Bark Cordage Bow Drill and Caveman Steak on the Coals

Using a knife and natural materials to get a fire started and cooking up some steak directly on the coals.
I have had some requests for a longer format video, so I included a lot more longer cuts than usual and did my best to show as much of the process as possible. Feel free to skip ahead if you get bored.
I made it relatively easy on myself, using the Junglas II from ESEE knives, and picking out a nice dead dry silver fir for the hearth and spindle. For the cordage, I peeled and braided some big leaf maple bark, and used a piece of driftwood fatwood for the bearing block, and shredded black cottonwood bark for the bundle
Big leaf maple bark can make some excellent bow drill cordage, but the weather has been unseasonably dry this spring, and I found it to be more brittle than expected. It still got the job done, but I did notice it begin to fray just as the ember was forming, so I scooted forward on the corage, and used short strokes on the undamaged section to finish it off.
That same dry weather meant that I could use twigs, sticks, and deadfall for the fire itself, instead of having to make curls and kindling.

It is easy to cringe at the thought of a nice juicy ribeye being dropped right into a hot fire, but when done right, this simple method produces great results. With a nice thick bed of hot coals, you can even do this on sand without worrying about getting grit on your steak. If you do it right the intense heat perfectly sears the outside, leaving the middle a delicious medium rare.

The guys from Market House Meats sent me a big box of meat to cook up outside and this beautifully marbled steak was the first package I opened, and I was not the least bit disappointed. It was amazing, even when cooked with this most basic of techniques. (Not a paid endorsement, outside of the awesome box of meat of course)

I didn’t use anything besides salt and coals and it turned out tender and delicious, despite a few fumbles and scorched wrists. If you get the coal size just right, a few may stick to the meat, but they knock right off, and the finished product isn’t nearly as ashy as you might expect. I did let the flames pop up a little too much which did result in a few areas being a bit blackened, but luckily my assistant didn’t mind one bit.

I haven’t posted as much here on YouTube lately, but if you are interested, I have been sharing a lot of fun projects at   / nwprimate  

Market House Meats
https://www.markethouse.com/

Knife: ESEE Junglas II
Bow Drill Set: Pacific Silver Fir
Bearing Block: Fatwood
Cordage: Big Leaf Maple Bark
Steak: Ribeye
Assistant: Lupo