If you don’t Chew Big Red…

Fall in Minnesota is the best season, if you disagree….you’re wrong.  The weather is cold but not too cold, the trails are tacky, the fish are hungry, and the camping is outstanding.  We may not have mountains but we have lakes in spades, and there’s nothing better than camping by water.  Us folks at Surly are self-proclaimed bike nerds but Fall offers so many fun things to do that sometimes you have to step away and do something else. 

For me that something else is heading up to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA).  In many ways a backcountry canoe trip is like bike camping or whatever “adventure” themed term of the moment you want to give it.  You have to bring everything you need with you, the sleeping gear is about the same, and you can make it as intense or serious as you want.  I use trips like this to do some R&D on meals that can cross over to trips on my bike.  I’m not a super light bike camper, I usually carry a few extra beers and good food with me.  The same goes for canoe trips.  We usually haul out some hearty meals and a pony keg (glass and aluminum aren’t welcome in the BWCA).  I almost always bring tortillas for their pack-ability and cheese and cured meat since they don’t spoil quickly.  All of these things are pretty good on their own but become a lot better when combined in a quesadilla.  Quesadillas are pretty much idiot proof and quick.  Plus, everything tastes better when cooked over a fire.  Here is a recipe for some backcountry quesadillas.  *I use the term recipe pretty loosely, if you can’t figure out how to make a quesadilla I fear for you and the future of the world.

Ingredients:

1. Tortillas – it’s best to have some that are the same diameter or smaller than your pan
2. Cheese – whatever type tickles you
3. Meat/Protein – I usually bring summer sausage or similar cured meat.  Packaged chicken would work too but that shit grosses me out.
4. Butter or cooking oil – optional; everything usually tastes better fried in a little oil or butter and I always have oil for frying fish on canoe trips

Equipment:

1. A frying pan, skillet or similar
2. Something to flip your quesadilla – A knife, a stick, a spoon, pretty much anything will work
3. A knife – if you do it right this can double as your spatula/flipper

Method to the Madness

1. I start out by slicing up the sausage and frying that first, I’m not in a hurry and it tastes better that way
2. Cut the cheese
3. Coat the bottom of the pan with oil or butter
4. Lay out the tortilla and spread cheese across the whole thing, cook for a minute or two until the cheese starts to melt.
5. Place the meat on one half only, this is my preferred method I learned as a fry cook.  It makes folding it over easier and if you disagree, you’re wrong again.
6. Fold the tortilla over and cook on one side until brown/crispy
7. Flip and cook the other side until brown/crispy
8. Cut up and feast

This is a bare bones recipe and you can and should spruce it up with whatever else you’ve got.  I usually have hot sauce, an onion, peppers or other veggies depending on what the rest of my meals were.  The cheese and meat have enough salt that you don’t have to do much doctoring with salt or other spices you may have in your camp cook kit.  Really the sky is the limit, use your imagination.  Depending on how you build up your quesadilla you can really eat it for any meal.  I usually have some pre-packaged hashbrowns that go mighty nice with quesadillas for breakfast.  I’ll probably catch some flak for not being ultra-light but I don’t care, I’d rather eat well and haul extra weight.  To each their own or something like that.

I’m off to spend a couple weekends camping and paddling, bikes can wait for a while.

Step one in the process, coffee is always welcome

The master at work

Do you see it?  First person who calls it out gets a sticker next time I see you

They're not all keepers