For everything you need to know about safe food preparation and storage onboard any boat. The Cabin Fever Cook™ is a freelance journalist and writer with a lifetime of experience in the catering and hospitality industry. You can Read more about the The Cabin Fever Cook™ or EMAIL him if you have a particular topic or question you would like covered.
EDITION 1- WHERE TO START
EDITION 2 - MENU PLANNING
EDITION 3 - MORE MENU PLANNING
EDITION 4 - VENISON
EDITION 5 - SPECIAL GUEST!
EDITION 6 - WHO'S THE WINNER OF THE WINTER COOK OFF?
Well, me hearties, you'll need to know a few galley secrets learnt the hard way from an old salt with chef's apron…
Even before you sail there's stuff to remember:
Find out and think about these variables –
Many modern craft still rely on blocks of ice for refrigeration, so follow the general rule of the tea clipper galley:
Don't waste refrigeration space or risk food poisoning by thoughtless planning….perishable foods MUST stay cold!
Remember, preserved foods are safe to eat at room temperature without cooking. Heavy weather may force you to eat out of tins.
Write out a menu plan for each day away.
Calculate the quantities of ingredients required for each meal, times the number of crew.
Apply the list of variables and guidelines whilst deciding on the menu and, then again when deciding on the food order.
Allow one or more days for emergency depending on length of journey.
Allow one day extra prior to departure for supply or quality problems.
MENU PLANNING
Now, me hearties, I hope you've got the idea that cooking on board means planning ashore.
Let's take a look at the idea of menu planning. In other words, "what am I going to feed them after day one?"
First, find out if there are any special diets needed beforehand: any diabetics, vegetarians or religious restrictions and so on. If the requirements are strict, you'll need to tactfully explain that the extraordinary will have to be under the heading of 'self catering' due to storage and equipment limitations on board.
So long as people are warned and have time to prepare themselves, they generally are just happy to have received consideration. It means that they can weigh the facts up when they decide to join the crew and commit to the trip.
Next, try to imagine each dish on the plate: there should be a variety. The variety should include diet-balance, texture contrast, colour variance and flavour blend.
Then try to write down the meals, as if on the plate, for lunch and dinner for consecutive days. Try to avoid repetition except for breakfast. People generally like the same sort of breakfast each day, so they can choose from the same array.
In your spare time, try out some recipes or stick to family favourites. The rule must always be: keep it simple.
Here is a recipe I'm making today for stewed fruit, for example. Most people actually 'stew' it in a container on top of the stove, so the heat comes from below. This makes the result a bit sloppy. It looks pre-digested. The fruit loses its structure.
My recipe is 'in the oven'. I learnt this a long time ago from an old shearer's cook. Here 'tis:
INGREDIENTS:
Start with SEASONAL fruits. For example…in Autumn try
450g Pears
400g Apples
300g Rhubarb
300g Sugar
80ml Water
EQUIPMENT: 1x Oven-proof dish (mine's oval) approx. 27x20x5cm deep.
METHOD:
1. Pre-heat oven to 175-200C
2. Cut plums in half, remove stones
3. Core and slice the apples, roughly mix the two fruit types together
4. Place fruit in oven-proof dish, pour in water, sprinkle sugar on top, heat on stove top till water boils, place in oven.
5. Allow to cook for 30 minutes.
Test fruit with the point of a knife to see if it's tender whilst still holding shape. Timing will depend on type of fruit and degree of ripeness. Rhubarb, for example, can be checked after 15-20 minutes.
Serve the stewed fruit for breakfast with muesli or breakfast cereal.
The real secret of cooking is: don't mess about, let the ingredients do the talking.
CFC
MORE MENU PLANNING
I hope you've been getting organised and trying out some different cooking ideas in your own kitchen. This is where you can make a difference: in your own home, with your own equipment and your own style.
The difference between home and planning for a trip away on board is: write things down. That way you'll know what to order and what to bring, how much it should cost and so on. It doesn't matter at home. If you're missing something or run out, then you can make other arrangements, improvise.
So remember to write your ingredients, equipment and methods down.
