The more I read in this thread, the more convinced I become that this site needs a "cookbook" or "recipes" forum...'cuz 6 months from now, no one will see what's been posted here.
SBO Cook Book - Cooking for Cruisers and Racers
- Thread starter Will Gilmore
- Start date
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 23,013
During our camping days my wife made a meal in an aluminum pouch.
Layer on a sheet of heavy duty foil
Ground beef patty. Usually stretched lengthwise
Salt and pepper to taste.
Corn off the cob
Sliced potato wedges
Red peppers
Onion slice
Carrots
Pat of butter on top
Wrap foil up and over the meal. Seal the foil ends to seal in the juices.
Cook over medium low coals or grill til done.
Each a meal of their own.
Layer on a sheet of heavy duty foil
Ground beef patty. Usually stretched lengthwise
Salt and pepper to taste.
Corn off the cob
Sliced potato wedges
Red peppers
Onion slice
Carrots
Pat of butter on top
Wrap foil up and over the meal. Seal the foil ends to seal in the juices.
Cook over medium low coals or grill til done.
Each a meal of their own.
I like the stories, they get you in the right mood for the meal.
And besides, this is SBO. What else would you expect?
And... it might make for a new twist on cookbooks.
Sounds like some good memories that are priceless here.
Food, family, good company, that's what life's about.
Boating & good food have always gone together for us. Some of the stuff we've cooked on a boat is labor intensive but there's nothing better than chopping, mincing, preparing to cook of course while having cocktails in the process.
That's the easy part. The cleaning up portion is the real kicker, especially on a boat
Food, family, good company, that's what life's about.
Boating & good food have always gone together for us. Some of the stuff we've cooked on a boat is labor intensive but there's nothing better than chopping, mincing, preparing to cook of course while having cocktails in the process.
That's the easy part. The cleaning up portion is the real kicker, especially on a boat
Ok. I mentioned a chowder in an earlier post. So, here it is.
This is from my Outward Bound course on Hurricane Island. This was in '77. My family, from Florida, sailed to Maine when my father took a position as a watch officer for Outward Bound out of National Fisherman Journal. I was just barely old enough to take a course myself so I spent two weeks on a pulling boat with a bunch of 15 year-old juvenile delinquents who could barely stand getting up in the morning, much less, go for a run and jump into Maine waters at 5 in the morning. We all got along fairly well, even though I loved what they hated.
During the course, you are given a little booklet on wild edible plants, written by Yule Gibbons. Unfortunately, this was early in the summer so, no berries
After a brief introduction to wild foraging, we were each set alone for three days on our own island for our solo. The big boys got 4 days. This is where I discovered how much I like mussels. I ate mussels
and periwinkle
and the leaves of beach peas
and goose tongue
(I like me some goose tongue, a bit salty but sweet) for the next three days. I think I was the only one not starving at the end of it. So, we go on our final circumnavigation of Vinelhaven to finish the course and our group, 2 boats of 14 + 2 watch officers each, and another group of equal size, meet at a beach somewhere on the north end. Our last night out before returning to Rockland at the end of the next day.
The 8 watch officers collect all their rations and forage the beach for mussels and put together several huge pots of mussel chowder that they cooked on an open fire. Since the water they boiled the mussels in was salt water, it came out very very salty, but the flavor was incredible. I'd had clam chowder at a couple of local restaurants and it was great, but this, on the beach, wild forraged, large group of kids who had spent a lot of quality time close up and personal on an 18' pulling boat, anxious and excited to get back home to their mommies, it was fantastic.
So, I don't have the recipe they used, I was 14 and not into cooking, although I sure was into eating. But, you should be able to find a good internet chowder recipe, double the pepper and substitute or add mussels and use condensed or canned milk instead of cream. Be sure not to cut back on the butter, and you will get something like what I enjoyed on the beach at the north end of Vinelhaven in 1977.
Oh yeah, you should also be anchored or beached on the coast of Maine and use a fire, not a stove. And throw together a beach pea and goose tongue salad to go with it.
- Will (Dragonfly)
This is from my Outward Bound course on Hurricane Island. This was in '77. My family, from Florida, sailed to Maine when my father took a position as a watch officer for Outward Bound out of National Fisherman Journal. I was just barely old enough to take a course myself so I spent two weeks on a pulling boat with a bunch of 15 year-old juvenile delinquents who could barely stand getting up in the morning, much less, go for a run and jump into Maine waters at 5 in the morning. We all got along fairly well, even though I loved what they hated.
