions and peppers. If your going to make good fish like this I always think it's best to have fresh stuff.
It seems like about every two years we run into some people that are lost or just don't have the experiance of cooking in a camp. When prepared with the right equipment and resurch, one can make some great meals at camp. I have been our cook for the last 6 years and I love it. I can also make the food just how I like it and the guys seem to like it also. Even at home I do most of the cooking for my wife and I. Don't know what it is but I enjoy it.
I like use the smoker at home and I do some pickling. I think I may enjoy all of this because I like to eat good food. My wife however does not think the pickling is good. Just don't know what she has against good pickled fish and eggs!!
The guys and I leave Sunday for Ely and go into the BWCA on Monday morning. I want to try this oven thing out, I will let you know how it truns out for me. I'm sure it will work and the guys will enjoy another way to have fish. Next year I may have to get into the breads and that stuff. I will be back June 14th.
Thanks for the info and please let me know if you have anything to add. I'll report back!!

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