Survival Basics

Listen To The Article By maximizing your solar generator, you can ensure that you will be completely prepared for anything that a winter storm may throw at you. If you go far enough back in history, you’ll find that the whole idea of disaster preparedness and survivalism started in northern climates as a response to

Restaurants have used sous vide cookers for years, and now they’re available to home cooks. Seal your food in a plastic bag, immerse it in water, and the machine heats and circulates the water to a precise temperature. Accurate to one degree or less, sous vide machines allow you to cook food exactly to your

Bobotie is a classic South African dish in which ground meat—often springbok or kudu—is laced with dried fruits and slivered almonds and fragrant curry then baked beneath a golden eggy crust. Beguiling yet deeply comforting, it’s a terrific vehicle for whitetail, elk, or moose. This recipe is adapted from renowned South African winemaker Adi Badenhorst;

The term “bug out” is related to retreating with speed—as in, getting out fast when the s–t hits the fan. This list for a bug-out kit is long, but it provides you with everything you’ll need for your best chance at surviving and living the wilderness in cold climates for an indefinite period of time.

There’s not a man alive who doesn’t want a smooth, close, and pain-free shave. Shaving gel manufacturers know this, and every product out there is supposed to provide the “best shave ever!” But every man’s face shape, skin, and whiskers are different, so what’s a great shaving gel for one guy may not be a

If you want to use the floodlight to illuminate the area around an outbuilding or a camp without electricity, or any place where electrical service isn’t reliable, a solar-powered floodlight is the solution. Look for a floodlight with a long cable connecting the solar panel to the floodlight, so you can place the panel in

The two main options here are propane and charcoal. Propane grills are fast to get started, burn cleaner, and simplify the entire cooking process. However, they require a propane bottle that makes them harder to transport. And if your gas bottle goes empty when you’re far from town, you’ve got big problems. Charcoal grills produce

Portable tables are better and less expensive than ever. Many are lightweight, durable, and strong enough to hold a heavy load without breaking. And they make all manners of camp chores easier, from filling a lantern to cleaning firearms after a hunt in inclement weather. When shopping for a portable table for hunting camp, consider

Hunters and anglers live life on the edge—literally. Between field dressing game and fish, home butchering, and just hanging around the campfire enjoying shucked oysters, the risk of cutting yourself with boning knives, oyster knives, and food prep is high. But the solution is simple and inexpensive: Buy a pair of cut-resistant gloves. Made of

Shadow boxes have long been a way to safely store and display precious items. They got their start in the old sailing ship days when it was considered bad luck for a retiring ship captain’s shadow to touch land before he or she did. Their items would be packed in fine wooden boxes and kept

There’s absolutely no reason to be hesitant about stepping up your cooking skills to include DIY meat grinding. Electric meat grinders are super easy to use, and the quality of meat you’ll get from choosing your own fats and meat grades is hard to overstate. A .50 horsepower grinder can cut through as much as

If you want to field dress an animal quickly, and have less blood on your hands, try the gutless method.Will Brantley The gutless method of cleaning big game is overrated. I’ve said it, and I believe it. Traditional field-dressing—where you yank the guts out of the critter soon as possible—is the better way to go

Dandan noodles have a cult following worldwide, and it’s easy to see why. These lush, spicy, meaty noodles, which originated as street food in ­China’s Sichuan province, combine a mouth-dizzying array of flavors. Chef Cory Bahr at Parish Restaurant in Monroe, La., is the source for this field-inspired variation, in which ground venison is dressed

Starting from the bottom, wrap the coils tightly, making sure to wrap over your first turn so that the wraps won’t unwind. Stop a few inches from the top, double the rope you’re wrapping with, and pass this loop through the opening left by your hand. Bring the tag ends over the top of the

There’s a catch to your beautiful new cast iron pan: you really shouldn’t use dish soap and traditional cleaning methods, which can strip the material of that carefully developed “seasoning” that gives it its non-stick properties. But there are easy, inexpensive solutions to keep you black pots in sizzling shape. Here are three things to

Most true foot lockers are made for inside use, and won’t hold up to light rain or moisture. If you’re planning on transporting your locker in an open pickup truck, or storing it on a camp porch or elsewhere out in the weather, look for units made of heavy-duty high-impact plastic, built with gutter or

Listen To The Article Survival Gear Once someone starts upon the road of preparedness, it seems never to end. The idea of actually having enough to get through any crisis may be something we all aspire to, but it’s an elusive goal. There’s really no way of knowing what will be enough, without knowing what

Prepare your chickens for colder temperatures This time of year it is important to begin preparing your chickens and your coop for colder weather.  In the Midwest, the popularity of winter-hardy breeds, is quite high. If you don’t keep them warm enough and well-fed, however, there’s a good chance that their egg production will drop