Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

MEATS 295heat of the fire, as on a spit or before a high bedof coals. Baking is performed in an oven, pit, orclosed vessel. No kitchen range can compete withan open fire for roasting.Build a rather large fire of split hardwood (sottwoodsare useless) against a high backlog or wallof rocks which will reflect the heat forward.Sear the outside of the roast (not a bird or fish)in clear flames until outer layer of albumen iscoagulated. Then skewer thin slices of pork toupper end; hang roast before fire and close to itby a stout wet cord; turn frequently; catch drippingsin pan or green-bark trough, and baste withthem. This is better than roasting on a spit overthe fire, because the heat can be better regulated,the meat turned and held in position more easily,the roast is not smoked, and the drippings areutilized.• 1 •Just before the meat is done, baste it and sprinklewith flour, then brown it near the fire, andmake gravy as directed on page 303.A whole side of venison can be roasted by plantingtwo stout forked stakes before the fire, a stubof each stake being thrust through a slit cut betweenthe ribs and under the backbone. The forwardpart of the saddle is the best roasting piece.Trim off flankv parts and ends of ribs, and splitbackbone lengthwise so that the whole will hangflat. To roast a shoulder, peel it from the side,cut off leg at knee, gash thickest part of flesh,pressbits of pork into them, and skewer some slices toupper part.When roasting a large joint, a turkey, or anythingelse that will require more than an hour ofsteady heat, do not depend upon adding wood fromtime to time, unless you have a good supply ofsound, dry hardwood sticks of stove-wood size. Ifgreen 'wood or large sticks muct be used, build abonfire of them at one side of your cooking-fire,and shovel coals from it as required. It will notdo to check the cooking-fire.