Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk camp menu items

We want to enjoy hunting and still enjoy meals. I can cook in a Dutch oven, open fire, portable BBQ but lately we have been in a cabin with the convenience cooking so I'll make

Dinners Fish and shrimp with rice, baked ham and scalloped potatoes, roast beef carrots and potatoes in a crock pot opening day, spaghetti, enchiladas, lasagna, chicken breasts with rice, elk steaks hopefully later in the week. I'll prepare some things a day ahead and cook quickly when we get back to camp.

Lunches are sandwiches and snacks made the night before each guy takes a turn making them.

Breakfast is big and normal when we have time but mostly coffe and a roll or a heated up burrito. My level of fatigue may alter the breakfast menu significantly.

We pre-cook several dishes and freeze them. The frozen dinners work like ice in the coolers without the rising water problem. We just make sure we have one thawed out for easy reheating in the evening.

^^^this

We cook and freeze lasagna, chili, stew, chicken noodle soup and other stuff. All frozen in vac sealed freezer bags then put in boiling water, when hot cut it open serve and eat

Dang, some of you guys eat better out in the field then I eat at home. Was reading through this waiting to hear you all have oysters, caviar, and Dom Perignon.

Early on (mid 1980's), I hunted with some guys from a company I dealt with on a regular basis. They had three coolers so I thought we would eat well. Turned out they were the biggest bunch of turds I ever hunted with.

Cooler #1 had some food, including, of all things, lobster. Cooler #2 was full of beer and #3 was full of hard liquor. Not only did we not eat well (there wasn't much lobster to go around), they had other behaviors guaranteed to make sure I never hunted with them again.

1. We had to shovel 2 feet of snow to pitch the tents, which we did in a semi-circle, with a tarp over the center and a wood stove at the open end. One guy kept throwing wet paper towels on the stove, which would sit there and smolder, creating a big stink. That everyone else got on his case didn't matter a whit.

2. The alcohol was a big hit with most of the guys. So much so that they could not function until late the next (opening) day.

3. One guy wanted to poach a bull the evening before the season opened. Bragged about how he had done it before and got away with it even though questioned by the DOW. Several in the group were OK with him doing it, two of us were not. The two of us won the argument.

4. One guy decided a night-time trip to the loo was too far so he took a dump in the path between two tents.

Got to camp Friday afternoon, went home Sunday morning, three days earlier than planned. Never hunted with them again.

I do this exact thing. Foodsaver bags can be simmered, and I usually have meatballs in marinara, or green chile pork stew with potatoes frozen in single serving sizes. This way, different guys could be reheating different meals in the same boiling water.

I am usually wayyyy too tired after I get back to camp to cook something and deal with the dishes, etc. I'm normally snoring 1/2 hour after I get back to camp.

My MO if camping next to the pickup is to heat up a can of stew or chili on a burner then eat it right out of the can with a couple pieces of bread. I HATE having to deal with dirty dishes.

Back pack camping finds me with mountain house.

Chinets. And plasticware.

I have a case of plastic spoons I use...usually will wipe one off with a paper towel after using to use it again.

I haven't found the need for a plastic/paper bowl, even if it can just be thrown away. I like packing as little as possible....having one less thing to forget is a win/win for me.

We are talking about truck camping, right?

During the late season, it's dark at 5:30. I don't mind cooking up good food, can still be asleep early. I'd just as soon bring some good steaks, pork chops and fresh vegetables as canned stuff.

But I have been known to heat a can of Dinty Moore and hit the sack directly. To each his own.

Ya, I am referring to camping next to the pickup...I like to be mobile, and usually don't set up a tent or anything in case I want to move somewhere else. I just sleep in the front seat.

Even though it is dark at 5:30 or 6...I often don't roll into camp until after 7, then am at it again at 5 or so in the morning, trying to get to where I want to be.

Its just how I like to do things...wall tents with stoves and such are nice (and I do camp like that at times) but I have found better success the way I do it now.

Maybe me being relatively young (37) has a bearing on that...maybe when I am older I will see the light you all are talking about

LOL, no right or wrong way, just personal preference. Hunting is supposed to be fun, and it's always more fun if you do things the way you want to.

