Safe cooking method?

[HikingGuy]

We went to a bonfire last night and they were roasting marshmallows and hot dogs over the fire with sticks, one person was roasting sausages, I am not sure that would be safe, what do you think?

 

[Benny]

Why wouldn't it be safe? Because of the grease splatter? Nah, you should always have water nearby, anyway, and just make sure your stick is long enough. Sausages are great cooked over the fire!

 

[GROUNDpounder]

We went to a bonfire last night and they were roasting marshmallows and hot dogs over the fire with sticks, one person was roasting sausages, I am not sure that would be safe, what do you think?

Which wouldn't be safe? Roasting all three together on seperate sticks or the sausage?

Sausage is just fine but you must cook it SLOWLY like up where the smoke is on the fire, then slowly bring it down, otherwise the center wont get done and you can get the squirts.

 

[Newanderthal]

marshmallows are far more dangerous than sausages. leave it a little too long and it goes up in flames. Then, when you try to blow it out and it keeps flaming, you give the stick a good shake in an attempt to extinguish the flaming marshmallow. That's when the charred napalm ball goes flying and lands on your tent. The mixture of fire and nylon is truly terrible and your tent no longer has a rain fly.

Go ahead. Ask how I know this.

I've never had that happen with a sausage.

 

[Footprints]

marshmallows are far more dangerous than sausages. leave it a little too long and it goes up in flames. Then, when you try to blow it out and it keeps flaming, you give the stick a good shake in an attempt to extinguish the flaming marshmallow. That's when the charred napalm ball goes flying and lands on your tent. The mixture of fire and nylon is truly terrible and your tent no longer has a rain fly.

Go ahead. Ask how I know this.

I've never had that happen with a sausage.

I know this is a serious and dangerous scenario but the way you say it is a pretty amusing picture. I feel like I've seen this in a movie before, just can't think of which one. :tinysmile_twink_t:

 

[Grandpa]

Must be dangerous since them cavemen only had a life expectancy of 30 or 40 years.

 

[GROUNDpounder]

marshmallows are far more dangerous than sausages. leave it a little too long and it goes up in flames. Then, when you try to blow it out and it keeps flaming, you give the stick a good shake in an attempt to extinguish the flaming marshmallow. That's when the charred napalm ball goes flying and lands on your tent. The mixture of fire and nylon is truly terrible and your tent no longer has a rain fly.

Go ahead. Ask how I know this.

I've never had that happen with a sausage.

Gotta love little kids! Its also a great way to start a forest fire. (Blow, blow blow, Stick wave Oh SH*T).

 

[Michael]

Must be dangerous since them cavemen only had a life expectancy of 30 or 40 years.

While the mean life expectancy of a stone age person was about 30-35, that isn't adjusted for high infant mortality rates. If you managed to survive childhood, you could reasonably be expected to make it into your 50s during the stone age. Basically, if a third of the population dies between birth and becoming a teenager, it really skews the mean.

This is one of those areas of statistics where it's more useful to look at the median age, then qualify it with, "If you survive childhood."

Sorry for the sidetrack. I'm an academic type and am incapable of letting things like that slide. It's a personal failing.

Anyway, food over fires.

Cooking on a stick is mostly pretty safe, barring pyrotechnic marshmallows. Just keep in mind that you're using fire, and fire is dangerous. Respect the fire and take care. Be sure that meat is cooked all the way through.

To make meat cooked over a fire juicier, you give it a brief sear close to the embers, then bring it higher and cook it slowly. The initial sear locks in the juices instead of letting them drip out. This serves to make meat juicy and tender.

 

[HikingGuy]

Which wouldn't be safe? Roasting all three together on seperate sticks or the sausage?

Sausage is just fine but you must cook it SLOWLY like up where the smoke is on the fire, then slowly bring it down, otherwise the center wont get done and you can get the squirts.

That's more what I was thinking. They take way longer to cook than the marshmallows and the hot dogs. I worry about getting sick while I am in the woods, they usually aren't a nice combination.

 

[JollyRogers]

You can also just boil the sausages before you go out or boil them before you roast them. This way, no matter what, they are cooked.

