# Food Smells gave us away.



## tugboats (Feb 15, 2009)

My SHTF food plan has to be revised.

Several weeks ago we were invited to a fellow preppers cottage. He is also brews beer (this puts him at the top of my list for people welcome at my house) and, as a public service, we test each others beer to make sure the public is safe. He would not accept any money for his hospitality so we took lots of food to feed the whole gang. I also took 5 different brews along to match the meals served.

Note: Amber Bock pairs perfectly with any breakfast.

Now on to the revelation. Their cottage was near a meat market that has the best bacon in the world. Since we were close I purchased 26 pounds in 2 pound packages. I put 20 pounds in the freezer and cooked 6 pounds while we were there. Here is the start of the problem………..

The first evening I cooked Orange Burgundy Duck on the grill. When my son and I returned from fishing the next morning we cooked 4 pounds of bacon 2 lbs. to serve with the Quiche and two pounds for BLT’s for lunch. Dinner was leg of lamb on the spit and Cajun salmon. The next morning I did another two pounds of bacon and had basted eggs with pan fried Texas toast. Lunch consisted of “Drunken Bratwurst” and dinner was pork loin and hamburgers. 

When we were done with dinner a couple from the other side of the lake pulled their pontoon boat up and then the party started (six boats total). I was officially “UNINVITED” back by the Lake Association unless I took enough food for everybody. Almost everyone on this small lake could smell what we were cooking. The nearest cottage was over two hundred yards away. The food smells carried much further than that. The only meal that they did not smell was the BLT’s because I had precooked the bacon.

We fish and hunt a great deal and we currently have about 140 pounds of Salmon, twenty pounds of bacon, 40 pounds of bratwurst, 15-20 pounds of hamburger, 90 pounds of elk, 120 pounds of moose, 35 pounds of bambie, about 20 pounds of beef steak, 20 pounds of turkey, 40 pounds of perch and walleye and 70 pounds of cooking oil. We have three large freezers but are currently only using two. (Some, obviously, is store bought)

We have three barbies and tons of propane and charcoal. In a SHTF scenario I am now thinking that we will be a target just due to cooking smells. We are currently working on Dutch oven recipes to reduce the odor profile but that isn’t working out too well. We had a three day power failure here at home and we cooked outside as usual. Even in the Dutch oven the neighbors commented on the cooking smells. I am not concerned about the food thawing because we have a whole house generator that kicks on automatically. We have enough propane to power the generator for months (judicious use) and currently have a good freezer held as a spare. Even if we cook inside…..(a disgusting thought)…..ME MAN, ME BURN FOOD ON FIRE……… utilizing a vent or opening a window will give us away.

I am a Gourmand. The difference between a Gourmet and a Gourmand is a Gourmet likes good food….a Gourmand is a P.I.G. hog. Due to our hunting and fishing we will always have a lot of food in the freezer. When the “Fertilizer hit’s the Mixmaster “ I am curious how long we will be able to cook without compromising the welfare of my family. At least I will die fat and happy, hopefully, with a double IPA in hand.


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

in a shtf time you might ask if they would like a little lead with their breakfast.


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## FrankW (Mar 10, 2012)

What he said.. 
You could also make a cookign feast and when enghbors show up next time give them some BUT at the same time casually dsiplay some guns and talk about how good a shot you were in the Army ..
They will remember this is SHTF


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

You could try cooking indoors on propane. Make sure you have a carbon dioxide alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm. 

The cooking smell problem probably isn't as bad as you think. You have to think about how often you'd cook 4 pounds of bacon at once.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Tugboats, this has benn discussed on PS in the past as a thing to be careful of. I'm very glad you posted this because it shows that our "What if....." discussions are more than just discussions and the things we talk about can and do really happen. Now you just p#ssed off some neighbors who were probably eating Spam and eggs for breakfast. What if those same neighbors had NO breakfast.....for weeks?


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

IMO you've already completely blown OPSEC in that location, there is absolutely no advice I can think of to unring that bell.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

Good point, Blob.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

The_Blob said:


> IMO you've already completely blown OPSEC in that location, there is absolutely no advice I can think of to unring that bell.





Jason said:


> Good point, Blob.