Here's one of my family favourites: it serves 4 adults.
You can call it what you like, the name's up to you: I call it "Spicy Fish in Coconut Rice".
INGREDIENTS:
250g Brown rice
150g Red onion
5g Fresh herbs (preferred). If dry, double it to 10g
2x125g tins of Mackeral in tomato sauce
1x 185g tin of Tuna chunks in spring water (preferred) or brine
80ml Water
400ml tinned, reduced fat Coconut Milk
15ml tomato sauce/ketchup
60g Spicy Lime Pickle (this is generally stocked alongside ingredients for Indian dishes).
EQUIPMENT: Oven proof dish 27x20x5cm, thick foil.
METHOD:
1. Pre-heat oven to 175-200C
2. Open tins of Mackeral and distribute evenly at the base of the dish
3. Open Tuna, drain, distribute as above
4. Sprinkle tomato sauce over
5. Spoon over the lime pickle
6. Chop onion and distribute over other ingredients.
7. Sprinkle rice over, evenly
8. Place herbs over surface.
9. Shake tin of coconut milk vigorously to create smooth emulsion, open tin, pour on and add about 80ml of water depending on consistency of coconut milk.
* Cover with foil and place in oven for between 60-90 minutes. After 60 minutes press foil to check whether or not the rice has taken up the liquid. The foil will be firm to touch at full absorbtion.
Serve with salad or vegetables.
Clean down galley and equipment. Tidy away all surfaces, leaving nothing loose.
Plain sailing. CFC
A big howdy this week folks from far away....
I’ve dropped anchor in Blighty for a while to visit various rellos.
The seasons have swapped. It was Autumn back in Sydney, but Spring over here. It’s a reminder that some dishes lend themselves to re-heating, particularly stews and curries. They can be cooked ashore then served afloat.
While wandering past the village butcher, I spotted ‘venison’ on the kerbside blackboard. In Australia venison is a farmed product, whereas over here it’s shot in season as game. This is part of the culling process to keep numbers manageable, much like kangaroos back home. They taste similar and are lean and healthy to eat.
With Venison it’s best to use a marinade prior to cooking. Marinade is just a term for ‘flavoursome, tenderizing liquor’.
Here’s my recipe for this one, just used on the venison:
INGREDIENTS:
800g of Venison
250g Red onion or french shallots
5g Fresh herbs (preferred). If dry, double it to 10g
Knob of butter
Olive oil
Sea salt
1/2 cup of red wine or port
1 tsp sugar
1 tin of whole tomatoes
A few chopped anchovy fillets (optional)
EQUIPMENT: Bowl for marinade. (1.5L container. I use a plastic milk carton, laid on its side with the top cut off.) Fry pan. Oven pan.
METHOD: Preheat oven 180C
1. Place venison in bowl and cover with red wine/port, good dose of Olive oil, tomatoes, herbs and anchovies.
2. Leave for 30 mins at room temp (18-20C deg.) not out in the sun!
3. Heat the fry pan to a high heat. (The venison should be cooked quickly at a high heat and be served rare.) Add Olive Oil and cook venison until a golden brown crust forms. Season with sea salt whilst cooking to aid in the caramelisation. Move the meat to the oven for 10 mins.
4. Heat the Pan to a medium heat. Add butter and shallots/onions and allow to soften.
5. Add the rest of the marinade, sugar and salt to taste. Allow to reduce until sauce has thickened slightly.
6. Remove venison allow to rest for at least 5 mins whilst the sauce reduces.
7. Serve with sauce over venison & fresh cracked pepper.
8. This dish can be accompanied by crusty bread, vegetables, potato mash or even rice.
Clean down galley and equipment.
CFC
Looking to escape for the weekend? Been imagining the feel of the wind in your face and the taste of salt on your lips? Feel like giving your fishing rods a work-out and cooking up a seafood feast for the family? If your answer is yes, then it’s time to take off on an adventure where you can stay and play all day and through the night.
