Raw Meat Thread

[greggarthurevans]

Raw Meat Thread

As I imagine redesigning my kitchen set up, the biggest challenge that comes to mind is dealing with handling raw meat.

What does everyone do about kitchen clean up?

If you have a better shot of cooking meat in a Westy I will put it on the top of this post.

[greggarthurevans]

My first thought is to pre-wrap some cereal box cardboard rectangles in some butcher paper and store 5 or so of them somewhere. Then I could unwrap it, use it to prepare meat, rewrap and chuck cleanly. any thoughts?

[dhaavers]

FWIW: All my...<ahem>..."meat handling" (storage, transport, dry rub, marinade, etc... )
is pretty much exclusively done in gallon ziplock bags. Easy to use, contain the mess & toss.

Love to hear other ideas...post 'em up!

- Dave
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86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[Abscate]

We precook chicken, freeze, reheat in boiling water in both T4 and boats.

Steak is done on the grill outside, like the Constitution says.
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.ssS!

[djkeev]

A diluted Bleach solution is the mainstay in any sanitary food situation.

Wood is NOT a great surface for raw meats of any kind for wood tends to hold any bacteria that is on the meat. It can be used with a good sanitation program.

Be aware of cross contamination in your kitchen, it is best to have designated cutting boards for the various products you cut up. In other words, don't go cutting up raw chicken on the same cutting board that you cut your salad ingredients on.

I agree with Dave, Ziplock bags are your best friend, not the cheapo store brands, get the real deal, they don't leak.
Prepare your meats before you leave home. Just open the bag and plop the meat onto the cooking surface.


Dave
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Stop Dead Photo Links how to post photos

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http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[danfromsyr]

I don't travel/camp with raw meat,
we prepare marinaded chicken and steak the day(s) before camping.
then use the chilled meat as mix ins for salads, quesadillas, pasta dishes and such. also 'good dog' treats, as he doesn't get any store bought dog treats.
(*home cooked marinated chicken is $2/lb cheapest dog treats are $4-5/lb)

same goes for bacon and sausages...

only raw meats we'd travel with are maybe hot dogs/kielbasa.

but if/when we do I use the plastic lined paper plates as disposable (burnable) cutting mats.


but I don't really associate a big ass outdoor cooking culinary adventure with my camping experience. I know I'm in the minority there..

for dishes we 'camp clean' and I use a 2 spray bottle system, a yellow bottle with soapy water in it, and a blue bottle with rinse water (usually water, sometimes that Clorox Anywhere sanitizer rinse product)
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[elizer]

To piggy back off dave. If I am using the same knife/board I prep the meat last. Cut all the veggies and everything first.

If it's a short trip I portion and season the meat or fish at home and wrap in saran/freeze.

[bobbyblack]

I am itching to ask the eventual question...

Raw meat in a Vanagon? Stock Fridge? I know that there is some portion of the raw meat production that allows the meat to be a bit warmer than 36F, but what can we expect form the stock setup other than imminent disaster. My stocker does a fine job keeping pre-cooked hotdogs, and drinks cool enough to not kill me, but holy smokes, raw meat?

Truck Fridge?

Purchase local meat and then cook quickly?

As per DJKeev, yes, clean and or separate prep, and DHaavers use once - pitch. Windex can also be employed as a disinfectant.

Hand washing is paramount.

-bobby
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[danfromsyr]

ok here's my question..
it's the BBQ TONGS (or fork)

you place the raw meat on the BBQ
then you flip and poke your meat while it's heating up.

in the end you remove the meat with the same tongs/fork?

isn't that a cross contamination issue?
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[elizer]

[bobbyblack]

I agree with tongs issue, my solution (on the grill at least) is to stick the business end into the grill and have the cover hold it in place so it gets as cooked as the meat... careful of the end sticking out, sometimes it gets pretty hot doing this.
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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[E1]

The best disinfectants are the ones our bodies already have if we don't turn them off by using disinfectants. How did Mankind survive before?

So while I do all I can to not bathe in raw meat, the last thing I want near my food is chemicals -- even though trustworthy Dow and Friends told me it's fine.

We keep our meats in the packages they come in, then drop them straight from package to cookery. If they contact anything, I might dab some boiled water onto whatever they touched.

Backpacking isn't sanitary, nor is life... and there's our backgrounds, so I suspect our immunities are all good now. I've had food poisoning twice in 58 years, last time from a bad burger at Mesa Verde in 2000 when ignoring my head screaming "That bacon don't taste right!!!" Bad Me. First time was 1984 after a meal out, don't remember where.

60 months and 20 days in the bus now, and we only use soap to soak pans if messing up and overcooking. The instant most meals are done, we serve it and put some water in the still-hot pan and put the lid on to steam. Cast iron and stainless clean up with a napkin, and maybe some more boiled water if anything needs it.

I do concur, though, with not using meat on wood. Ever, especially chicken. Bacteriaville starts with but a resident or two. If ones does this it makes for great kindling afterwards, however.
_________________
‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[greggarthurevans]

Yes I've used cast.iron for a long.time.without much worry.I.just know.that I.am cross eyed and clumsy. I.hate the smell of bleach though and so would rather eat. Crackers than smell bleach all night.

If.anyone has a good pic.of.van cooking I would love to put.it at the top of.this thread.

[cmayna]

Since the wife and I do a lot of fishing, we normally bring our Salmon, Halibut or Rock Cod vacuum sealed in individual portion bags, already cleaned, etc, ready to go. All of our cooking is done on the firepit or outside Coleman stove. Our cooking techniques while camping is basically the same as if we were home using our patio grill or stovetop. The only non fish we typically cook is bacon for breakfast, again already in smaller portions, vacuum sealed. Forks and metal spatula's used.

Oh and here she is yesterday, bringing in some more camping food. Majority of it will be smoked for easy camp munchin'

_________________
'90 Westy / automatic.
If I'm not working on the camper or my '50 Chebbie truck, I'm either fishing with the wife or smoking Salmon.


Craig

[jberger]

Don't mean to rain on anyone's parade.. but wood cutting boards are actually quite safe to use for meat. Maple blocks have been used for centuries for the simple reason that they are in a fashion "antiseptic"

J

[E1]

Ha, I just threw that in there so people would think I believed something from the news.

Concur it's safe... but not sure with chicken. That said we did it all the time when in the city and never got sick.......

But our immune systems were good then, too. Anyone else ever notice their most-sickly friends have the most-sanitized homes???
_________________
‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[dobryan]

Here is how I cook meat/fish with the Westy.

I use the inside range for things like coffee, eggs, pancakes, soups, pasta, non-smelly cooking...
_________________
Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[greggarthurevans]

[/quote]

Thats a good looking fish. That would fill my smoker.

[PDXWesty]

We use these flexible cutting mats. They easily store in the westy. You can get different colors for different things. Get them at any Walmart or other store. They clean easily with soap and hot water, same as dishes.

https://www.amazon.com/s?url=search-alias%3Daps&am...O8OCVH5DS9
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89 Westy 2.1 Auto

[greggarthurevans]

That's my father and grandfather's camp cooking method. Colman at the end of the table. With a lightweight wooden box at the end of each bench. For Me Iv just found that it's late by the time we get to dinner and I don't want skip my big cooking plans. It will be several years before my toddlers are ready for a camp fire especially if I am busy cooking.

I also am especially in love with the idea of my wife and kids slowly waking up to the smells and sounds of me cooking breakfast. Almost certainly eggs and hopefully sausage. I guess sausage can be the safer kind.

Now I am thinking that a system for prepping the meat on a little table just outside the van is probably worth exploring.

Does anyone think vinegar sprays can do the job?