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Camp Jambalaya
I ONION, CHOPPED 2 TABLESPOONS FAT 6-8 WIENERS, SLICED THICK 3/4 CUP TOMATOES I TEASPOON MINCED PARSLEY I CUP BOILING WATER SALT Wash rice through 5-6 waters and let soak 1 hour, then drain. Fry onion in fat until tender but not brown. Add wieners and let brown lightly together. Add tomatoes, parsley, and water. When bubbling, slowly stir in rice. Cover pot very tightly and set where it will cook steadily but slowly. Taste and add salt as needed.
As many plays on this can be made, as there are canned meats and fish on the supply list to use in place of wieners. But be sparing of salt when substituting drief beef and canned corn beef.
I CUP RICE 4 TABLESPOONS FAT I LARGE ONION, CHOPPED I GARLIC CLOVE, MINCED
A one-pot camp dish built for a lidded pot over coals or a low burner. The hinge is heat control: once the rice goes in, the pot must be covered tightly and held at a bare simmer, or the liquid boils off before the grain softens.
- Rice quantityThe ingredient list is garbled on the page: the trailing block ("I CUP RICE, 4 TABLESPOONS FAT, I LARGE ONION, I GARLIC CLOVE") appears to belong with a second recipe, but 1 cup of rice is consistent with the liquid here \the 3/4cup tomatoes and 1 cup boiling water \the grthe grain needs.
- Washing and soakingRinsing "through 5-6 waters" removes surface starch so the grains stay separate, and the recipe's hour-long soak shortens the cooking. Modern long-grain rice needs only a rinse until the water runs clear, and a 20-minute soak is ample. Drain well or the pot will be wet.
- Fat"Fat" meant bacon drippings, lard or shortening. Bacon fat suits this best; oil or butter works, though butter will brown at the frying stage.
- WienersThese are ordinary hot dogs. They are sold fully cooked, so the browning is for flavour only — two or three minutes.
- Heat and timing"Where it will cook steadily but slowly" means the cool edge of the fire or the lowest flame you have. Reckon 18-20 minutes covered without lifting the lid, then 5 minutes off the heat before fluffing.
- Substitutions and saltThe note is sound: dried beef and canned corned beef are heavily salted, as is canned salmon or tuna packed in brine. Season only after the rice has absorbed the liquid, when the salt level is finally readable.
- Tomatoes"3/4 cup tomatoes" is most easily read as canned tomatoes with their juice, roughly half a standard 14-15 oz can. Break them up with the spoon; the juice counts toward the cooking liquid.
- YieldServes three to four as a main dish, or four to six alongside other camp food.