My Fire Roasted Foolbird recipe from last year was my first time cooking anything other than marshmallows on a fire, and it was SO fun! I knew I had to do some open fire cooking again. What better time than with a menu inspired by MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, the tale of a young boy who lives alone off the land in the Catskill Mountains?

The main character, Sam Gribley, cooks loads of meals on an open fire. It was tough to choose which one, but remembering how long it took to cook the foolbirds, I decided to go with something that would cook a lot faster: fish. I was intrigued by Sam’s method of cooking trout wrapped in grape leaves. Since I couldn’t get trout, I chose snapper, which he eats earlier in the book.

This was SO easy to make, and the flavor was amazing—salty, garlicky, and acidic in all the best ways. The only hard part was the weather! I made this in mid-June and OH MAN THE RAIN. We just couldn’t seem to get any dry weather. My husband, who’s enough of a camping wizard that he can still start a fire with damp wood, just couldn’t get it going in a way he was happy with. It took us over a week (I had to go out and buy more ingredients—the first set had to be cooked on the stove before they went bad), but It was worth it. Considering it only takes about 15 minutes, this is going on my list of go-to vegetarian recipes. Enjoy!

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Campfire Fish Wrapped in Grape Leaves

“While I prepared trout baked in wild grape leaves, Matt sat on the bed and told me the world news in brief. I listened with care to the trouble in Europe, the trouble in the Far East, the trouble in the south, and the trouble in America. Also to a few sensational murders, some ball scores, and his report card.”

— My Side of the Mountain

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 10 large grape leaves
• 2 0.5-oz snapper fillets
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 lemon
• vegetable oil for the pan
• chopped green onion, for garnish

 

Makes 2 snapper fillets

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. My husband is an Eagle Scout, so I put him in charge of starting the fire. Here are his fire-building tips:
   1. Start with sticks about 1-2 inches in diameter. Build a “log cabin” (a hollow square of sticks). Build a “teepee” inside the cabin by gathering some smaller sticks together into a triangle. Loosely pack the teepee with your more highly flammable materials (like very small sticks, pine needles, and paper/cardboard). He highly recommends cardboard fast food drink holders! Light the fire and feed as needed.
      
      

      “The Cabin”

      

      “The Teepee”

   2. That said, he stresses that he is not a fire-building expert and that everyone should educate themselves on fire safety before working with fire. Of course, keep adequate water nearby, never leave a fire unattended, and make safe choices.
2. On to the rest of the recipe! On a cutting board, lay out half your grape leaves in a circle with edges overlapping (leave no gaps). Put a fillet in the center, skin-side up. Rub both sides with half your garlic, salt, and pepper. Slice your lemon into disks and lay 2-3 lemon slices on top of the fillet. Fold the leaves closed and lay folded side down on the cutting board. If needed, you can lay a smaller grape leaf over the spot where all the leaves overlap to help keep it closed. Set aside.
   
   

   

    

3. Repeat Step 2 with remaining ingredients.
4. Coat a cast iron skillet with a thin layer of neutral oil with a high smoke point (such as vegetable oil). Place it over the fire for a few minutes to a get hot, then add your fish packets to the pan, folded-side down. Cook for 5-7 minutes per side. Cut into the center of one of the fillets to check for doneness, adding more time if needed. The fish should be white and tender throughout, and a meat thermometer inserted in the center should read at least 145°.

   

5. Unwrap and sprinkle on chopped green onion for garnish. Serve while walking on the wild side in the Catskill Mountains.

   

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Want more outdoorsy food? Check out my HATCHET menu!

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Hazelnuts

Raspberry Fruit Leather

Peanut Butter Skillet S’more from HATCHET

Fire Roasted Foolbird