Love catching yabbies? Why not try this delicious and easy yabby curry recipe at your next camp!

Whilst camped at the Muddy Duck Tourist Park on the banks of the Thomson River in Longreach, we just had to have a go at yabby fishing. Using provided yabby pots, we were lucky enough to actually catch some yabbies! As I’ve never tried freshwater yabbies before, I decided to whip up a quick curry recipe which is my go-to for other crustaceans I usually cook.

In the past I’ve used this recipe to cook prawns, lobsters, crayfish, crabs and even Marron and it’s always a winner with the kids!

Ingredients:

• Fresh Yabbies. We had 6 in total
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
• One onion, finely diced
• ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic
• Crushed chilli to taste
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder.
• 1 large tomato crushed
• 2 cups of hot water or to suit desired level of soupiness.

Yabby Prep

To prepare the freshly caught yabbies for cooking, first put them in the freezer for a couple of hours to humanely kill them. Once done, clean the outside of the whole yabbies removing any mud or algae. A brush makes easy work of this.

Halve the yabbies lengthways and remove the guts and unwanted parts from inside, giving them a quick rinse too.

Method

1. Using a medium to large pot on medium heat, drizzle in the cooking oil of your choice, adding in a sprinkling of cumin seeds and finely chopped onion.
2. Once the onions start browning, add in approximately a tablespoon of crushed garlic and chilli or to suit your taste and a teaspoon each of garam masala and turmeric. Stir-fry them briefly to release the natural oils and aromatics then add the crushed tomatoes. Let it blend in and simmer for a couple of minutes.
3. Then add the halved yabbies and stir through to coat the yabbies with the curry base. Once coated, add hot water to suit desired level of soupiness. Add salt to taste, cover the pot and let it simmer for 5-10 mins.
4. Serve hot with rice, noodles or bread for dipping in the soup. Enjoy!

This dish turned out great and the meat had a sweet taste to it, similar to crayfish. We look forward to catching more in the future and cooking them in different ways.

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• Looking for something sweet? Try Lady Settledown’s one bowl, yoghurt, honey and olive oil cake

Recipe, photos and words Lady Settledown

INGREDIENTS

METHOD FOR THE PERFECT ONE BOWL CAKE

• Lady Settledown spotted delectable local honey on her recent Food Safari to Bungendore

Most people dream of putting their feet up in retirement. Not Damian Smith. After closing the book on 50 years as a pharmacist, he hit the road with his wife Lyn in their caravan and immediately ran into one of those frustrating problems that everyone knows all too well–the quest for a portable camping BBQ. 

“You love the taste of a good kettle BBQ,” laughs Damian, “but they’re a pain to deal with. Heavy as anything, take up half your storage space, and don’t get me started on lugging gas bottles around.” 

Sound familiar? If you’ve ever wrestled a traditional BBQ in and out of a caravan compartment, or cursed under your breath trying to find space for yet another gas bottle, you’ll appreciate what happened next. 

A portable camping BBQ, built with bushman’s DNA

Instead of just grumbling about it like the rest of us, Damian, who comes from a long line of practical bushmen, decided to do something about it. Four years and countless prototypes later, he’s created what might just be every traveller’s dream: a proper kettle portable camping BBQ that is also light and easy to stow.

“I couldn’t switch my brain off in retirement,” admits Damian. “Lyn and I were loving life on the road, but I kept thinking there had to be a better way to cook outdoors without all the hassle.” 

Compact Cooking

His Adventure-Q Kettle BBQ, which he dubs the “Rolls-Royce”, works exactly like the kettle BBQs we’ve always loved, with one crucial difference. The entire setup packs away into a compact bag that can be stored just about anywhere. 

“It’s not just smaller,” explains Damian. “You can use the Adventure-Q on a variety of heat sources – gas, induction, or electric hotplates – giving you flexibility whether you’re cooking outdoors or at home. It even works in your home oven, so it’s a versatile option you can rely on all year round.” 

The real test came during their travels around Australia. Using a cable-tied cooking pan as his first iteration, caravanners would stop by their campsite, curious about the unusual cooking setup. Word spread quickly, and you know how it is when someone finds a genuinely useful bit of kit.