 

[GROUNDpounder]

You can also just boil the sausages before you go out or boil them before you roast them. This way, no matter what, they are cooked.

Ahh but my internet friend. If you boil sausage you will go to hell, sausage requires open flame and smoke to cook completely .

I kid, but I won't eat boiled sausages, I will eat sausage in krout though.

 

[HikingGuy]

We had krout for supper tonight. It was good with sausages and mashed potato. Not to get off topic, I worry about getting sick while camping, it makes things more complicated.

 

[Judy Ann]

HikingGuy, I'm with you on the idea of intestinal bugs when out camping. Don't want to go there either. As JollyRogers suggested, precooking anything pork kills off any potential parasites, tends to eliminate excess fats thus rendering sausages safer to eat and digest, plus the smoking time over a fire will add a flavor that is incredible. You can boil sausages in beer with onions and peppers and wrap in foil until ready to throw on a fire to reheat and for added flavor. Same with ribs or butt roast. Imagine not being a slave to the fire for hours, more time for fun and eating!!!

Don't forget to prewash fruits and vegetables before leaving home and filter or treat your water. Take a hand sanitizer for washing hands after touching raw meat and follow same cooking precautions as you would at home. Throw some immodium in your first aid kit and pepto bismol if your stomach has a tendency to act up.

 

[freedommachine]

This is a little off topic but a great way to wash your produce is with lemon juice. Lemon juice is very acidic,wont hurt the produce but will clean more stuff off than just plain water rinsed over it. A good way to do it is rinse the produce in lemon juice then rinse the lemon juice off with the water.

 

[HikingGuy]

HikingGuy, I'm with you on the idea of intestinal bugs when out camping. Don't want to go there either. As JollyRogers suggested, precooking anything pork kills off any potential parasites, tends to eliminate excess fats thus rendering sausages safer to eat and digest, plus the smoking time over a fire will add a flavor that is incredible. You can boil sausages in beer with onions and peppers and wrap in foil until ready to throw on a fire to reheat and for added flavor. Same with ribs or butt roast. Imagine not being a slave to the fire for hours, more time for fun and eating!!!

Don't forget to prewash fruits and vegetables before leaving home and filter or treat your water. Take a hand sanitizer for washing hands after touching raw meat and follow same cooking precautions as you would at home. Throw some immodium in your first aid kit and pepto bismol if your stomach has a tendency to act up.

Wow, that was a very informative post! Thanks. I always take hand sanitizer with me, I have been sick before and it is never nice. I think I will see if I can find a small bottle of pepto or immodium to throw in my pack.

 

[FreshAirLover]

I have to admit I haven't heard of boiling sausages... I don't think it's dangerous to cook them on a camp fire, although I prefer shiskabob and marshmallows.

 

[guns4570]

I have never seen so many paranoid people. I have camped since I was 12 in the Boy scouts, Deer camp and then with the military. I am 66 now and have never been sick from the food . The two products that you have to pay attention to when you are cooking are raw Poultry and raw hamburger. You can pick up salmonella from those two. I have not taken any raw sausage or sausage products with me for years. You can buy precooked sausage products. I even take pre-cooked bacon because it does not have to be refrigerateduntill after it is opened. You can buy pre cooked brats, hotdogs, and polish sausage. All you have to do is heat and eat. The biggest hazard camping is field sanitation. The best cure and it has been used for years is soap and hot watter. The biggest problem camping today is hypothermia and campers violating the first rule of first aid. "do no further harm. The third rule campers violate is never drink water from a stream or lake unless it is treater, or boiled.

 

[dinosaur]

I like Michael's post because he seems to be the same kind of stickler for details as I have been so often accused. But Newanderthal's is the best. Burning sugar is almost impossible to put out and it will burn deep and hot. I've seen it before. I've used it before. Thanks for the visual, Newanderthal.

 

[oldsarge]

I know this is a serious and dangerous scenario but the way you say it is a pretty amusing picture. I feel like I've seen this in a movie before, just can't think of which one. :tinysmile_twink_t:

Dennis the menace, he slung a flaming hot marshmellow on his neighbors head at the end of the movie...classic! LMAO

 

[oldsarge]

I've cooked sausage over an open flame many times, never had an issue.