Turkey Bag Cooking

Turkey bag cooking is a backpacking technique that is popular on the trails of Philmont. This is a compilation from several sources from folks that have slight variations on the technique

The concept of using the turkey roasting bag for cooking is based on the double boiler cooking process. This process of cooking is basically allowing steam and boiling water to cook your food instead of the heat from your stove against the bottom of the pot. The first benefit of this process is never burning food to the bottom of your pot. This is a common problem using the backpacking stoves since adjusting the heat from the stove is not easy. The second benefit is reduction of clean up after the meal. Since your food was cooked in the bag, it then becomes your yummy bag (yummy bag is a plastic bag that Philmont will give you to put food waste in that will not go down the sump). The third benefit in my opinion is a better prepared meal that the Scouts will eat. This process will only work with turkey roasting bags (yes, these are the bags you buy at the grocery store to roast turkeys in). Only turkey roasting bags are treated to withstand high heat. REGULAR PLASTIC BAGS WILL MELT!

Cooking Process (top)

1. Pour 1-2 inches of water in the bottom of the 8 qt pot.
2. Place one turkey bag in pot, rolling down the edge of the bag around the rim of the pot (You may choose to cut this excess off the bag).
3. Place pot on lighted stove.
4. Add cooking ingredients & spices into the turkey roasting bag and then stir.
5. Place top on pot (can use a frying pan without handle).
6. Cooking time - I have found from my experience that the stated cooking time is not always long enough. I always start our timing from the minute we put the pot on the stove. Many of the Philmont food items cooking instructions will state "add boiling water to ingredients"; however, we add water to the ingredients and then bring it all up to a boil.
7. We use two 8 qt pots and two stoves. Our process for meals is to use one stove for the soup while the other stove is being used to cook the entree. As soon as we serve the soup we then will use that pot & stove for the dessert.
8. After the meal you can then use the water in one pot for washing personal dishes and the hot water in the other pot for your rinse.
9. Your turkey roasting bag is then used after the meal as your yummy bag. Let me add that this process puts almost no food waste on the sump's screen.
10. Safety issue- since you are cooking with steam it will be escaping around the bag and at times you will have to adjust the bag due to steam bubbles forming under the bag. Steam will burn. I always do the bag adjusting to prevent the Scout cooks/chefs from burning themselves. Also the cooks should always use the pot tongs to hold the pot while they are stirring the food in the bag to prevent it from falling off the stove.

Links to Recipes

In Opposition (top)

Not everyone is convinced that the turkey bag method is the way to go.  Here's a point of view expressing some concerns.

"The above sounds at first like a panacea. It appears to make cleanup easier, but does not eliminate pot washing. It does however, increase the trash load on you and on Philmont tremendously. Do the math. 20,000 Scouts using Turkey roasting bags once each day amounts to a BIG pile of food contaminated popypropylene to dispose of.

It also increases the presence of "smellables" that attract bears which Philmont has mentally and physically worked their butts off by installing Sumps to eliminate that problem.

In short you are contributing to the overload of the Philmont staff and envoronment. I discourage that.

With all due respect to Donald Floyd, using Trukey Roasting bags is akin to using paper plates. Environmentally counterproductive.

I do not write this with malace in heart, but serious as stone.

I recommend and suggest that if a crew cannot cook in and wash dishes in the cooking pot, that they do their camping at summer camp where they have access to a kitchen sink. When they can do the same over a Coleman Peak 1 and use the cooking pot for the sink, then take them to Philmont. I know this sounds a bit harsh, but Philmont is not a picnic in the park nor is it a Mt. Everest expedition. Both of these throw tons of trash in the garbage piles! You can do better.

Speaking of the Yum Yum bag. You should not have one for each meal. You should have only one "cumulative" Yum Yum bag at any one time. Reduce the trash load on Philemployees. There is plenty work for them to do already, don't increase that. Your crew will be better off also.

Philmont is a better place than that. Treat it as such.

John LeBlanc
Eagle Class of 1959
Phirst Philmont Ptrek 1959
Philmont bound in July 2002
My latest adventure was yesterday
Today is not over yet!"