Therefore, start by spearing the meat on a green twig of sweet birch, or some similar wood, and toast it before the fire or pinch the meat between the split ends of a twig (Fig. 133) or better still

Fork It

In order to do this select a wand with a fork to it, trim off the prongs of the forks, leaving them rather long (Fig. 134), then sharpen the ends of the prongs and weave them in and out near the edges of the meat (Fig. 135), which is done by drawing the prongs slightly together before impaling the meat on the second prong. The natural spring and elasticity of the branches will stretch the meat nice and flat (Fig. 135), ready to toast in front of the flames, not over the flame.

A very thick steak of moose meat or beef may be cooked in this manner. Remember to have fire-dogs and a good back log; there will then be hot coals under the front log and flame against the back log to furnish heat for the meat in front. Turn the meat every few minutes and do not salt it until it is about done. Any sort of meat can be thus cooked; it is a favorite way of toasting bacon among the sportsmen, and I have seen chickens beautifully broiled with no cooking implements but the forked stick. This was done by splitting the chicken open and running the forks through the legs and sides of the fowl.

Pulled Firebread Or Twist

Twist is a Boy Scout's name for this sort of bread. The twist is made of dough and rolled between the palms of the hands until it becomes a long thick rope (Fig. 138), then it is wrapped spirally around a dry stick (Fig. 139), or one with bark on it (Fig. 137). The coils should be close together but without touching each other. The stick is now rested in the forks of two uprights, or on two stones in front of the roasting fire (Figs. 140 and 141), or over the hot coals of a pit-fire. The long end of the stick on which the twist is coiled is used for a handle to turn the twist so that it may be nicely browned on all sides, or it may be set upright in front of the flames (Fig. 142).

A Hoe Cake

May be cooked in the same manner that one planks a shad: that is, by plastering it on the flat face of a puncheon or board, split from the trunk of a tree (Fig. 145), or flat clean stone, and propping it up in front of the fire as one would when cooking in a reflecting oven (Fig. 146). When the cake is cooked on one side it can be turned over by using a hunting knife or a little paddle whittled out of a stick for that purpose, and then cooked upon the opposite side. Or a flat stone may be placed over the fire and used as a frying pan (Figs. 116 and 128). I have cooked a large channel catfish in this manner and found that it was unnecessary to skin the fish because, there being no grease, the skin adhered firmly to the hot stone, leaving the white meat flaky and delicate, all ready to be picked out with a jack-knife or with chopsticks, whittled out of twigs.

Meat Hooks

May be made of forked branches (Figs. 151, 152, 153, 154 and 155). Upon this hook meat may be suspended before the fire (Fig. 153) by a piece of twine made from the twisted green bark of a milkweed or some other fibrous plant stalk or tree bark, or a wet string will do if you have one.