Why is it that the best meals are in the woods? Your prep table is a stump, no service, and the phone is almost dead anyway. Steak hisses as it's put on coals. Maybe it's because that's the way it should be, or maybe you're just starving after that hike. Nevertheless, it's better than anything you've paid thirty dollars for in town. Not because the ingredients were fancy, but because of where you were sitting when you ate it, slightly calorie deficient and ready to lie in your sleeping bag.
That's what cooking outdoors should be. Simplistic, with a beautiful view, very hungry campmates, and smoke that seems to follow you no matter where you sit.
The meal we keep skipping
We go to the outdoors to be present in the moment without distractions. Oftentimes, however, cooking and the culinary experience get overlooked and chalked up to trail mix, dry food, and, if you are lucky, hot dogs. It's not most people's fault. We want to save weight, not carry heavy cutlery or pack food that spoils quickly. As a lifelong backpacker and outdoor enthusiast, I am the same way with one exception.
The first night rule
When I pack in for a multi-day trip, that first night, no matter what, I am bringing a good meal. This stems from something I heard a while back "I don't mind being cold, I don't mind sleeping on the ground, and I don't mind being hungry, but I only do one of those things at a time." - Luke Nichols.
Because of this, for the first night I'll pack a little extra weight: a good steak, a quarter onion, and a few bell peppers. I'll cook it the first night over coals, and I swear to you, there is nothing better at that moment.
The first night makes sense for this too. It's when the food is coldest in your pack, when you've earned the biggest dinner of the trip, and by morning the extra weight is gone. The routine is always the same: get camp set, get the fire going early, and let it burn down while the light drops. Onions and peppers go on first since they take the longest, and the smell of them charring is the dinner bell. The steak goes on last, rests on a stump while I sit pretending to be patient, and gets sliced thin against the grain. Then you eat standing up, facing whatever view you walked all day to earn.
Upgrading from the pocket knife
Most times, I would prepare this meal with the small pocket knife that I keep in my pack. However, in recent times, I have made a well-deserved upgrade to my backcountry culinary experience, the Sanrok 4".
Now, is this a necessity within my backcountry kit? Not by any stretch of the imagination. Just like you don't need a sleeping pad or a tent to get by in the woods, but it definitely makes it feel a lot more like home. Something about putting more thought into my cooking when I am outdoors has elevated the entire experience for me. Part of that is having a dedicated knife for cooking at camp.
Many Backpacking knives that I have found by companies such as MSR or Sea To Summit are too focused on making the lightest tool possible, while coming at the cost of a bad feel or even poor steel choices. They often feel flimsy in the hand, and they are too thin to get a good purchase on. Even though the knife comes in a little bit heavier than other offerings ( 6.3 oz), the feel of this knife when using it is just like all of the other culinary knives that I have at home.
Care in the field is nothing, either. Wipe it down after dinner, dry it on a pant leg, sheath it, and put it back in the pack. It has shrugged off leaky marinade bags, river water, and mornings where everything in camp was soaked with dew, and the edge is still going strong.
"Why don't you just prep everything at home?"
A lot of people have asked me why I don't do all of the cutting and prepping at home. In my opinion, making a meal in the woods from start to finish is something that everyone should experience at least once in their life; it is fantastic. Especially when the weight penalty is so small. I also do a lot of fishing in alpine lakes. Having this knife allows me an amazing tool to process other foods that I gather throughout the trip. A trout that was swimming that afternoon, cooked over coals, might be the only thing that beats the first-night steak.
Not just for the backcountry
It is also worth mentioning that just because most of my trips include a large backpack, it does not mean that this knife is not perfect for throwing into a camper or the back of the truck to hit the campground for a weekend. The point that I am trying to make is that this knife is compact and nice to tuck away without realizing that it is there until you need it. Many times, I have taken this knife out for day trips with friends and family to make charcuterie boards or even just cut sandwiches. Although I wouldn't throw out all of my other kitchen knives, it really is a nice little utility knife to have around.
The right tools, everywhere
Making sure that I have the right tools for the job has always been very important to me, and I am starting to appreciate the value of good culinary tools not just at home but also when I am out and about in the woods. If you have a Sanrok 4" already, I would urge you to bring it on your next excursion and try to enhance your outdoor cooking beyond what is easy. If you haven't tried it yet, give it a shot; it's a versatile knife that I think everyone should own. You can find the Sanrok 4" here.
You deserve good food, always.
