Fox Stew

I came across this fox cub, freshly knocked down, yesterday.

You'll notice the willow withy to suspend her, instead of cord, using clove hitches.

With an animal like fox, it's essential to be confident it's not been poisoned.

With roadkill, in the warm summer months, hygiene-wise, I often just use the legs, and maybe the backstrap.

Food safety-wise I like to fry initially, slow and long.

Then add water and veg, and simmer slow and long.

Making a stew means boiling your meat, and this is  a good way to ensure any bacteria is gone.

Absolutely delicious; I'd forgotten how good fox cub can be.

Looking forward to our upcoming autumn bushcraft training courses.
Have 2 day, plus 5 day, courses coming up in Oct.
Also a 3 day survival skills course coming up in Sep.
Both completely beginner friendly.

New Prepper Skills Course

It's been a while coming, here are details of the four-day Prepper Skills Course (divided into 2 two-day blocks)

www.outdoorsireland.com/activities/prepper-skills-training-ireland

Syllabus is pretty encompassing and intensive, but also very much designed to be totally beginner friendly.

Have a read through the weblink and get in touch if you're interested in booking:
info@outdoorsireland.com
+353 (0) 86 860 45 63

Bushcraft Survival 1 Syllabus

Bushcraft Survival 1 Syllabus


Survival Pyramid
Order Of Priority
Rule Of Three
Hypothermia
Hyperthermia
Dehydration
Personal Care

Gear Wear
Gear Carry

Sense Awareness
Landscape Awareness
Resource Awareness

Multi Task
Base Camp
Main Camp

Water Gather
Water Filter
Water Boil
Water Access

Forage Plant
Forage Animal
Forage Test

Fishing
Snaring
Butchering
 
Fire Build
Fire Manage
Fire Cook

Shelter Build
Mattress Build
Bag Build

Toilet

Wood Ash
Wood Charcoal

Cordage
Knot Work
Knife Work
Tarp Work

Signalling
Radioing

Leave No Trace (Owner/School/Environment/Stealth)

Survival Tin

Survival First Aid (Blister/Cut/Sprain/Fracture/Stomach/Head/Back/Crutch/Stretcher)


Click Here To See Course Dates
Click Here To Book A Course

Simple Butchering & Cooking Of Venison

Young stag, most likely killed by a car. 2/3 days dead. Body in good
condition, outside and inside. Cold air temp keeping meat well preserved.

Took two hind legs, with the utmost respect for the animal. Then took the
body off the road to lie discreetly in the heather, ready to feed fox and bird.

Skinned.

Hung for five days in cool place.

With a little care while skinning (sharp blade and small'ish knife) the skin
will come off neatly.

Hot and settled fire, with red hot ember base. This is two hours after lighting.

Freshly cut green withies, in this case sally willow. One of the few times it is
alright to cut a living bough. Green sappy wood will not burn easy, which
is what you want for your spits.

Using one spit or two spits will depend on your meat size and shape. In this
case two spits were needed to spread the meat out evenly to ensure even
heat and cooking.

You will see two spits here and two forks. Spits are de-barked and sharpened
to slide easily through meat. Make sure your timber is not toxic, for example
not yew wood.

Take your time to really securely set up forks and spits, possibly using
heavy rocks. After all your work butchering, skinning and fire lighting
you do not want a flimsy cooking arrangement dumping your meat into
the mud or the fire.

Five hours cooking, cooked hot and well all the way through. Test and taste
the meat as you go. What you want to avoid is burnt on outside and
under cooked on inside. Hold your hand to heat at a point where after 5
seconds the heat is too much for you. This distance from fire is ideal for
cooking.

Flip the meat over on the spits from time to time, so the top side of joint gets
equal cooking to bottom side. Play around with your spits, forks and
rocks for this. The righthand spit here shows another method for getting
your spit height just right.

Ready to go. Good to mention taking meat from a dead animal, and even
more so when taking an animal's life, should be done with the utmost respect
to the animal. Even catching and killing a fish should be done with a little
sadness and a lot of respect - it is giving up it's life to feed you.

Using strong green sap-filled withies prevents them burning. You can see here
just a little scorching after five hours of use.

Survival Skills Course

Three-day Survival Skills Course coming up, running in the wilds of Glengarriff, West Cork. Dates are Fri 3rd - Sun 5th Nov or Thurs 21st - Sat 23rd Dec.

For more details please get in touch on 086 860 45 63 or info@outdoorsireland.com. Thanks, Nathan

Emergency Plaster From Mountain Grass

How To Make An Emergency Plaster From A Common Mountain Grass:
Fionnán Or Purple Moor Grass

This stayed intact on the finger for five hours and survived rope coiling, driving and (careful!) hand washing.

1. Pluck the grass carefully from as low down as possible.

2. Wind carefully and tightly around wounded finger, extending well beyond the wound.

3. Trap or wrap the beginning of the grass under itself.

4. A series of simple round interwoven knots, or clove hitch knot will hold plaster in place.