A Wok To Remember Part 2

This blog is a continuation

of my previous wok work to bring the massive benefits of the humble carbon steel Wok out of the shadows and into the light of superstardom. You can read all about part one right here.

In that post

we looked at using the toughness and utility of a wok, and not only cooked bacon in it, but also used the bacon oil to make home fries.

Well, in this instalment

we show that we also used the same oil to make fried chicken. One of the real keys to using any deep fryer is to minimize the introduction of water into the oil. That is why you coat chicken with things like flour, egg and bread crumbs.

If you place boneless, skinless chicken thighs

in the oil, the water content from the chicken will mix with the oil and take so long to boil off that your chicken will be fit for only offerings. In this case I only used some flour with some spices added in and the result was just fine. I would likely recommend going the extra mile and adding an egg wash first, then the flour. Here you can see the results produced by frying the chicken. It was very good!!

Next, we baked a carrot cake

in a loaf pan. I used a decent, but typical, store bought mix for this because I'm trying to simulate what people would be doing camping, or at home with the power out. The biggest issue all of the outdoor specialists have seems to be burning the bottom of their cakes. The first few times you see someone say, 'Well, as you can see the bottom is a little burnt, but it still turned out okay,' it's a little funny and a bit cute. After seeing it 50-100 times you just think. Your bushcraft baking method sucks and you should not be attaching any kind of word to it like 'success.'

If. It's. Burned. It's. Not. Right. It's.....Burned.

So here are a few things to consider

in order to be a baking master with a Wok. Oh yes, first of all allow me to bonk on the nose those who will call foul for me using a baking pan inside of a Wok. Those are the folks who will usually tell you how amazing an 18 pound cast iron dutch oven is. Well, let me assure you that you absolutely 100% can NOT bake in a cast iron dutch oven with direct heat from a propane camp stove either. You would also need a pan insert, and you can use some of the methods I've used with the Wok to improve your dutch oven baking when using direct heat to the bottom.

Heat dissipation, heat distribution and venting

are all key components to dry baking like in a regular household oven. Carbon steel woks typically do not come with a lid, so I have become a bit of a lid hunter and have acquired a number of lids over time to suit different types of wok cooking. But I do have one lid to rule them all should I need to travel with my wok and strap in a ton of kitchen gear and food inside it. The stainless steel lid I’m using to bake with is just great, it has some pasta straining holes in the edge of the lid which acts as a wonderful venting system as moisture is baked off in a cake.

In order to be successful baking

cakes, muffins, breads and more in a wok, it is necessary to break metal to metal contact between the wok and the baking pan. It is also necessary to dissipate and diffuse massive amounts of heat coming in through the bottom of the wok. In order to control this I placed four layers of aluminium foil in the bottom of the wok. On top of that I place a once folded plumbers welding shield, or carbon felt, with a single layer of aluminium foil between the layers of carbon felt. The baking pan sat on top of the carbon felt and never touched the sides of the wok which were screaming hot. For my heat, I cranked my coleman propane camp stove to full and then backed it off a touch. I wanted it blasting pretty good but not at 100%.

Then I used the HANDLE of the lid

as a heat measure. I wanted to be able to touch the handle and keep my hand on it but still be uncomfortable. If the handle is too hot to touch my heat was basically too high. You could easily use an electronic thermometer inside the wok to dial it right in. Lids are different so that method worked for me. Your baking times can vary but don’t be afraid to crank it up and get things hot. I am sure this method can be used inside many camp pots that fit inside one another to make large cupcakes or breads. I greased my baking pan with a bit of crisco and dusted it with some flour as you normally would.

Happy Trails and please feel free to ask any questions in the comments. More than anything I appreciate you simply sharing this good survival news with anyone you feel can use it :)

See you next time down the trail.

Love,
Bug

P.S. Use your carbon steel wok to make popcorn and

PRO tip: Use green onions with oil to really improve your woks non stick properties and this works terrific for stainless steel pans as well.

MYTH: You can not use detergent on your wok. Please. Hot tap water is not hot enough to open the pores of the metal. Scrub it, soap it, do what you wish. Then put it on heat and let it get nice and hot and coat it with a little oil and paper towel. Boom reasoned.