Quick sauces

Shane

yes a good sauce does make the meal, however doing them when out camping can be a royal PITA. We usually manage to have a nice gravy on our camp oven roasts and it is home made not packet made.

When the roast is done we remove the meat and veg from the camp oven and wrap in foil to stay warm. (resting the meat for 10 minutes before carving is beneficial to it anyway)

Once done and the camp oven in empty except for the pan juices, add a splash of red or white wine. Bring to the boil and add some plain flour to make a roux.Cook for a minute or two until the flour is fully incorporated and cooked with the liquid (be careful not to burn). This will give you a dough like consistancy. SLowly add water to this, constantly stiring as you do so. Continue to add water and stir until it is starting to bubble. Add any spices, salt, pepper, chicken stock etc to taste. Take camp oven from heat source and place lid on to keep warm.

Carve meat, place all onto plate and pour over hot gravy. If all goes well you will have a nice hot steaming roast :)

If you are frying on a hotplate, you can make the gravy the same way using a pan, although you dont get the benefit of the pan juices. If making in a pan with no juices, you can add a little spot of butter to assist with flavour.

For pepper sauce, I usually add a tin of drained peppercorns )black, pink or green) after the red wine.

HTH

Have cooked this in billys on open fire only last week:

Onion, garlic, capsicum, zuccunni fried in oil. Add half bottle crushed tomato/pasta sauce and glass of red wine. Cook 10-20 minutes. I used this sauce with pasta and served with the meat. Has plenty of vegies that do not need to be refridgerated, is in one pot/billy.

I think a lot of the pub sauces come from a packet too but here's a couple of suggestions
Sometimes I make mine up at home and take with me

Diane Sauce ( will keep forever referigerated)

250ml tomato sauce
250ml red wine
Heaped tablespoon crushed garlic
30 mls worcestershire sauce
Mix these and simmer for 2 or 3 mins
Remove from heat and stir in
1 carton (250g)longlife cream

Bottle when cool

I don't actually measure when I make so you will eventually get your mixture to your taste - I stick to same amount of tom, wine & cream and 1/8 worcestershire.

I always have a few clean old tins in my hubbys fire container so I just heat sauce beside the fire

Easy BBQ sauce - nice for chicken also nice for pork

3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tbs vinegar
5 tbs brown sugar
2/3 cup water /wine or mixture
1/3 cup sweet chilli sauce(optional)

I make this up at home and either cook meat in sauce or pour over 14 mins before its finished

My favourite hint for sauces and gravy is make it early and keep hot in a thermos. ( I do make packet gravy though) only for health reasons - I love pan gravy but have given it up

Shane also try making some vegetable parcels in alfoil,- Make each person up their own favourite vegies - smeer with bitter or a little oil and wrap in 3 layers of foil and cook on coals.

My fav parcel is brussel sprouts, sweet potato, button squash, potatoes, parsnip & carrot.

I also often cook a few shanks in an oven bag in the camp oven with a packet of dry French Onion soup. Now this makes a nice sauce.

Keep asking and keep having fun trying new ideas

Di

Oxymoron,,,, oxymoron,,, ah yes!Now I remember! Thats the name fitters call boilermakers...lol Whacker

Take it from an old Restaurateur, the basis for any good sauce is wine and cream.

Quick Pepper Sauce

Tip some green peppercorns (from a can after draining) into a pan with some white wine. Heat until the wine is reduced, add a good slurp of cream, heat untill it reduces to a saucy consitency, add a good screw of black pepper and pour over the steak.

Musshie Sauce.

Fry Mushies in butter for a few minutes until juices reduce, add a good slurp of red wine, cook till it reduces, add a big slurp of cream and heat till it gets to a saucy consistency and pour over the steak.

Dianne Sauce

Gently saute some finely diced onion and garlic in butter, add some white wine and a good slurp of Worcestershire sauce, heat until it reduces, add a good slurp of cream until it reduces to a saucy consistency and pour over steak.

A simple, but magnificent sauce for lamb is some mint jelly in a pan with cream, heat till it reduces. Especially good over a Rack of Lamb.

Cream is the cornerstone of sauces made by all good French Chefs, it is the master ingredient.

Bon Apetit,

Jim