During the course, you are given a little booklet on wild edible plants, written by Yule Gibbons. Unfortunately, this was early in the summer so, no berries
After a brief introduction to wild foraging, we were each set alone for three days on our own island for our solo. The big boys got 4 days. This is where I discovered how much I like mussels. I ate mussels
and periwinkle
and the leaves of beach peas
(I like me some goose tongue, a bit salty but sweet) for the next three days. I think I was the only one not starving at the end of it. So, we go on our final circumnavigation of Vinelhaven to finish the course and our group, 2 boats of 14 + 2 watch officers each, and another group of equal size, meet at a beach somewhere on the north end. Our last night out before returning to Rockland at the end of the next day.
The 8 watch officers collect all their rations and forage the beach for mussels and put together several huge pots of mussel chowder that they cooked on an open fire. Since the water they boiled the mussels in was salt water, it came out very very salty, but the flavor was incredible. I'd had clam chowder at a couple of local restaurants and it was great, but this, on the beach, wild forraged, large group of kids who had spent a lot of quality time close up and personal on an 18' pulling boat, anxious and excited to get back home to their mommies, it was fantastic.
So, I don't have the recipe they used, I was 14 and not into cooking, although I sure was into eating. But, you should be able to find a good internet chowder recipe, double the pepper and substitute or add mussels and use condensed or canned milk instead of cream. Be sure not to cut back on the butter, and you will get something like what I enjoyed on the beach at the north end of Vinelhaven in 1977.
Oh yeah, you should also be anchored or beached on the coast of Maine and use a fire, not a stove. And throw together a beach pea and goose tongue salad to go with it.
- Will (Dragonfly)
Here's a link to an excellent traditional New England clam chowder recipe from Yankee magazine ttps://newengland.com/today/food/massachusetts-new-england-clam-chowder/
I've made some recommended changes below to make it more a shores of Maine wild harvest mussel chowder. If you can dig the clams, awesome, but get a license.
Taken from Yankee Magazine • January 4, 2018
Ingredients
Set a 4- to 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the bacon, leaving the fat in the pot, and crumble into small pieces; set aside.
Add the butter, onion, celery (goose tongue) , thyme (beach pea leaves), and bay leaves to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until onions are tender and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.
Return the bacon to the pot and stir. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the potatoes.
In a 2- to 3-quart pot on high heat, boil the diced potatoes in salted water until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and set aside. (Throw you're shell fish in with this and keep the water as your clam juice [4 cups. Probably should start with 5 cups of water]. Why waste it? Shell the shell fish afterwards)
Turning back to the onion/bacon mixture, increase the heat to medium-low.
Add the flour gradually, stirring continuously, until a thick paste forms. Stir and cook 5 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium and slowly add the bottled clam juice, 1 cup at a time, incorporating it into the mixture before adding more (remember to use the water you cooked the clams, mussels, and/or periwinkles in).
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the potatoes and clam meat with its juices. Keep stirring 5 minutes, until the clams are tender. (Since you are not using store bought clams, you need to remember they are already cooked, or cook them here with the appropriate amount of water and remove the shells later, either before serving or as you eat).
Add the cream slowly; then stir in the white pepper. (Read, condensed milk and water and black pepper)
Discard the bay leaves before serving (yes, always discard the bay leaves before serving) . Serve hot.
Enjoy
- Will (Dragonfly)
I've made some recommended changes below to make it more a shores of Maine wild harvest mussel chowder. If you can dig the clams, awesome, but get a license.
Taken from Yankee Magazine • January 4, 2018
Ingredients
- 3 strips thick-cut bacon
- 4 tablespoons butter (it originally said unsalted butter, but why, since you're going to add salt anyhow)
- 1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1 rib celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes (try it with goose tongue leaves instead)
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (beach pea leaves)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 medium-size white potatoes, peeled and cut into ¼-inch cubes (I love red potatoes)
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups bottled clam juice, divided (I don't know how you divide clam juice, but make your own from the mussels or periwinkles or clams you dig, basically, forget this part and use fresh shellfish and their water you cook them in. 4 cups of water)
- 1 pound chopped fresh clam meat, with juices (here's the big change. I would just cook the mussels in the chowder and pick the shells out as I eat, but the periwinkles need to be cooked separately, picked out of their shells with a bamboo skewer or a pocket knife or a marlin spike. You can do the same with the clams. I happen to prefer chunky so, I wouldn't chop up the clams or the mussels or the periwinkles. Maybe, 2 pounds of mussels = 1 pound of meat, 4 pounds of clams = 1 pound of meat, somewhere in between for periwinkles)
- Kosher salt to taste (remember the butter?)
- 3 cups light cream (canned condensed milk. I'm not sure how the substitution should go, but I feel like condensed milk is thicker than light cream so maybe 2:3 ratio. So, two cups condensed milk plus one cup water. )
- 1 teaspoon white pepper (black pepper and double it)
Set a 4- to 6-quart pot over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and cook, turning occasionally, until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the bacon, leaving the fat in the pot, and crumble into small pieces; set aside.
