2.310 Gold Mountain Shashlyk

2.310

11 (Fri) November 2011

Gold Mountain Shashlyk

3.0

by me

at Single Bungle Campgrounds

-Yongin, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with KHJ, PHY

Shashlyk is a Russian dish.   The “shash” derives from the Turkish “shish,” which means “skewered” and refers to spit-roasted meat.  The meat is cut into pieces and marinated overnight or longer.  Recipes insisting on high quality meat tend to employ understated marinades of herbs and onions and tomatoes to allow the inherent flavor of the meat to come through.  Recipes embracing cheaper cuts tend to employ more elaborate marinades, often with an acid, such as wine or vinegar or mashed fruit or fruit juice, though rarely lemons, both to flavor and tenderize the meat.

MtG’s default campsite dish is his version of shashlyk.  It’s pork, cut into small cubes, seasoned with salt and pepper, marinated for 48 hours in heaps of lemon and tomato slices, then skewered and cooked over coals.  The first time that I tried it, I was intrigued by the tanginess of the meat.  The second time, I was a bit less impressed, suspecting that the same result could be achieved simply by dousing the meat in fresh lemon juice after the fact. The third time, I was thoroughly inured to the experience.  But he continues to make it, especially when he anticipates newcomers, who are sure to ooh and aah, like I did once.

Although the property was relatively small, the individual sites were delineated and organized so as not to feel overcrowded.
The main building overlooking the campgrounds included immaculate restrooms, hot water showers and sinks, an administrative office, a convenience store, and rooms for rent
The well-maintained gravel surface felt a bit artificial but would minimize muck during rain (as usual, I forgot to take a photo of our completed setup.
Having borrowed a projector and screen from the AV lab at school, I was dismayed that KHJ, who’d been assigned to bring content, had brought nothing but documentaries; while watching videos at a campsite isn’t unusual, watching documentaries was lame.

After years of just jabbering about camping to my colleagues, I finally got around to taking them.  Generally, I’d rather stay home than go camping with people who aren’t campers: not only would I have to organize all the food and equipment, but I’d have to do everything once there and later deal with the post-trip clean-up.  But these are my two closest friends at work, so it was worth the trouble.  The campsite was a mere 25 km from campus, so we ditched school a few hours early, beat the rush hour traffic, and had everything set up by mid-afternoon.  Fortunately, they were both competent for novices and eager to pitch it, so the whole process went smoothly.  Good times.  And yes, they ooh’d and aah’d at the shashlyk.  I look forward to our next outing together.

To up the wow factor, I tossed the finished meat in roast pepper and tomato salsa.

(See also FOODS.)

(See also PLACES.)

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