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]

Originally Posted by 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?

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

[Grandpa]

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

[GROUNDpounder]

Originally Posted by 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.

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

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Grandpa

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]

Originally Posted by GROUNDpounder

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.