How To Cook Food in Outdoor Survival

Cooking food is one of the most basic skills that you must learn for outdoor survival. You cannot always rely on eating uncooked food, especially if you are going to stay outdoors for several days. You can catch fish and cook them over fire. Cooking is also another way of bonding with your family or friends during your camping trip. There are different procedures that you can try for cooking food in outdoor survival.

Here are some of the tips on how to cook food for outdoor survival:

1. Preparation. Before cooking food, you need to prepare your utensils and cooking equipment. Be sure to wash your knives with water and dry them on the fire as there are many bacteria and germs outdoors. Do not build your fire in your camping area where there are lots of flammable materials. This will ensure that all the bacteria on the utensils will be gone. After this, you have to prepare your food. Do not eat fish that are spoiled. If you caught the fish or hunting your food, then you are sure that it is fresh. Only cook and eat food that you are familiar with. There are some fish or greens that may be poisonous to humans. It is best to avoid gathering and cooking any type of food just for the sake of eating.
2. Setting the food. Once you already have a fire going, you can prepare the food that you are going to cook. A strong wire is usually present in outdoor survival kits. Gather strong twigs and plant them firmly on both sides of the fire. Use the wire to suspend the food that you are going to cook. If you have to season your food, do so.
3. Cooking. Be sure that the food that you are going to eat is cooked. In outdoor cooking, it is better to eat overcooked food rather than eating undercooked food. Undercooked food can cause you to have several illnesses, such as diarrhea, dehydration and stomach pains. It is better if you have survival or camping guiedes with you so that you can read about cooking food. One sign that the food is cooked is when it changes in color or when some parts of the food are slightly burnt. Check the taste of the food before consuming it to see if it is already cooked.
4. After cooking. After cooking, make sure that you put out the fire completely. Wash all your cooking equipment with water. By doing this, you can avoid luring stray animals to your campsite. Also, make sure that there are no scraps of food lying around as this may also be bait for some dangerous animals.

These are some of the tips that you have to keep in mind when cooking your food for outdoor survival. It is good to know the basic techniques and tools that will help keep you alive if you get stuck in the wilderness for several days.