I've been known to pack in a couple of good steaks on my back, I just like to eat good food when I'm burning that many calories. Seems to keep the legs churning.

I freeze foods and take it to the campsite during moose season. The problem is that the cooler gets quite heavy since I freeze it in glass jars, and put it next to a block of ice. However, that's not a problem for me since I drive my UTV plus a "meat" trailer right next to my tent, and once I get there I dig a hole in a shaded and cool area under the trees, put the cooler in the hole, and cover the sides (if they stick out some) with moss. I do the same with the top of the cooler. The temperature during the day can be around 60 degrees or more, but it drops to perhaps 40 and colder during the night. The ice block lasts from 5 to 8 days, which is plenty for me.

When leaving for my hunting spot I grab some snacks, water, a small propane stove, small pot with lid which also serves a plate, spoon, a lighter or two, a can of propane, a bag of MountainHouse or another dehydrated food, and a jar of the frozen food. I wrap the jar on something to keep it as cold as possible, and have this food for lunch first. A stainless steel cup that has folding handles can be quite handy to boil water to make tea, or just a cup of instant coffee. And the stove can be used to keep you warm if it gets cold.

Like some of you, I used to be quite serious about hunting. Nowadays, I don't get up as early, but stay a little late out there, and spend a lot of time socializing with my hunting friends by the campfire. I am having a lot of fun camping more than hunting

Finally read this thread.

Alamosa, we also indulge on Grouse. I typically have a North American Arms .22 on me. Usually takes a few shots as the sights are crude but I can hit a grouse head out to about 25 feet. We camp out of a RV trailer, so we don't have to pack anything in. We don't skimp on food. Last your our bill totaled over $900 for 6 people for a week, which isn't bad at $150/person. We literally can't eat enough calories and always come back a few pounds lighter.

Breakfasts are light: cereal, coffee, bagels, sometimes pre-made, home-made breakfast burritos.

Lunches are hearty sandwiches. Two per person with lunch meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, anything else we can find. Usually also take a package of tuna in water, chocolate bar, instant coffee mix, and some fruit in our packs. We are typically out from before daybreak to nightfall.

Dinners are super hearty. Steaks, fish, potatoes, lasagna, wisconsin brats, handmade burgers, shrimp, fajitas, pre-made chili. A few years we brought a deep fryer into camp -food was awesome. We have some pre-made, processed food crap (pizzas, stouffers, chicken strips, etc.) in the freezer just in case we fill or get back super late. We try to make everything fresh if we can.

I am pretty much a minalmist as a back packer. If horse or a vehicle is packing it.....well!

Don't know you guys, but from the hunting shows I've seen, weight loss wouldn't be all that a bad thing for most all of those boys, and not a few of the girls either.

And if one is hunting early in the season in Alaska- you don't get "dark" to speak of. 4 or 5 straight 18 hour all day hunting gets a bit wearisome. If possible, I return to camp mid-day for a nap, and boil some water, which goes into a big camp thermos for supper "cooking", and maybe breakfast & coffee too. Sometimes I do it at breakfast, and sometimes at night , if I can't mid-day.. Nothing like making up a cup of coffee without getting out of one's bag! No, I am not a morning person. A 2 qt thermos works well for this. Depends on distance and load if I take a thermos.

Instant oatmeal, breakfast bars, pop-tarts, etc for breakfast, cup-o noodles, jerky, cheese, etc for supper.

Like saddlesore says- you need fat and carbs, so cheese, summer sausage, pop-tarts, peanut butter sandwiches, pilot bread etc for lunches. On backpacks lasting more than a couple days, all this , plus a few sticks of butter to add to freeze dried meals. They have no fat, and will make your knees go weak in just a couple days without "value added".

Yeah, on a 10 day backpack trip, I generally go from 165 or so to 155 or so. Takes the belt up a notch! Hasn't killed me yet.

While "I'd rather hunt than eat" might be going a bit far,my time is more valuable hunting and sleeping than cooking.

Got to have homemade elk chili.