Add the butter, onion, celery (goose tongue) , thyme (beach pea leaves), and bay leaves to the pot. Cook, stirring often, until onions are tender and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.
Return the bacon to the pot and stir. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, while you prepare the potatoes.
In a 2- to 3-quart pot on high heat, boil the diced potatoes in salted water until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and set aside. (Throw you're shell fish in with this and keep the water as your clam juice [4 cups. Probably should start with 5 cups of water]. Why waste it? Shell the shell fish afterwards)
Turning back to the onion/bacon mixture, increase the heat to medium-low.
Add the flour gradually, stirring continuously, until a thick paste forms. Stir and cook 5 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium and slowly add the bottled clam juice, 1 cup at a time, incorporating it into the mixture before adding more (remember to use the water you cooked the clams, mussels, and/or periwinkles in).
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the potatoes and clam meat with its juices. Keep stirring 5 minutes, until the clams are tender. (Since you are not using store bought clams, you need to remember they are already cooked, or cook them here with the appropriate amount of water and remove the shells later, either before serving or as you eat).
Add the cream slowly; then stir in the white pepper. (Read, condensed milk and water and black pepper)
Discard the bay leaves before serving (yes, always discard the bay leaves before serving) . Serve hot.
Enjoy
- Will (Dragonfly)
I haven't been cooking aboard for very long, but I have already picked up a few tricks.
Bacon:
I usually bring a pound of bacon along when we overnight. I cook it the first morning out, and then save the bacon fat by filtering it through a paper towel into a small plastic container. I place the container in the cooler and the fat will solidify. Then later in the cruise I use a spoonful or two any time I want to saute some vegetables ( Green beans, Potatoes, etc.) Adds a lot of extra flavor.
Shelf Stable Mayo:
Besides using this on sandwiches and burgers, It is great for making salad/slaw dressings. and with some simple additional ingredients, it can be easily turned into several other sauces. (Bearnaise for steaks, Hollandaise for asperagus or poached eggs, Dijonaise for chilled stone crab, etc.)
Thai Curry Paste and Coconut milk:
AND 
When mixed with canned coconut milk, these can add a lot of flavor to locally sourced or canned produce and protein. I love the green curry with seafood. Add some rice, and you have a tasty meal.
I will try to think of more, and will post as I try new things.
Bacon:
I usually bring a pound of bacon along when we overnight. I cook it the first morning out, and then save the bacon fat by filtering it through a paper towel into a small plastic container. I place the container in the cooler and the fat will solidify. Then later in the cruise I use a spoonful or two any time I want to saute some vegetables ( Green beans, Potatoes, etc.) Adds a lot of extra flavor.
Shelf Stable Mayo:
Besides using this on sandwiches and burgers, It is great for making salad/slaw dressings. and with some simple additional ingredients, it can be easily turned into several other sauces. (Bearnaise for steaks, Hollandaise for asperagus or poached eggs, Dijonaise for chilled stone crab, etc.)
Thai Curry Paste and Coconut milk:
AND When mixed with canned coconut milk, these can add a lot of flavor to locally sourced or canned produce and protein. I love the green curry with seafood. Add some rice, and you have a tasty meal.
I will try to think of more, and will post as I try new things.
I like bacon (on anything!) but am not a fan of cooking it on the boat. The spatter, excess grease, and flame-up risk are not worth it. So we used to bring backpacking bricks of pre-cooked bacon, but now has switched to Costco. Keeps kinda forever.
A lot of sailing eats have been prepared on the beach. Open fire, folding table, gathered and shipped-in ingredients. The Caribbean is a great place for beach prepared scorched conch.
- Will (Dragonfly)
We recently discovered these meal mixes and found several varieties to be excellent flavor and easy to make onboard. this one and spanish rice are two favorites of ours. mix with water, boil in a pan and serve. some of the other varieties also require some milk with the water, but not all.
We had this once also, but I forget where we got it. very tasty it was
We had this once also, but I forget where we got it. very tasty it was
Sadly, neither I nor anyone I've met in the Windwards, including the local fishermen, has seen a decent sized grouper in quite a few years.
I remember when the Japanese were trying to talk the Bahamian government into allowing them to fish in Bahamian waters without any restrictions. I left before the deal was done, but it seemed that sustainable fisheries were just not on the agenda. I wonder if there are still grouper there?
I remember when the Japanese were trying to talk the Bahamian government into allowing them to fish in Bahamian waters without any restrictions. I left before the deal was done, but it seemed that sustainable fisheries were just not on the agenda. I wonder if there are still grouper there?