Whether you’re camping in a forest, enjoying a beach day, or stranded on a desert island, you’ll have the skills to turn survival into a fun experience.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Harnessing the Wilderness: Resourcefulness at Its Core
Cooking in the wild starts with understanding your environment and the resources it offers.
A forest, for example, presents edible plants, small game, and a myriad of insects. Forest settings provide ample opportunities to smoke meat over a fire, which when done correctly can be incredible.
A beach or a desert island, on the other hand, provides an abundance of aquatic species, from fish to crustaceans. Beach locations are ideal for grilling fish over hot coals or roast on a flat rock.
Catching Your Own Dinner: Fishing in the Wild
When it comes to survival in the wilderness, nothing beats the fresh catch of the day. If you find yourself near a river, lake, or sea, fishing becomes an essential skill. From crafting a simple spear to constructing a makeshift fish trap, primitive fishing methods can yield a substantial food source.
You might spend hours waiting for a fish to take the bait, or for a school of fish to swim into your trap. Patience is key in the wild. We have an extensive post on this if you would like to know more.
Foraging for Greens
Survival is not just about hunting small animals or catching fish and insects. In many situations, the bulk of your meals may come from plants, such as coconut if you are on marooned on a desert island.
Many plants offer nutritional benefits, often with fewer calories than meat. These can be a great addition to any survival diet. For instance, aquatic grass can add volume to your meals, while many plants and mushrooms can provide a surprising amount of protein, as long as you know what you are looking for.
Only consume food if you have a good water supply. Remember what we spoke about in your survival guide focusing on water?
Don’t just eat anything you find. For example, our island in Panama has an apple (the Manchineel pictured below) which is the most deadly tree on the planet. Even sitting under it a rainstorm will blister your skin!
There’s a long-winded test that can be done when ascertaining whether what you found is edible: Touch it on your inner arm and wait three hours. Then touch it to your lip and wait three hours. Touch your tongue and wait another three hours. Eat a tiny amount and wait three hours. And keep going like that. Imagine holding this level of patience over a delicious-tasting apple when you’re ravenous. The temptation is real!
Preparing your Fire: More than Just Heat
The most basic requirement for cooking is fire. In a survival situation, a well-maintained fire serves multiple purposes: it provides heat, a way to boil water, and an essential cooking source.
When preparing your fire, ensure it’s a safe distance away from trees or bushes to prevent a wildfire. Once the fire is established, let it burn until you have a good bed of glowing coals. Coals provide a steady and manageable source of heat, perfect for most cooking tasks. It’s best to boil water on a flame and cook food on coals.
Learn several different techniques of how to start a fire in the outdoors.
Wilderness Cooking without Pots and Pans
What if you don’t have a pot or any other cooking gear with you? The outdoor provides if you know where to look.
Cooking in Clay.
If the ground around you is muddy or if there are clay deposits, you can use this to your advantage. Wrap your meal in leaves (make sure they’re non-toxic) and cover it in clay. Place your clay-wrapped meal into the fire and let it cook. The clay acts as an airtight container, trapping heat and cooking the meal evenly.
Cooking Underground – The Natural Oven
This technique is popular in Polynesian cultures where it is called an ‘Umu’ and is frequently used today for celebrations, such as slow cooking a whole pig.
To prepare an earth oven you must first collect a number of large (but manageable) rocks. build a large fire and heat the rocks until they glow red. At the same time dig a large hole. Once the rocks are hot use a stick to push them into the bottom of the hole and cover them in a layer of dirt. Add a layer of vegetation and then add your meat and vegetables wrapped in leaves. Finally, add another layer of vegetation soil and a few more hot rocks for an even cook and fill in the hole. Depending on the size of what you are cooking you might want to wait 4-6 hours for your food to slow cook. Dig it up and unwrap your feast.
Leaf-Wrapped Delicacies: Straight to the Coals
Wrapping food in leaves is an excellent way to cook directly on the coals without getting your food ashy. This technique works great for fish or tender cuts of meat. The leaves add an extra layer of flavour and keep your food moist. Once wrapped take some bark or natural cordage (we at DIS love hibiscus bark) and tie the leaves.
Again, it’s vital to identify non-toxic leaves. On the island we typically use almond.
Hot Coals: The Outdoorsman’s Stove
Cooking meat directly on hot coals is a simple yet effective method, especially for small game. Simply place the meat directly onto the hot coals. Be prepared for it to cook quickly, so keep a close watch. The meat will be ready when it’s firm to touch and no longer pink inside. Be cautious of overcooking, as this can make the meat tough rather than tender.
Using Hot Rocks: Nature’s Griddle
Flat rocks can serve as a natural griddle. Place a flat rock on top of hot coals and allow it to heat up. Once heated, you can cook your meat or vegetables directly on the surface of the hot rock. Flat rock cooking works best for thin pieces of meat or fish, ensuring it’s cooked thoroughly.
Missing the Kitchen Comforts?
Even in the wild you can build a functional kitchen from the materials available. So, get creative and utilize the resources at hand. Knowing you made them means they’ll be truly individual items.
