Hot dogs with a side of canned beans, the quintessential camp dinner! While I’ll admit I’ve eaten my share of this tradition fare, my preference for what kind of meat is on the end of my roasting stick held over the fire is a good slice of steak!
It’s not so much what choice of meat you choose (going for the more expensive, more tender cuts is always preferred) but more to how you prepare it for your caveman cuisine experience – carefully cooking a portion over the glowing embers of a campfire marshmallow-roasting style.
The stick method works best when skewering a strip of steak onto a sharpened stick to form an “S” when impaled. A thin strip about five inches long and an inch wide is a good size for both even grilling and eating. The cooking process is simply holding the “S” over the fire and turning the stick until the steak reaches the level of doneness you are seeking (trial and error). Typically once the meat starts to drip from heated juices, it’s ready to be chowed down.
Prepping the strips of steak at home gives you a chance to apply your favorite flavor enhancers such as rubs or marinades. Those strips can then be stored in a freezer-strength zip-loc bag and packed in the camp cooler – seasoning right up to threading them onto the skewer stick.
Cooking time is dependent upon the intensity of your coals. It’s important to rotate the stick to assure the meat is cooked evenly on all sides (the thin strips take only a few short minutes, especially if you like your steak juicy and medium rare). And since you are basically making a form of shish kabob, adding slices of green pepper, onion, tomato or other veggies literally lets you cook your entire meal on the end of a stick!
Backpackers can keep the packet of marinade/rubbed steak in the car cooler to the last minute before they hike – using the steak on a stick method to celebrate their first night’s meal out on the trail.