Section: trip-planning
Canadian Shore Lunch"... the bounty of the outdoors."presented by ... |
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| Traditionally, shore-lunch fillets are deep-fried and served with generous portions of potatoes, onions, beans, bread and butter, even desserts (fruit, cookies). This is no time to count calories (or how many pieces of fish your partner ate) ! A cup of potent, fresh-brewed coffee or a cold beverage are "de rigeur". Most shore lunches are followed by short periods of belching, smoking, bragging (lying) and napping. A great conservation tool in their own right, shore lunch effectively extinguishes, temporarily at least, the urge to fish (or do anything else for that matter). | |
 | To satisfy even the most discriminating palate, the shore lunch menu can vary considerably, but the basic contents of the shore lunch box do not. Some years ago, while fishing and exploring the French River, I sat down (albeit on a rock) to my first-ever, guide-prepared shore lunch. From that moment on, I just had to have a shore lunch kit of my own and began putting together all the essential items (and a few extras, as well). |
| Presented in a list, there appears to be a boatload of stuff - too much to lug around given the size of your tackle box. Surprisingly, all this (except the skillet) fits conveniently into a 16" x 12" x 12" box (or milk crate in a pinch) and a mini cooler. The secret is to take only enough of everything for one lunch. Items like ketchup, sugar, vinegar, tartar sauce, salt & pepper, butter, whitener, wet wipes, etc. should be individual-serving packages of the type found at fast-food outlets. Buy "light" oil (sunflower, safflower, peanut, canola) in a plastic bottle, canned goods in generous sizes, cookies by the bag. The potatoes can be par-boiled ahead of time or the small, canned variety. Choose metal serving spoons and cutlery over flimsy plastic eating utensils, paper or foam cups and plates (which can be burned) over melamine or plastic ones. Make sure the can opener works ! Keep the matches / newspaper dry and the beverages cold.
Shore Lunch Kit |
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filleting knife belt axe / hatchet coffee pot / tea billy large tongs oven mitt(s) waterproff matches 12" x 16" grill newspaper can opener cutlery / serving spoons |
paper / foam plates paper towels foam coffee cups XL Ziplock bag(s) XL cast iron fry pan garbage bags coating / seasoning mix cooking oil (2 litres) ketchup vinegar / tartar sauce |
whitener & sugar salt & pepper coffee & tea bags breead & butter potatoes (par-boiled) Spanish onion(s) pork 'n' beans cookies / cakes fresh or canned fruit cold drinks & ice (in cooler) SPAM or sausages (in case) |