For the past few years I have combined a trip back to Australia to see family with a two-week camping retreat to a secret location accessible only by boat. We spend our days walking along kilometres of white sand, swimming in immaculately clean waters and fishing in the river. I happily let go of aspects of my regular existence such as internet, phone, and DVDs. 

One thing that I don't let go of is good food - bringing with us a gas fridge, an ice chest, fruit, vegetables and herbs from my parent's garden, a tongue-and-groove style fire place, cast-iron pans and more. We have some fabulous meals and my palate enjoys the break from restaurant fare and like the rest of me feels renewed by the simplicity of what I like to call gourmet bush cuisine. 

Below I share three examples of gourmet bush cuisine (with recipes), dishes that would have received rave reviews if I had been served them in a restaurant. Dishes that deserve extra praise considering that cooking over a wood fire requires skill and intuition with temperature control a matter of the type and amount of wood being used and not a matter of turning a knob up or down.  

16-Hour Camp Oven Roasted Brisket

One of the most beloved camping musts is the cast iron camp oven (Dutch oven), like all good and much-used cast iron cookware it produces wonderful results, for example a traditional Sunday roast. This year my sister, and WOM contributor, Jacqui, was inspired to slow-roast brisket in the camp oven. 

When purchasing the brisket we asked the butcher to leave all the fat on, which helped to keep the meat moist, yet because it rendered during the cooking process did not taste of fat when cooked. The first step was marinating the brisket, Jacqui used smoked paprika, dried and fresh curry leaves, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. As I said we come prepared.  

After marinating she heated the camp oven, added a decent dollop of dripping and when sizzling browned roughly chopped onions, removed them and then both sides of the brisket were browned. The onions were added back in and the brisket was left to be transformed in the slow heat of the camp oven for approximately 12 hours, when some liquid was added and then cooked for a further four hours. 

The result was fork tender, flavourful beef with fat that tasted so good (even on its own cold the next day) served with roast potatoes and buttered green beans - both from Dad's garden. While it was a dish of humble produce the satisfaction for the palate and the stomach left us feeling the same sensations as if we had dined on the richest of high-end fare.

Jacqui has since re-tested the recipe to make it easy to reproduce at home:

Marinate 1kg piece of brisket overnight (other than the oil, salt and pepper, feel free to experiment). Fry 3 sliced onions in fry pan for 1-2mins and put them in the baking tray, then brown off brisket for 2-3mins either side. Place the brisket on the bed of onion, in preheated oven 200c for 10mins. Add 1 cup water, put on tight fitting lid or foil turn down to 120c for 12hrs (untouched). Check after 12hrs and either rest/serve or cook further; for 1.5kg brisket check after 14hrs. Take brisket out of tray, place on plate and cover with foil to rest for 20mins. Reduce the onion liquid to make a gravy, simmer on low for 10mins if needed.

Line-Caught Flathead Two Ways

Allowing quality produce to shine comes into play in gourmet bush cuisine when cooking the fish that we catch. Some days we throw back more than we keep, too small, and some days someone, in this case Jacqui, will reel in a substantial fish, normally bream or flathead. Jacqui's catch of the day was a feisty flathead, a fish with a clean, sweet taste and firm texture.

We decided to bake it by wrapping it in foil and cooking in the coals. We stuffed it with complementary aromatics such as lemon grass, lime leaf, curry leaf, parsley and lemon, a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper, and a good splash of beer (that had citrus notes) to ensure that the fish didn't dry out - once closed the package was not opened again until done. The finished fish had a surprisingly layered flavour profile from seasonings so harmonious with the fish and each other that the taste of the fish itself was elevated. A dish so good that for me it has become a benchmark for "let the ingredients speak for themselves" to measure restaurants against. 

When cooking at home Jacqui says that the foil 'bag' for the fish must be sealed tight so it doesn't leak and the fish steams. The cooking time depends on the fish, she suggest that for a whole fish 20-30mins in a moderate oven (180c) and 10-15 mins for fillets. White wine can be substituted for the beer, and while citrusy, light, Asian flavours work best, a combination of garlic, tomato and basil is also good. 

On another occasion I managed to catch the biggest flathead I have ever caught - I only took up fishing two years ago - I was involved in the entire process, responsible eating in action - I caught the bait fish, I hooked the bait on the line, I cast the line and I landed the fish and this was a fish that put up quite a fight, it had me down on my knees as I tried to prevent myself from being pulled into the water. I unhooked the fish and I also killed and cleaned the fish. It was simply grilled over the flames with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. I am still trying to work out if it was because of how involved I was in the process of catching and killing...or because it had only been out of the water for thirty minutes before it was my dinner and was therefore fresh in the truest sense, that made it one of the best meals I have ever had. 

All of these dishes in my mind are gourmet dishes, and each, if given the pro treatment in terms of plating and service etc, would hold their own in any swanky restaurant. Gourmet bush cuisine reminds me that it's not about how you disguise, change or complicate ingredients and flavours that makes a dish great, that puts a dish in the realm of gourmet. Gourmet cuisine can also be about doing the minimum necessary to bring out the potential of your chosen ingredient.