Skillet Cobbler...or Why Use a Lid?

By Guy Perkins, Camp Chef

You wouldn't consider leaving your broadheads at home when taking to the field in pursuit of big game, so why would you just take a skillet to cook in and not a lid? Yeah, I know the legality of the arrow-broadhead issue, but that aside you wouldn't think of doing that. You need the complete package for a lot of reasons.

Lids allow you to expand your cooking menu and management thereof. Any lid is better than nothing at all, but some lids are better than others. A lid adds efficiency to the heat you are using and that alone saves fuel and cooking time. Some dishes need moisture locked in, a lid will do that too. Lids keep splatters from covering up your cook stove.

I prefer heavy, cast iron lids for my cooking. Many cast iron skillets have lids available that fit them. Some camp/Dutch oven lids will also work with your skillets. So if you have a ten-inch skillet, there is a good chance a ten-inch Dutch oven lid will work. Cast iron lids take the heat and hold it in, providing heat retention that is important on windy, cold days. I often use my lids in the manner that I would use top charcoal, to bring heat to the top of a dish. I may have to reheat it a couple of times if I want to brown something, but it usually will cook breads and cakes through with one heating.

Good cooking is just good heat management. Cooking and browning breads in a skillet with a cook stove that just supplies bottom heat is relatively easy compared to working with something sugary, so lets do a skillet cobbler to up our odds of failure. Here's what you need:

One can of your favorite pie filling, one box of white or yellow cake mix and one can of soda pop. You can mix and match to your heart's content. Be creative! Don't worry about exact sizes or measurements, just cook!

• Pre-heat the skillet on low heat. Oil it and dust it with some cake mix. At the same time, pre-heat the lid on medium heat. I lightly coat the bottom of the lid with oil, and when it smokes I know it is hot enough.
• Add one can of pie filling and spread.
• Add half a box of cake mix and spread.
• Drizzle 2/3 of the soda pop back and forth across the mix and fluff in with a fork.
• Add the hot lid and allow it to cook for five minutes.
• I elevated the skillet using a trivet to help spread the bottom heat. While doing this I reheated the lid and then added it to the top of the pan again when it started to smoke. Let it sit for another five minutes.
• Turn off the bottom heat and let it all stand for another five minutes. (You are now at a total of 15 cooking minutes.)
• Pull the lid and check the cake top to see if it is done. If it is pulling away from the edges of the pan you're done. I like to let it sit for ten minutes before serving. So, even if you had to add the lid one more time, you're at about thirty minutes for a desert cooked on a stovetop.

This desert will blow away your hunting companions and should get you first dibs on the best hunting spots. If not, withhold the dessert until they offer up the hunting.