Better to make such a discovery now rather than post :shtf: , you have opportunity to change your location and how you operate.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I have a sensitive sniffer and can often smell what all the neighbors are cooking. 
And I have had more than one neighbor wander over to see what I am smoking when I have the smoker set up. 
I have a feeling that unless you live as far off the beaten track as you can go and surround your place with huge prison walls. Cooking smells are going to give you away. And I have to say.. one of the most pervasive smells of food cooking and lingering is bacon. it sticks. Cabbage is another. 
I am hoping that having neighbors that are close(not physically but friend wise) will make a small community and with the numbers make it safer. When we lose power here we all pull together even those of us who normally are not really friendly. I have seen this repeatedly in our small small town. We have been hit by some fierce storms more than once where out power has been off for more than a week. We keep an eye on one another homes while they are gone and we keep peace when needed. most of the time these storms are pretty localized so that we can go and get what is needed and are not pushed to steal from one another. It may be another story post SHTF. I'd like to think that we would pull together and rebuild. it may be a problem but there is a small hydro dam on our river and the people who work it and fix it and run it are all neighbors. it is possible that we would become targets if we could keep our power while others do not.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

The_Blob said:


> IMO you've already completely blown OPSEC in that location, there is absolutely no advice I can think of to unring that bell.


And the sucky thing about it- it wasn't his land he was on. He was at another person's home/cottage. I am hoping it wasn't that preppers bug out.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

I have been thinking about this very subject lately, & wondered if that was not a point in favor of dehydrated food...? The "just add hot water" kind, limiting actually 'cooking' odors. Of course, you couldn't live on it indefinitely. :dunno:


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Cookin' the food will always give off scent. I am hopin' that GypsySue might pop into here and give us some insight to her solar-cooker which might just be the ticket to cooking without giving off significant scent as it might be able to seal-in the scent with a clear lid as shown in the picture ...


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## boomer (Jul 13, 2011)

It points out that in a serious SHTF senario the active social unit needs to be larger than one nuclear family household. Cold canned and dehydrated will reduce food smells in the short term, however will get really boring quickly.


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## backlash (Nov 11, 2008)

Bacon is how deer know it's hunting season.
When the woods smell like bacon it's time for them to hide.


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## staceyj (Feb 17, 2012)

I think is was Selco who said you couldn't really smell food cooking over the garbage and death smells in the air.


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## Magus (Dec 1, 2008)

I can smell a BBQ at a half mile.burning garbage before cooking will mask it but they'll still know someone is around.the slower you cook, the less smell it makes as well.


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

I guess you could cook with "low fragrance" ingredients...like no onions, garlic, etc...but then, who would want to go on living anyway...? :scratch


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Maybe if everyone is wood to heat with the smell of smoke may mask cooking odors.. but that itself may be a draw.. wood smoke=people


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## Onebigelf (Sep 17, 2011)

My thought is that you need about 4-6 months of "heat and eat" meals that won't put off a lot of smell. After that most of the problem will have either pulled out for some FEMA camp handout or died of starvation for lack of any preparation for anything that disrupts the 3-day supply chain. At that point cook away to attract any "problem children" left in the neighborhood. Once they are dealt with you can go on enjoying your carefully stocked pantry.

John


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

Several years ago, i was the HVAC Engineer for a Health care Corp. My office was located adjacent to the shop and the Moruge.

The police recovered three bodies from an automobile that had sat in the summer sun for three days and brought them in for autopsy.

The odor was pretty bad in the office for a day or two.

On the second day a contractor came to do a semianual check on our emergency generators.

It was lunch time and the maintenance crew were washing up for lunch.

This contractor came barging in to the shop and says " Umm, what's that smell ? Are you guys having a BBQ ?"

I asked him to step outside on the dock and told him what he was smelling and he threw up.


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

I dont see any way around this, especially given that the gig is already up. If theyre coming around now, well...
A gasification system?
This doesnt even make sense, but a system akin to how they pump CO2 back into the ground?
Burn a tire/garbage outside to mask the smell while you are cooking?
Make friends with these people? Are you sure they dont share the same mindset?


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## mdprepper (Jan 22, 2010)

You could also try "haybox" cooking. Here is a thread for cooking times.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f16/times-haybox-wrap-cooking-foods-9381/

This thread is my experiment in trying haybox cooking. It worked very well and until it was serving time you could not smell the food cooking.

http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f78/hay-box-dinner-9320/


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

Try some of my mother in law's recipes. The smell of her dishes would gag a maggot and make a starving sheeple offer you a can of soup!!


