Hardtack: A Great, Traditional Survival Food and Emergency Ration

Hardtack is a traditional survival ration, and is easy to make.

Looking for a way to use up surplus flour, or make a cheap trail food or durable survival ration? One answer may be hardtack, a baked, unleavened wheat cracker. As a survival food, hardtack has a proven track record.
Hardtack is one of the original trail and emergency foods, and it is worth considering if you are a prepper or are interested in wilderness or urban survival.
The advantage is that hardtack is easy to make, transports easily and will last a reasonably long time if stored in appropriate containers. The disadvantage is the bland taste, and traditional toughness.
Try these recipes and see if you can find one to include in your survival food recipes!

From The Boundary Waters: Hudson Bay Bread

The only item on the lunch menu the first day was a three-inch square of Hudson Bay Bread gobbed with about two tablespoons of peanut butter. I’d worked up quite an appetite paddling and portaging that morning, and privately wondered where I’d get the energy to last the rest of the day.
To my surprise, the Hudson Bay bread was so rich, filling and full of calories
that I could barely finish it. I had ample energy to paddle, portage and hike until that evening. That was lunch for several days, and Hudson Bay Bread fueled many rigorous miles of paddling and portaging!
If you are outside in cold weather, doing vigorous activities, you'll like this recipe!

Try This Tasty hardtack Recipe

Looking for a way to use up surplus flour, or make a cheap trail food or durable survival ration?
One answer may be hardtack, a baked, unleavened wheat cracker.  
As a survival ration, hardtack has a proven track record. But hardtack is traditionally - and notoriously - bland, boring, and tough to eat.
I was sent this recipe, and made up a batch just before an elk hunt. It's great! Sample some, and you may have just come up with a new favorite trail food! 

Off Grid Cooking Expert Ann Gawith on Preparedness Radio

Gerald and Ann Gawith

Ann and Gerald Gawith are construction building contractors and remodeling experts, based in Central Oregon. Together with Gerald and business partner Linda Stephenson ( author of “Linda Stephenson’s Wild Game Cookbook” and several other cookbooks) the trio operates a cast iron catering business named “Grub Masters.”
Gerald and Ann, both accomplished off-grid cooks, regularly use a woodstove for heating and cooking.
Ann was recently a guest on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio on the Preparedness Radio Network, and talked about some of the things you can do to retrofit your home for stormy weather and power outages. You can hear the complete interview here.

Restoring a Cast Iron Treasure

Potential treasures!

If you’re a recycler (like many preppers  and survivalists are) and you frequent garage sales and thrift stores, then keep an eye out for good, useful cast-iron cooking implements. Somebody’s rusty, dust-covered survivor of a failed camping trip may end up becoming a valuable addition to your cooking tools.
In a survival situation, a Dutch oven is a useful tool for baking, boiling, sauteing or frying. You can use virtually any heat source, including a campfire, charcoal, a propane burner or  barbecue grill. And talk about something with barter or trade value – a few days without electricity, and everyone will be clamoring for a Dutch oven!

Cookbook Review: Linda Stephenson's Wild Game Dutch Oven Cookbook

Linda Stephenson

It’s one thing to have the meat from a game animal. It may be another to cook it! How often have you heard: “I don’t eat venison (elk, antelope, bear, pheasants, etc) because it’s tough and tastes gamey”?
An important part of every survivalist or prepper’s survival kit and tools are outdoor, campfire recipes. You may be able  to collect a squirrel, rabbit or deer, but not know how to prepare it so the meat tastes good. During an emergency or a disaster, your cooking situation might be a campfire, Dutch oven and game meat.  How do you cook a squirrel, rabbit, grouse or piece of venison outdoors?
“Wild Game Dutch Oven Cooking” can answer many of those questions.