Depending on your environment you can use a lot of natural materials or if you are on desert island, you will find plenty of things swept up on the beach. Have a good look.
A Sea-washed Spoon
Among the plethora of items that the ocean can sweep onto the beach, you’re likely to find pieces of driftwood. These can be carved into rudimentary utensils using sharp rocks found on the beach.
A thick, sturdy piece of driftwood can be turned into a useful spoon, perfect for stirring your coconut bowl soup or for handling hot rocks.
Coconut Bowl Craft
Coconuts are the Swiss Army knives of tropical survival. Aside from being a source of hydration and food, they also make excellent bowls. By splitting a coconut in half, you can make two bowls that are hardy and reusable (though one half will have a hole in!).
Beach-Found Knife
If you don’t have a knife with you, you’ll have to get creative and make a knife, or something that works similarly.
In many cases, the ocean also washes up discarded items that can be repurposed. Broken pieces of glass, if handled with caution, can serve as a sharp tool for slicing meat or cutting through plant materials.
You could also come across metal scraps that, when sharpened against a rock, could function as a makeshift knife.
My favourite easy way to make a knife is to break clam shells to create razor-sharp edged knives. Lash these to a sturdy stick to create an axe. However, anything with a sharp edge will do as a knife, so if there are no shells available, bamboo can work very well as well as bone ground to a point. Also keep an eye out for a sharp rock such as flint which can be knapped.
Unconventional Pot: Coconut Shells and Washed-up Cans
When surviving on a beach or island, utilising the resources washed ashore by the ocean, alongside those naturally available, can be vital.
Coconut Shells and calabash as a Cooking Pot
Coconut shells have uses extending beyond makeshift bowls. When the coconut’s insides are removed, the hardy shells can serve as a rudimentary cooking pot. You can place small portions of food within and place them on the hot coals. Monitor the heat closely and rotate the shell to cook the food evenly.
The Calabash tree is also a wonderful source of cooking pot once scraped out, these can be reused for cooking over coals over and over again is you pay careful attention to avoid flame.
Washed-Up Cans for Boiling water
Beaches often have washed-up debris from the sea, including used cans. Though not environmentally friendly under normal circumstances, in a survival situation these can be repurposed.
A washed-up can make an excellent vessel for boiling water or cooking food. Fill the can with water or food, place it near the fire but not directly on the flames to avoid overheating or burning the contents.
Cooking Techniques in the wild
You now have your ingredients and improvised tools, it’s time to talk cooking techniques.
Roasting Over the Fire
One of the most basic and time-tested methods of cooking in the wild is roasting over the fire. This can be done by skewering the food on a stick and holding it over the flames, or by placing it on a grill made from green branches.
Stone Boiling
If you have access to a metal cooking pot or you have managed to improvise one, stone boiling is another excellent cooking technique. It involves heating rocks in a fire until they’re extremely hot. Then, using sticks or other tools, you remove the hot rocks and place them into your improvised pot filled with water. This method is great for boiling water or making a warming soup out of the different food you’ve gathered.
But stone boiling isn’t just for soup. It’s also an effective method to cook grains, vegetables, and even meat. The hot rocks transfer heat to the water, cooking whatever is inside your makeshift pot. This method ensures even, medium-high heat that can cook most foods efficiently.
Bamboo cooking pot
If you are fortunate enough to have the wonderful resource of bamboo you can easily create cooking pots. Simply cut the wildest, greenest bamboo you can find and cut it below two the upper and lower nodes.
On the desert island we like to cook up a fish curry in bamboo pots. We fill the bamboo with coconut cream, spices, fish and veg and close up the top with folded palm fronds. Finally, we place the dense node end of the bamboo directly on the coals being mindful to not expose it to flames. This is also a great way to cook rice! For this rice technique keep the whole segment of bamboo intact and make a small keyhole to pour the rice and water in.
The Art of Smoking Fish and Meat
Smoking fish or meat over a fire is a longer, more time-consuming process, but it’s worth the effort. This technique both cooks and preserves the meat creating food security. Not only does smoking give the meat a distinctive flavour, but it also helps to keep away insects and other animals.
Cooking on a spit
We’ve all seen meat cooked on a spit, in the wild it’s not so different. Cut straight green wood and thread it through your food. You can split the wood and put second sticks at 90 degrees, this stops the meat sagging the same direction when turned. Cut two ‘Y’ sticks on either side of the fire and cook away, turning periodically. Be sure to cook over heated coals, not flame.
Take Aways (Not That Kind)
Surviving in the wild requires adaptability, resourcefulness, and knowledge. From knowing how to start a fire and maintain hot coals, to improvising a cooking pot or making a simple soup, every skill increases your chances of survival.
Remember, food is more than just sustenance. It’s a source of comfort, a morale booster, and a way to feel human in the harshest conditions. Learning how to prepare a meal in the wild not only helps you survive but thrive.
Experiment with different ways of cooking and discover what you like best. After all, survival doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy your meals.
Do you want to learn some of these skills on a desert island with us? Answer a few questions and find out which island would be perfect for your training.
Which Island Is Right For You