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

If im cooking the whole neighborhood will be begging for food!! Hell they do already and nothin has happened yet!!


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*too funny!*



mojo4 said:


> Try some of my mother in law's recipes. The smell of her dishes would gag a maggot and make a starving sheeple offer you a can of soup!!


This is hilarious!


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## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

> This contractor came barging in to the shop and says " Umm, what's that smell ? Are you guys having a BBQ ?"
> 
> I asked him to step outside on the dock and told him what he was smelling and he threw up.


Oh...BillM thats so awful it is sort of funny.

As for cooking smells...yeah, when I cook bacon I can smell it for days. Its a giveaway that things are going good for you and yours when SHTF. This is a subject I just had not thought of....after just getting done rotisserie-ing a pork loin this evening (which I thought I should have wrapped in bacon for flavor and moisture...well next time).


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## Tank_Girl (Dec 26, 2011)

During WWII my dutch grandparents told me that they cooked their meals around 2.30 in the morning to stop undesirables smelling cooking smells.

Stands to reason.
Your nose shuts off when you are asleep. It's the reason why smoke detectors have an alarm.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Tank_Girl said:


> During WWII my dutch grandparents told me that they cooked their meals around 2.30 in the morning to stop undesirables smelling cooking smells.
> 
> Stands to reason.
> Your nose shuts off when you are asleep. It's the reason why smoke detectors have an alarm.


I wish mine would shut off when I was sleeping... we have a resident skunk that must be the most skittish thing going.. about 3 or 4 in the morning at least once or twice a week something scares it and it let's loose.. wakes me up every time..


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## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

I don't know about the nose completely shutting off at night. We live out of town, and have had some....well odd goings on out here, and one night about 3am (window was open) was woke up by a horrific smell, the smell was what woke me up, so my nose was working even while I was sleeping.

I have also been woke up by the smell of my husband making early morning coffee. Trust me, the smell of bacon will wake people up along with the coffee smell.

Cooking in the wee hours of the night is not a bad idea, it is probably the most likely time to get away with it.


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## bigpaul (Jun 16, 2012)

i can smell wood smoke a mile off and i can smell bacon even further!


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

I agree with the 4-6 months freeze dried foods first. I was also thinking about cooking down wind from the population and cooking in an area other than where your preps are. It would be a minor inconvenience but would probably help. Also maybe cook fish or faster cooking proteins as they wont give off an odor as long. You may have to inconvenience yourself to remain secure in a SHTF situation. I would put safety above food prep, after all we are nolonger in a normal life situation. Sail


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I was watching my favorite type of show and it brought this thread to mind last night. Those cooking traveling shows Andrew Zimmeran was in San Deigo and visited a family that had a huge cooking pit (very nice one too) and they cooked a lamb in it.
Pit cooking.. you know.. dig big hole/line it with stones or brick/ build fire till it burns to just nice hot coals/place cooking pots in, tightly covered/cover with good lid(they had a huge metal lid made for theirs) shovel more coals or build smaller fire back on top and wait for about 6 to 8 (or more) hours then dig up. sure the food smell will be there when open but I've been to a couple pit roasts of pig and only smell the smoke from the fire while they are cooking.
My dutch oven full of beans or stew could easily been buried in a small pit. left to cook while doing other things. My mother's new camper had one in it when she got it(well it was new to us.. she bought used at dirt cheap) a nice one with legs and the coal holder lid. So now I have three.. 
I've cooked with them outside(with the coals on top and around the bottom) a few times and it turns out well but now I'm going to have to try reading up on pit cooking and see how that works..


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## bigpaul (Jun 16, 2012)

sailaway said:


> I agree with the 4-6 months freeze dried foods first. I was also thinking about cooking down wind from the population and cooking in an area other than where your preps are. It would be a minor inconvenience but would probably help. Also maybe cook fish or faster cooking proteins as they wont give off an odor as long. You may have to inconvenience yourself to remain secure in a SHTF situation. I would put safety above food prep, after all we are nolonger in a normal life situation. Sail


down wind from whom? how do you know there isnt any one up wind?


