Chef Baloo

I've been teaching outdoor cooking for the past several years to Cub Scout and Boy Scout Leaders in the Atlanta area - finally decided to share some of my thoughts and lessons. Hope you enjoy!

Camp Coffee lessons from a Scoutmaster

Filed Under : by Brian Rudolph
Monday, July 11, 2011



I have been waiting for this product for 10 years. Coleman looks like it has finally done the propane coffee pot right - you can even buy extra steel carafes so as you brew 10 cups at a time, you can start on the next pot while people are serving the first. It looks durable and well made, I will definitely give it a try.

Coleman Portable Propane Coffeemaker with Stainless Steel Carafe

Of course, if you have a propane stove in your camp kitchen, do you really need a new propane device just for coffee? Perhaps. If your stove has breakfast cooking....it might be worth the investment. Either way - I was brewing camp coffee on a recent trip and one of the leaders came up to me and said that this was the first cup of coffee he has had while camping that didn't have coffee grounds in it. How did I do it? What was my magic secret?

I have heard some great secrets over the years how to keep coffee grinds out of your camp coffee. One I never tried is to crack an egg over the grounds, but given health and safety I would recommend it. My favorite story was the Scoutmaster who kept a pair of his wife's nylons in his camping gear to use as an impromptu coffee filter. Lightweight, reusable, and washable. Yes, sounds like a perfectly reasonable excuse why one might carry around a pair of nylons in their camping year. Yeah....I won't comment, I won't speculate. Nope, not me.


Anyway - how did I keep coffee grinds out of the coffee? Exceedingly simple: filter packs. 2-3 of these in a standard steel camping coffee pot and you have perfectly brewed coffee with no grounds.

But suppose plain old coffee just isn't good enough for you. That's right, you are a coffee snob. You don't want coffee, you want expresso (or espresso) or cappuccino or your favorite press. Well, OK, Mr. Coffee Snob - Adventure Journal has put together what they consider the Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Coffee. 

Yes, I will be sure to bring a set of those little tiny espresso cups on my next camping trip, as you can see in the picture, they match the bed of the pick up truck perfectly.

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Dutch Oven Cheesecake!

Filed Under : by Brian Rudolph
Monday, May 23, 2011

 I took a shot at this recipe from Scouter Magazine (http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/1103/d-dutch.html) and was very pleased with the results.  And yes, as promised - there was general amazement at the fact that you could make cheesecake in a Dutch Oven while camping. The hype was lived up to.

A few tips that I would add to the recipe (since you can't get every detail about cooking something in a small article.

1) I would add a bit of extra crushed graham crackers and butter so there is more crust. It would have been nice to have the crust come up above just a little higher. Some of that extra toasted graham crackers sprinkled on top would have been delish!

2) The recipe is serious when it reminds you to soften the cream cheese before preparing the filling. Plan to let the cream cheese sit for 30-60 minutes at least in order to get soft enough for blending. Our alternative was getting in there with a clean pair of hands and letting body heat squish that cream cheese until it was blended. Fun for squishers and viewers alike!

3) Warm cheesecake right out of the Dutch Oven is good - but cooling the cheesecake (either right in the Dutch Oven or in a cooler with ice) is even better. Of course, if you are going to put the Dutch Oven in a cooler, remember to let it cool down on its own first - putting a warm Dutch Oven on ice is a good way to get a cracked Dutch Oven! (And don't forget to separate the cheesecake from the sides and bottom while still a little warm to make it easier to get out of the oven.

Overall, I was very impressed with this recipe. Definitely one I will use again.

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How many people are you cooking for?

Filed Under : by Brian Rudolph
Friday, August 27, 2010

Deciding up front how many people are in each group for food preparation is important to determine the types of equipment you buy, what types of dishes you prep for, and crucial to deciding how you divide the labor (both pre-campout and at the site.)


When my pack camps, we bring 60-80 people. That is not so many that I can't feed everyone at once from a single kitchen, but enough that if I want to split them up into smaller groups (by den, or some other random division) I can.  Actually - I like to do both.

Some meals - I will prepare (with my helpers of course) for the entire group at once. Typically breakfasts are like this - so we can feed the group all at once and get them out to their activities. At least one big dinner for the entire pack - this is when we pull out the big grills (made out of a steel barrel cut in half) and BBQ chickens and grill veggies for the entire group.

Other meals - we get each smaller group to prepare on their own. A dutch oven is a perfect size for a single den and Dad's to have a stew or chili or something. Foil cooking (also known as silver turtles or hobo meals) are perfect for small groups.

And then - there is the hybrid, feed them all at once, but let them make it themselves. Otherwise known as the buffet. Perfect for lunch where all you have to do is lay out cold cuts, breads, salads, etc....and let everyone manage their own plate.

Each of these different styles of cooking will lead to different types of planning, food preparation ahead of the campout, and equipment you need to bring.

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Steaks aren't just for the grill...and a little dirt never hurt a Boy Scout.

Filed Under : by Brian Rudolph
Monday, April 5, 2010

My last class I was teaching was on an absolutely beautiful spring day. You couldn't have asked for nicer weather. The sun was shining, it was in the high 60's, low 70's, and a nice gentle breeze was drifting across the field to keep us cool in the sun.

I set up one of those light 10x10 shelters over the preparation table to keep the sun off our heads as we were chopping veggies and prepping lunch - naturally an unexpected gust of wind blows over the shelter, right into the stove and knocks the stove (with steamed veggies and pasta sauce) all over the ground.

  • Lesson 1: Always stake your shelter no matter how beautiful the day or gentle the breeze.
  • Lesson 2: When Boy Scouts want tomato sauce on their pasta - they are not going to let a little thing like dirt stand in their way!
Dry pasta for 45 adults wasn't on the menu - so I quickly whipped together a white sauce for the pasta with some butter, milk, and Parmesan cheese that I had at the site.  Crisis averted.

During lunch, I see the 4 Boy Scouts who were assisting us had tomato sauce on their pasta. Yup - they went over to the puddle of tomato sauce on the ground, skimmed off the top layer of sauce, and stuck to their original plan of pasta with red sauce. No stopping those Boy Scouts!

And the extra twigs and dirt just counts as additional fiber. Boy Scouts need roughage. LOL.

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Types of Outdoor Cooking

Filed Under : by Brian Rudolph

As I teach my BALOO class, I make sure my students are aware of a variety of different types of outdoor cooking or meal types that are available to them. This is not an exclusive list - but these are the ones that I touch on in my intro class which are easy for beginning outdoor chefs.


  • Dutch Ovens

  • Camp Stoves (ie. open burners, including: table top, free standing stoves, turkey fryers, backpacking stoves, etc...)

  • Silver Foil Cooking (sometimes called Hobo Meals)

  • Box Ovens

  • MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat, military style. The outdoor equivalent to Nutrisystem. Not cooking in the most literal sense, but still a type of meal and food prep that Scouts really enjoy.)

  • Food on a stick. (You would be amazed at what you can cook on a stick!)



(Post being edited.)

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Procrastinating. Lots of it. Set up a blog instead of doing something else. OK, done.

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