The timing couldn’t be better. With more Australians than ever embracing the caravan lifestyle, especially retirees seeking adventure, the demand for smarter, more practical travel gear has never been higher. 

Bush Kettle – twig-powered tea!

What started as one man’s retirement project has become a thriving family business. Granddaughter Hayley, grandson-in-law Wilson, and daughter-in-law Aom have all joined the venture, turning Damian’s backyard tinkering into a genuine Aussie success story. 

“It’s been quite the journey,” reflects Damian. “From running pharmacies to designing BBQs, it’s not exactly what I expected retirement to look like, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

The Adventure-Q is just the beginning. Damian’s also developed a clever Bush Kettle that boils water over twigs and sticks (perfect for those who really want to get back to basics), or even indoors over a gas stove—plus a range of travel comfort products born from years of long-haul adventures. 

“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” says Damian. “We’re just making travel a bit easier, a bit more comfortable, and a lot more enjoyable.” 

For a bloke who thought retirement meant slowing down, Damian Smith has never been busier, or happier. 

“Best thing about it is we get to test everything on our own adventures. It’s tough work, but someone’s got to do it.” 

The BBQ and the entire Adventure-Q range are available now through the Daymo website

Meet more Camping Inventors

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• New Quiet Invertor for Off-Grid Caravanning
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The Adventuring Pals talk Meal Planning Ahead of their Simpson Desert Adventure 

We are in the midst of planning a remote three week odyssey through The Simpson Desert. Of those three weeks we will spend one week away from shops or civilisation and running water. This means we will have to carry enough supplies to help fuel, feed and water us while we travel. So planning and preparation is key to have all the bare basics to last us safely and comfortably through this journey.

Assessing the Challenge

Meal prepping is going to play a big part in helping us achieve a quick, easy and reliable food source.

Now admittedly, this is not something we do too often. Even while travelling on the road for three years, we never really had to plan ahead for meals more than just stocking the fridge and pantry of the caravan, similar to what we did back at home. However, on an extended remote trip in parts of Australia where supply can be unreliable and where we are multiple days’ drive from anywhere, we had to make sure we will be ok. Add to this the chance that we may be stranded for whatever reason and have to be self reliant for multiple days. Now things are starting to sound serious.

So we got planning and had to lay it all out on a table. With 3 meals for every day and even counting for some takeaway options along the way where available and plenty of snacks to keep the kids happy on the journey.

Game Plan

We pre-made multiple meals and froze them for a quick reheat and eat. We cooked double the quantity for dinner in the weeks prior to our trip and froze the leftovers in take away containers. As well as this, we are also getting meats portioned and vacuum sealed for the fridge and freezer.

We also will carry plenty of canned foods such as tuna, spam, soups, beans and 2 min noodles. We will carry uncooked rice and pasta and a few sealed bags of wraps. The wraps can last weeks unopened and will store easily in the fridge once opened.

Buy as we Go

We still plan to restock along the way where possible, especially for fresh fruit, veggies and salad stuff. It’s important to research and map out where grocery shops will be on your route. We love to treat ourselves and look forward to eating out at local restaurants, buy take away meals and coffee occasionally on the road while travelling, so we don’t plan to take food for the entire trip but we just have enough to get us by if things don’t work out along the way.

Having pre-made meals will allow us more time to travel and explore, less time to cook and clean and as well as less water consumption.

Borgy’s go-to salmon recipe never disappoints! Here’s how it’s done…

WHAT YOU’LL NEED

Salmon 2-4 pieces

Butter

Thickened cream (340mm)

Mushrooms (sliced)

Parmesan cheese

Salt

Rice (leftovers work well)

HOW IT’S DONE

1. Cook salmon on one side for five minutes, before flipping and cooking for another two minutes.
2. Place salmon fillets on a plate to the side, and melt a good dollop of butter with some mushrooms
3. Add cream and parmesan cheese, and let it simmer for a good five to ten minutes
4. Add the salmon back into the pan with the creamy sauce, and season to taste with salt.
5. Add your leftover rice from the night before (if you have it) into the sauce mix, and cook until the rice is heated well, and the salmon is cooked through.
6. Serve it up and enjoy!