Boaters have every excuse to be lax when it comes to food preparation and storage. Aboard many boats it's difficult to sanitise without access to hot water to clean cooking and dining utensils properly. This coupled with the need to confine food preparation to a postage-stamp space saddled with erratic cooking and cooling devices further complicates the issue.
Avid boat enthusiast, sometimes chef and Haines Group Managing Director (Sales and Marketing) Greg Haines offers some timely tips that will ensure you don’t invite any unwanted guests into your galley that could leave you, your friends and family with more than just seasickness.
“The most important thing to remember is to keep food out direct sunlight - the “Danger Zone” – as bacteria multiply rapidly at warm temperatures,” Mr Haines said.
Food can become unsafe if held in the “Danger Zone” for over 2 hours so bring along plenty of ice and keep your cooler shaded or covered with a blanket to prevent food getting too warm.
“I would suggest taking two coolers on board, one for drinks and snacks and another for more perishable food.
“The drink cooler will be opened and closed a lot, which lets hot air in and causes the ice to melt faster. 
Another issue faced by boaties is cross contamination – this is often transferred via cutting boards, knives, plates, spoons or your hands – sterilise utensils by scrubbing with chlorine based cleaners or dousing with boiling water.
“When it’s time to start cooking things like meats, eggs, seafood and other protein foods, you can kill off any bacterial parasites by heating to 140 degrees or hotter,” he said.
Mr Haines advises throwing out any questionable leftovers as food that would normally keep in a constantly running refrigerator spoils twice as quickly when stored in an icebox or cooler.
“If you do feel confident about your leftovers, be sure to reheat them to steaming hot before serving warm,” he said.
A love of boating, fishing and seafood drove Greg to design and build the ultimate fishing boat complete with onboard cooking facilities and areas so you can cook your catch out on the open seas.
The Haines Signature 600C provides perfect daytime adventures and overnight comfort out on the water, equipped with all you need for fishing and cooking.
As the sun starts to go down and the time comes when you would usually head for home, the 600C lets you drop the anchor, and head to the galley which includes a stove, sink, icebox and plenty of shelves, making it the ideal place to cook your catch and enjoy a sunset backdrop.
There is nothing more satisfying than cooking your own catch so you might like to try two of Greg's favourite Yacht and Boat recipes Prawn & Pineapple Skewers and Fish crusted with Parmesan and Herbs as a delicious end to a fun and rewarding day.
You may also like to view the Haines Signature range or read more about The Haines Group story.
Howdy there folks! I hope you've been able to get some housekeeping jobs done on the pride-and-joy during this cold weather.
In fact, housekeeping is what I want to talk about this week.
Housekeeping includes that dreary word 'hygiene' that you can do courses and get certificates in. Here are some things to remember...
Hot food should be served and stored at no less than 60 degrees C.
Cold food or cooked food should be stored at 4 degrees C and served as close as possible to that temperature...except:
Fish and shellfish. These should be stored at 0 degrees C on ice. As the ice melts it keeps the temperature just above freezing. Put a drip tray underneath and put the crushed or cubed ice on top unless you want to display the items.
Fresh vegetables should be stored at 6-8 degrees C to preserve the quality. If they are greens, then to avoid wilting or drying out you can place stems in a container of water.
Root vegetables can be stored at room temperature unless pre-prepared/without skins.
Most things if stored properly, and fresh to begin with, should last about 5 days sometimes more.
Fish and shellfish are the exception. Take great care with these and also chicken and rabbit. The reason for this is the general level of bacterial population and infection on them. The bacterium 'spores' are, literally, everywhere; especially on skin. I'll tell you more about these little devils later...
Meanwhile, keep that galley spotless and sleep easy.
Now on to other matters - The Winter Cook Off!
Needless to say, I have stuffed myself witless with all the marvellous creations our dear Yacht and Boat members have sent in en masse in the form of competition recipes.
It's been a challenge to select 'the best' and I've selected several finalist recipes for you to try yourself - don't forget to send me your comments at cfc@yachtandboat.com.au
View the Cook Your Catch and Onboard Entertaining pages for more information.
And the winner is : Ms N Bennett for her simple, honest and divine "Fish the Easy Way"