Backcountryoutlet.com Newsletter Articles

A friend of a friend gave me a Bloody Mary once. It was okay, but his friends couldn’t stop lauding the drink’s spice, flavor, and vodka ratio. My friend must have seen the confused look on my face, because she leaned in and told me this: “I was over at their house a couple months ago watching TV on a Sunday morning, these guys were all talking about how great Paul’s Bloody Marys are, and he got up to make some. After he was in the kitchen, Dan told me, ‘I’m not sure Paul’s Bloody Marys are really any better than anyone else’s, but this way, we don’t have to get up.’”

Since then, I haven’t been able to stop telling my friends how much I love their cooking when we’re out camping. In hopes that I’d never have to get up to go to lunch again, I asked the employees of Backcountry.com for their best recipes.

Uncle Jesse’s Mud Pie—Jesse Stay, Engineering

• 1 dried pie crust in a tin pan (can be bought at most stores)
• 1 package dried Jello Pudding Mix
• Powdered Milk (enough to make the milk it says on the pudding mix)
• Water (for hiking, it helps to write the amount on a zip lock bag that contains the powdered milk)

Mix Jello Pudding Mix, Powdered Milk, and water in a shakeable mixing container (can be stirred as well, but Uncle Jesse prefers it shaken, not stirred). Let sit until the pudding has consistency. Empty into pie crust and serve to your fellow outdoorsmen/women.

Garlic Buttered Trout—Christian Paul, Customer Support

• 1 bottle of spray-on butter
• ½ cup of garlic powder
• 1 bottle of lemon juice
• Mixed spices (optional)
• As many floundering trout as you can catch
• Tinfoil baby!

While in the backcountry, you’re not going to have Martha’s kitchen at your disposal, so you’ll need to improvise.

This works for trout fillets or cooking the fish in the skin. Coat the trout with the garlic powder, then place the lemon juice on the trout to soak the garlic powder into the fish. Then spray on the butter, coating the fish evenly, and then if you have spices, add those. Then wrap the fish in the tinfoil, and place that on your cooking area. If you’re backpacking, put it right in the fire. Give that about 8 to 10 minutes to cook, and viola! You have great Garlic Buttered Trout! It’s a good idea to fire up a side item on your stove first. Great with rice or beans for dinner or eggs for breakfast! Give it a shot!

Mountain Pie—Kody Hoover, Inventory Analyst

These things are seriously good, I like to use cherry pie filling the most, but you can use whatever. Great for car camping and backpacking, I would go with a dehydrated fruity mix for the pie filling when backpacking.

• 2 pieces of bread
• 1 can of your favorite pie filling
• Cooking spray/butter helps
• A square pie iron the size of about 2 slices of bread

Place one slice bread in iron. Fill bread's center with a spoonful or two of pie filling. Add another slice of bread. Clamp iron together and stick in the fire until bread is golden and toasty.

Road Kill—Jeff Mikaelian, Customer Support

This isn’t really a recipe, but if you ever happen to hit a deer on your way to Fishlake National Forrest, Capitol Reef National Park, or the Burr Trail in Wayne Country, Utah, just call Dwayne at the Sand Creek RV Park (435-425-3577), and he will pick it up and prepare it as you wish. It’s usually jerky or sausage since you just mangled it.

I have more then one friend down there who has happily dined on the animal that just totaled their vehicle.