To create the perfect Blackfeet venison stew, you’ll need three cups of birch sap, 8 wild onions, some camas root and a few arrowhead tubers, among other things.

If you’re hankering for some Hawaiian imu-kalua pork, you’ll need to prepare a roasting pit for starters, and grab a few bananas and a cup of kosher salt on the way to the barbecue.

The stew and salted pork are two of many succulent backcountry recipes collected from around North American and beyond by Montana siblings John and Lori Rittel.

Published by Riverbend Publishing and released this month, the new book walks readers and inspiring cooks through a number of ancient techniques that include cooking on a hot stone slab, on a spit, or in a pit.

“We did a lot of camping as little kids,” said Lori Rittel. “We spent a summer living with my dad in a tent cutting trails on the Continental Divide, and we helped take guests into the backcountry.”

Their forays into the Montana backcountry and their experiences on the Blacktail Ranch led to the idea of creating a special book on “backyard” cooking.

Five yeas in the making, the new book explores 12 different cooking methods, from stone slabs to deep pits. It covers 150 different recipes like “Greek lamb on a spit” or “Texas style smoked brisket.”

“I think we’ve got some unique techniques in there we haven’t found in other books,” Lori said. “They’re all field tested — we’ve tried them all.”

The recipes come from close to home, including their mother’s and grandmother’s recipe box. They include homemade barbeque sauces, special rubs for meat, down-home marinades and wild blends for added flavor.

Lori admits she wasn’t a big fan of salmon until she tried her brother’s filet cooked on a wooden plank. The technique, they write in the book, is an ancient practice barrowed from the native people of the Pacific Northwest.

“The flavor that came from the wood into the salmon was unreal,” Lori said. “You don’t usually think of wood as a spice.”

John, who advises as an archeologist and geologist on various projects around Montana, also spent several years working as a professional guide for his father.

That, along with trips into the backcountry and extended outings on scientific digs, gave him time to experiment with cooking.

“I’ve spent time experiencing with camping and cooking,” he said. “People always appreciate good food. If the food’s bad, the camp can fall into chaos.”

Of all the techniques in the book, John prefers the fireless cookery, a primeval cooking art he believes originated in Northern Europe.

It uses minimal amounts of fuel, he says, and preserves the food’s texture and nutrients.

“The recipes are all exemplary,” he said. “If you’ve got a favorite recipe, you can adapt it to these techniques pretty much.”

John and Lori will be signing copies of their book, “Cooking Backyard to Backcountry: 12 Techniques and 150 Recipes for Fabulous Outdoor Cooking” at the Montana Book Company on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 1-3 p.m.

Reporter Martin Kidston: 447-4086 or mkidston@helenair.com