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## Guit_fishN (Feb 15, 2012)

Emerald said:


> I am hoping that having neighbors that are close(not physically but friend wise) will make a small community and with the numbers make it safer.... We keep an eye on one another homes while they are gone and we keep peace when needed. most of the time these storms are pretty localized so that we can go and get what is needed and are not pushed to steal from one another. It may be another story post SHTF. I'd like to think that we would pull together and rebuild. it may be a problem but there is a small hydro dam on our river and the people who work it and fix it and run it are all neighbors. it is possible that we would become targets if we could keep our power while others do not. [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]


While fictional, I would urge you (and they rest of PS) to read The Jakarta Pandemic and perhaps think about what you would do in those same situations. I think that for people in a moderately-sized subdivision that aren't right on top of one another, there's a good chance you're going to have to use physical suggestions to keep your neighbors out of your stash. I know lots of preppers take Rawles' approach to "give till it hurts," but, if you don't know how long some event is going to last, giving away anything could be potentially deadly to your family if too many ants find out about it.

There's nothing new in the story regarding human behavior. Think back to the Twilight Zone where the one family had a bomb shelter and their so-called neighbors were willing to kill to get their family into it.

Kindle link


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Guit_fishN said:


> While fictional, I would urge you (and they rest of PS) to read The Jakarta Pandemic and perhaps think about what you would do in those same situations. I think that for people in a moderately-sized subdivision that aren't right on top of one another, there's a good chance you're going to have to use physical suggestions to keep your neighbors out of your stash. I know lots of preppers take Rawles' approach to "give till it hurts," but, if you don't know how long some event is going to last, giving away anything could be potentially deadly to your family if too many ants find out about it.
> 
> There's nothing new in the story regarding human behavior. Think back to the Twilight Zone where the one family had a bomb shelter and their so-called neighbors were willing to kill to get their family into it.
> 
> Kindle link


Thanks for your concern but that is a link to a fictional book.. now if it had been a book about a similar situation that was real maybe it would be a different story. the twilight zone is also fiction. 
Frankly until "it" happens we are all speculating the outcome.  if you want to go fictional then The Postman also is a good read about what may happen.. waterworld not so much.. The road even worse. Alas babylon and the list gets longer and longer. 
I already have problems with theft here and ya know? it may be one of the neighbors (or someone wandering thru) I don't stand guard now but do lock my stuff up now and not leave anything out in the open. if things get bad then locking the chickens up may take on the task of actually locking them up with padlocks.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

bigpaul said:


> down wind from whom? how do you know there isnt any one up wind?


I've been on my boat to long I was also thinking indian build small fire sit close, white man build big fire stand far.


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## HoppeEL4 (Dec 29, 2010)

Sailaway, a small fire is always best. You simply have to make your portions small to cook over a small fire. Skewer bits of meat cook on grate. I would think smaller amounts of meat would give off less smell?


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## chick (Mar 25, 2012)

If you have some bush where you are living or bugging out, make a hidden kitchen in as low an area as possible like a ravine or creekbed because the cooking smells will stay low and should stay there unless there's a strong wind to spread them. Also if you have a small fire under a tree then the branches will break up the smoke so none will be seen. 
I wonder if cooking on a rocket stove would be the best because you can hide it easily. You would also try not to make a trail to the spot......


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

Try this :

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=dakota+fire+hole&qpvt=dakota+fire+hole&FORM=IGRE


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

in a post shtf time are we really going to have large meals? or will our meals be of a size to cook just what we need? a small fire should be all most will need. small fire less wood, more for later cooking. for warmth find someone nice to cuddle with . more fun too. :2thumb:


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

stayingthegame said:


> in a post shtf time are we really going to have large meals? or will our meals be of a size to cook just what we need? a small fire should be all most will need. small fire less wood, more for later cooking. for warmth find someone nice to cuddle with . more fun too. :2thumb:


Your family group may be much smaller than others.. like mine.. there will be at least 8 of us in the group. Cooking just what we need will be much larger than say.. what you and your snuggler would need!


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

I've often wondered about cooking in shtf situation.then I moved into a apartment.think 1 duplex of several in a area.

I put a pork loin,day potatoes and onions in a slow cooker the other day.i turned the temp up the next day.then I went out to run a couple of errands.i could smell the food before I got to the front door when I got back.and here I am,a smoker of 45+ year's. I've had a neighbor Call or come by asking,what you cooking? I need to move.


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