Stick Cooking

by Dian Thomas

Heigh-ho and away we go to the wilderness! We want no dishes to wash, please, and no pots and pans to carry. To be carefree and footloose is our goal.

But we do get hungry. And we like tasty food. So the simplest thing to do is use a stick for cooking the food. It’s a fairly quick method, and it’s easy. We have only to remember a few hints to make stick cooking as good as it can be.

First of all, before we venture into the out-of-doors, we should check with a knowledgeable person in the area (a forest ranger or a Scoutmaster) to find out if there is any poisonous growth (such as oleander) where we’ll be looking for cooking sticks.

The next thing to keep in mind is that cooking on a stick is best when it is done over coals. Flames create intense heat that burns the food on the outside and leaves the center raw. The heat from glowing embers of wood or charcoal briquettes works best. And remember that the nearer the food is placed to the coals, the faster it will cook on the outside.

For example, if we want toasty, golden marshmallows that are heated all the way through, we hold them a little way from the coals and allow them to brown very slowly all around.

Another thing to remember in stick cooking is to use foods that will stay on the stick and will not take a long time to cook.

Try any or all of the following recipes the next time you’re enjoying a cookout in nature.

Apple on a Stick

Place an apple on a stick and hold it near the coals where it can become very hot. When the skin begins to pop, peel it off and roll the apple in cinnamon and sugar.

Turn the apple around and around over the coals until a glaze forms. Slice off the outer portion and eat it.

Roll the remaining apple on the stick in cinnamon and sugar again and repeat the process until the apple is gone. Yummy.

Bac-o-Cheese Dog

Slice a weiner lengthwise, not completely through, and fill the opening with slices of cheese. Wrap a strip of bacon around the weiner and cheese, and secure it with toothpicks. Hold the weiner on a stick near the coals, turning the stick around to cook the bacon evenly. When the bacon is done, the cheese will be melted. Place the bac-o-cheese dog in a bun and enjoy a taste treat.

Fruit Kabob

Cut a banana into one-inch sections. On a stick place banana sections, chunks of pineapple, Maraschino cherries, and marshmallows, alternating each. Heat over coals until the marshmallows are golden brown.

Other fruits, such as peaches, plums, or apples, may also be used.

New Method for S’mores

Embed the sharp ends of four milk-chocolate chips into slits made by the point of a sharp knife in the four corners of the flat side of a marshmallow. Repeat the process with a second marshmallow, and fit the chocolate-chip ends together.

Slide the two marshmallows onto the end of a stick and toast them slowly over coals.

When the marshmallows are golden brown, the chocolate will be melted. Place the marshmallows between two graham crackers, and get ready to make some more. You’ll want them.

Meat Loaf on a Stick

To one pound of hamburger add one egg, 1/2 chopped onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. You may also add chopped green pepper, spices, and even some bread or crackers with a little milk.

Mold the hamburger mix about one inch thick around the end of a stick, and wrap foil tightly around the meat.

Hold the meat near the coals, turning often to cook evenly.

Breakfast in a Sack

Cover the bottom of a brown paper lunch sack with two strips of bacon. Crack an egg and drop it on top of the bacon.

Roll the sack down in one-inch folds and push the sharp end of a stick through the paper sack.

Place the sack over the coals. The bacon and eggs will cook, and the sack will not burn. In five or ten minutes, tear the sides of the sack down to the bacon and egg and enjoy your breakfast.

See how easy it is? And good. And fun. And you can make Up your own recipes, too. (You can make points with environmentalists by using sticks that have fallen to the ground instead of cutting green sticks from living plants.) See you in the woods.

Bacon on a Stick

Punch a hole in one end of a slice of bacon and slide it upward onto a stick. Wrap the bacon around the stick, punch the end of the stick through the other end of the bacon, and cook the bacon over the coals.

Illustrated by Preston Heiselt

Photos by Eldon Linschoten