Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

^9BCAMPING AND WOODCRAFTand baked in the same way: time about six hours.Baking in Clay.— This hermetically seals themeat while cooking, and is better than baking ina kettle, but requires experience. Draw the animal,but leave the skin and hair on. If it be alarge bird, as a duck or goose, cut off head andmost of neck, also feet and pinions, pull out tailfeathers and cut tail off (to get rid of oil sac),but leave smaller feathers on. If a fish, do notscale. Moisten and work some clay till it is likesoftened putty. Roll it out in a sheet an inchthick and large enough to completely encase theanimal. Cover the latter so that no feather or hairprojects. Place in fire and cover with good bedof coals and let it remain with fire burning on topfrom y^. of an hour, for a small bird or mediumtrout, to two hours for a pheasant or duck. Largeranimals require more time, and had best be placedin bake-hole over night.When done, break open the hard casing of bakedclay. The skin peels off with it, leaving the meatperfectly clean and baked to perfection in its ownjuices. This method has been practiced for agesby the gipsies and other primitive peoples.Frank Bates recommends another way: "Havea pail of water in which stir clay until it is of theconsistency of thick porridge or whitewash. Takethe bird by the feet and dip into the water. Theclay will gather on and between the feathers. Repeattill the bird is a mass of clay. Lay this inthe ashes, being careful to dry the outside. . . .Bake till the clay is almost burned to a brick."Baking in the Embers.— To bake a fish, cleanit — if it is large enough to be emptied through ahole in the neck, do not slit the belly — season withsalt and pepper, and, if liked, stuff with Indianmeal. Have ready a good bed of glowing hardwoodcoals ; cover it with a thin layer of ashes, thatthe fish may not be burnt. Lay the fish on this,and cover it with more ashes and coals. Half anhour, more or less, is required, according to size.