Pulled Pork Lunch Special

Yield: 4-6 servings

ingredients:

2-3 cups cooked pulled pork

¾ cup favorite barbeque sauce

2 cups shredded cheese

Baked potatoes or sourdough rolls

Coleslaw as a side or topping for the roll

at home preparation:

prep time 10 minutes · total time: 10 minutes

Assemble any ingredients (the grasshaven team cooks pork butt one evening for a delicious outdoor dinner and reserves some pulled pork for the next day’s lunch special sandwiches or baked potato toppings)

campsite preparation and presentation:

total time: 3-4 hours

Warm the pulled pork and barbeque sauce in a saucepan.  Toast the bread (or if you have left over baked potatoes – warm the potatoes).  Once the pork/barbeque sauce is hot and the bread or potatoes are warm, plate the sandwiches (or baked potatoes) with the pulled pork mixture. Enjoy!

recommended campsite gadgets and gear:

aluminum foil

disposable aluminum pan

meat thermometer

cook’s notes:

Add a side of coleslaw (we recommend our Lovage Infused Slaw) and homemade chips.  Even a simple lunch can become an epicurean delight.

Remember Better·Living·Is·Surprisingly·Simple™ in the outdoors.

Pulled Pork Lunch Special · Enjoy

Lovage Infused Coleslaw

Yield: 6-8 servings

  

A very good friend of the grasshaven team from Romania introduced us to an amazing herb called lovage.  Lovage is a very old herb with a crisp, aromatic and unique flavor combining anise and celery.  It can infuse amazing flavor to vegetarian soups and stews. It also pairs nicely with starchy dishes like potatoes.  Lovage can be used similar to celery or parsley but it imparts a stronger flavor so a little goes a long way.  When added to coleslaw it elevates traditional coleslaw to gourmet status.  And when brought on a camping trip, it adds a level of sophistication and intrigue to an otherwise typical side dish.   This is not the traditional sweet coleslaw recipe, it is savory and scrumptious and delicious with pulled pork!

ingredients:

1 head purple cabbage, finely shredded

2 large carrots, finely shredded

2 tablespoons onion, grated

2-3 sprigs fresh lovage

2/3 cup olive oil

¼ cup vinegar

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (we start with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and then increase from there)

at home preparation:

prep time 20 minutes · total time: 20 minutes

Combine cabbage, carrot, onion and lovage.  Emulsify (mix vigorously) oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Add the dressing to the slaw and blend thoroughly.  Place in a resealable bag and store in the refrigerator until time for departure.  Flavors will intensify over time.

campsite preparation and presentation:

total time: <5 minutes

Add as a side to a favorite entrée and enjoy!

recommended campsite gadgets and gear:

No special gadgets needed

cook’s notes:

Lovage can be found in specialty stores or is easily grown in a small garden pot.  When found, it freezes well after a very quick blanching.

Remember Better·Living·Is·Surprisingly·Simple™ in the outdoors.

Lovage Infused Coleslaw · Enjoy

Fireside Sage and Garlic Smoked Pork

Yield: 8 servings

   

Smoked pork amazingness

Kids: What’s for dinner

Mom: Pork butt

Kids: What did you say?!?!?!

Mom: Pork butt

Kids: Mom said butt!!!!! Between giggles and snickers….ehwwww! 

At least this is the conversation that happens with the grasshaven team.  Pork butt always gets lots of snickers and giggles from the kids.   But the parents won’t be giggling when this dish is plated and the first succulent bite is taken.  With aromatics wafting from sage and garlic to the reddish, orange color infused from paprika and turmeric, this dish is an appeal for the senses creating a perceptible change in the outdoor dining experience.

Now that the senses are engaged, let’s address the butt of the jokes.  First, the cut, though called the butt, does not come from the rear end of the pig.  It is actually a cut from the shoulder officially know as the shoulder butt.  Somewhere along the way, pork shoulder butt was reduced to pork butt.  As a cut, slow cooking creates tender, melt in your mouth meat.   Cooking the meat to a higher than normal internal temperature for pork yields meat so amazing it will not be the butt of anyone’s jokes moving forward.  Pair roasted sweet potatoes with brown butter sauce and broccoli florets and even the biggest skeptic of pork butt will be transformed.

ingredients:

Rub

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 tablespoon sea salt

1 teaspoon turbinate sugar

1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper

1 teaspoon ground mustard

Stick

¼ cup old fashioned yellow mustard

¼ cup oil

¼ cup fresh chopped sage

1 tablespoon vinegar

4 big cloves garlic, minced

3-4 pounds pork butt

Rub and stick dressed for the fire

at home preparation:

prep time 10 minutes · total time: 10 minutes

Mix spices for “rub” together.  Mix “stick” ingredients together.  Rub the pork with the stick (named because it helps the rub stick to the pork).  Once thoroughly covered, coat the pork with the rub until the pork is again thoroughly covered.  Place the coated pork, into a resealable bag and place in the refrigerator until departure time.

campsite preparation and presentation:

total time: 3-4 hours

Start a low smoky, aromatic fire.  Place the pork in an aluminum pan (or on aluminum foil).  Add 1-2 cups of water to the pan and tent with additional aluminum foil.  Cook until a meat thermometer reads 180-205° Fahrenheit (82-96° Celsius).  Slice or pull apart and enjoy!

recommended campsite gadgets and gear:

aluminum foil

disposable aluminum pan

meat thermometer

cook’s notes:

Meat thermometers will say pork is done at 140-160° Fahrenheit (60-71° Celsius) however, for tenderness, this cut of meat needs to be cooked longer and slower.

180-185° F (82-85 ° Celsius) for sliced pork

190-205° F (87-96 ° Celsius) for pulled pork

Remember Better·Living·Is·Surprisingly·Simple™ in the outdoors.

Fireside Sage and Garlic Smoked Pork · Enjoy

Food keeping: cooler storage

After a day of exploration, laughs and family bonding (or that is what we call it), everyone is tired and hungry. Now how do you keep everyone fed but safe?

Meal planning before heading on your next outdoor excursion helps make every adventure easier and more seamless.  Many times left-overs and foods brought for one meal become components for another meal. Mr and Mrs Weaver at the Prepared Pantry offer some working guidelines for how long different foods should be keep in a cooler.   

Fresh fish, poultry and ground meat: 1-2 days max

Steaks and chops: 3-4 days

Cured meats: up to 1 week

Eggs: 1-2 weeks

Butter and margarine: butter: 1 week; margarine: 2 weeks

Milk: 2-3 days

Yogurt, sour cream, cream cheese: up to 1 week

Cheese: at least a week

Fruit:  berries and cherries: 1-2 days; soft fruits like grapes, melons, pears, peaches, plums etc: 2-4 days; apples and citrus: up to a month

Fresh vegetables: broccoli, peas, summer squash and lettuce: 2-3 days; carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, green peppers etc: 1 week; potatoes, winter squash and dry onions: couple of months

Happy meal planning!

remember Better·Living·Is·Surprisingly·Simple™ in the outdoors.

Cooler food keeping · Enjoy

http://www.preparedpantry.com/How-Long-Will-Food-Keep-in-a-Cooler.htm.