campfire

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Field Notes

The Black Beauty: A Short History of Cast Iron Cookware

There is something about a cast iron skillet that tugs at the heart of any outdoorsman. It’s almost as if its burley black surface has retained a hint of every fire it has hovered over and every dish it has cooked. Holding one, you can feel its history coursing through it, almost like it has a story it wants to tell over a couple of beverages by the bonfire.
Well, it does have a story, one that is almost as old as recorded history.

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3 Min
Fire-rescue boat
Profiles

Newport News Marine Incident Response Team

Housed inside Firehouse 1 in downtown Newport News, the twenty-four firefighters of this unique team spend large portions of their time out on the water helping those in need. As part of a large and complex response system, they are often the first team on site when a call from dispatch comes in. Working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, police, fire department, and other entities, they head out at all times of day and in all sorts of weather. Their expertise is known in the region, and the Newport News MIRT is well respected.

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3 Min
rockfish roasting over red hot coals
Food & Recipes

Filson Food: Campfire Cajun Rockfish

Like many of the other reef fishes on the Pacific coast, rockfish has a mild, white flesh, which makes it a versatile fish that takes on the flavor of any seasoning added. Rockfish is superb fried, baked, or pan-seared, but my favorite way to enjoy it is grilled whole. Early in my evolution as an underwater hunter, I brought home countless rockfish. On late nights at the fillet table, this was our go-to way to produce a mouth-watering meal with just minutes of prep, without having to fillet the fish first.

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5 Min
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Food & Recipes

Filson Food: Black Bear Currywurst Sausage Recipe

Most people may not know that bear meat is not only edible but also delicious. The meat is similar to beef in appearance and makes amazing stews and sausages. Although wild game meat is generally extremely lean, bear meat tends to consistently have slightly more intramuscular fat than any other game. For this reason, most of my Spring bear meat will find its way into sausages. Currywurst is a young traditional German sausage dish developed post–World War II after British soldiers brought ketchup and curry powder to Germany. This cultural mashup has caught on in a big way and is now served all over. Bear meat can carry a parasite that can be harmful when ingested; however, if it is cooked to a minimum temperature of over 160℉ it is perfectly safe. Be vigilant when handling and cooking bear meat to prevent any cross-contamination.

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3 Min
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Food & Recipes

Filson Food: Fire-Baked Dutch Oven Cobbler

Backcountry fire-cooked desserts often take a back seat to more common campfire dishes, like breakfast hashes and one-pan meals. This is a mistake. It is true that most dessert recipes benefit from the controlled environment of your home kitchen and calibrated ovens, but this doesn’t apply to all desserts. For reasons that are beyond me, some recipes seem to thrive in a rustic wood-fired kitchen. Cobbler is one such recipe. For starters, cobbler just looks right at home in a cast-iron Dutch oven. Given the rustic nature of cobbler, it seems to get even better when cooked by fire. The irregular look and the slight char that comes with sometimes uneven heat only makes cobbler better.

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5 Min
bone in steak with diced herbs, roasted halved tomato and potato hash on a wooden cutting board center text
Food & Recipes

Filson Food: Campfire Steak & Hash

One of the challenges in the backcountry is pulling off cooking a meal without all the equipment we are used to in our home kitchens. This challenge also makes it a lot of fun and forces you to get creative. The magic of cooking outdoors over a fire is hard to replicate at home. The food won’t usually look as nice, but somehow it seems to taste that much better. Maybe it’s something primal about cooking food over a campfire as our ancestors did, or maybe it’s the fresh air and big vistas. Whatever it is, it makes cooking in the outdoors very much worthwhile. One easy way to cook over a fire is by using a flat rock like a hot plate. Choose a dry, flat rock and clean it well before using it. Avoid rocks that are sitting in water as they have a tendency to explode when heated. Heat the rock thoroughly before cooking to make sure it can take the heat.

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5 Min