Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Elk camp menu items

I'm curious what you Campfire regulars do for vittles in elk camp. Myself, I like to keep it pretty spartan. My hunting time is limited, so I usually don't get back to camp until after dark and go to bed pretty soon afterward. My main criteria for food selection is how quickly I can cook it and how many dishes will I have to do when I'm done. I tend to favor meals that just involve boiling water.

I know many of you are probably the opposite, and if I had more time to hunt I would be as well.

JV

Early on we were pretty serious about our end of day cooking. Now a days we're more interested in gettin some grub and some zee's...

So, we grill every night and I normally do chicken breasts and stuff them in a tortilla and or pita. Normally someone will also do a couple of packets of noodles or rice and we'll just split it up.

Quick and easy and easy of the old stomach.

Dober

my hunting buddy and i usually eat mre's in the evening until one of us kills an elk. then, the lucky hunter becomes the camp cook and prepares something like fried fish, fried squirrels, or fried deer w/potatoes and onions. he also does any dishes, etc.

Lots of prepared stuff. Steaks and gravy and biscuits the first couple of days Beef stew (Elk if we have any left over from the year before) Chili, ect, and simple stuff like Rice and chicken and tuna mixed. (sounds crappy but actually pretty good and lights a fire in you)
Ground beef, cheese, tomatoes and onions with tortillas is fast and filling.
Instant oatmeal for breakfast, frozen burritos for snacks, cold cuts and stuff like that.
It's always cold enough that if we leave the iceboxes open at night and closed during the day things stay frozen.
That might have to change, last year a Fox(by the tracks) came in at night and carried off about three pounds of ground meat.

I make most of the food up before we go and freeze in ziplocks or vacuum pack. We usually do spaghetti, stew, chili. Then I'll make up rice like rice o roni and freeze and then grill chicken or pork chops or steaks. Meals take about 10 mins max to warm up and/or grill.

After a day of hunting, I'm usually too tired to get fancy. I normally take a big pot of stew (elk if there's any meat left in the freezer). I normally have some fresh veggies, tomatoes, carrots, etc. Maybe make a big plate of brownies.

Unless we have a motivated cook in camp (Not Me) we eat

1. Chicken Corn Chowder
2. Lasagna
3. Mild Green Chilli
4. BBQ country style pork ribs tators and veggies
5. BBQ pulled pork sandwiches and tator salad

or something similar.

These are preecooked at home froze in a disposable aluminum lasagna pan. Reheated on top of the woodstove in the tent with a bread rack or something to hold the pan off the top of the stove and covered with a sheetmetal cover. This works Awesome as long as the pan is on a rack and the cover is on, no tending or stirring is nessecary, So as you get out of your hunting gear get dry clothes, hang clothes, make a drink, etc. your food is cooking for you, and it is a deleicious home cooked meal.

The frozen pans stack real well in the cooler and keep nice.

Makes my life alot easier, except last year I didn't get to enjoy any of it - Bear ate it all -LOL

Long ago,I learned not to vary my diet very much from what I eat at home vs what I eat at elk camp.Rolling stomachs and rushes to the latrine when first getting up does not trump fixing good meals and eating right.
When have 3-4 in camp,each person brings a few dinners of thier choice.
Typical fair includes spaghetti,lasagna, fajitas, chili, rueben sandwiches,beef stew, stacked sour cream enchiladas, grilled elk steak, elk burgers.

Breakfeasts are usually ham ,eggs, hash browns.

On slow days or bad weather,we have done dutch oven cobblers, biscuits for biscuits & gravy, Chicken and dumplings. Sometimes we will take refrigerator biscuits and make donutts, or corn bread and differnt sweet cakes.

Ham and chilli beans with corn bread and honey are hard to beat.

If one is going to have a comfortable camp,good food ranks right up there with god beds and a warm wall tent.

This eating MRE's and dried stuff out of baggies that you just add water to don't cut it in our camps.While some one takes care of the livestock another couple can be cooking and every one chips in with dishes.

Like Saddlesore and many others, we try and have a great bunch of meals that are close to home food.

Grilled Steaks, fried potato's and onions
BBQ Chicken with Spanish rice (Lipton brand in a bag) Just mix and heat
Grilled salmon and Ribeyes. Easy to make and quick to grill
Chili and cornbread
Stew and Cornbread
Lasagna
Burritos with shredded beef. Made beef ahead of time so just reheat
Breakfasts of eggs, bacon, sausage, tortillas, salsa
Cinnamon Rolls, Donuts, and instant oatmeal.

Good food, warm comfy camp, nice bedrolls seem to be what the doctor ordered for our elk camps. We seem to be more energetic hunters and thus been more successful as of late. Wall tents with a wood stove are hard to beat.

We used to do the heat and eat meals out of cans while staying in nylon type tents with propane heaters. We were cold, miserable, and invariably hungry all the time. Not anymore.

Kelk, Saddlesore, Sounds like if you walk through our camps at dinner time you would be seeing tripple, (or maybe sixtle if you had been hitting the whiskey allready - lol)

Nothing like coming back to a warm woodstove heated wall tent with a good home cooked meal after hitting the hills hard all day.

I didn't mention breakfast, we bring bacon, sausage, egss, biscuits, tortillas (that is for after the kill when we have time to cook a good breakfast) before that we have homeade elk sausage breakfast burritos premade and frozen in aluminum foil that when you wake up you just through in the same rack on the wood stove and by the time your coffee is ready and your clothes are on you have a good hot homemade breakfast burrito.

Lunch I am lazy I just grab and MRE and go.

You haven't experiened it all until you are sitting in a heated wall tent in T-shirts. It's having a blizzard outside and you are eating peach cobbler, still warm out of a dutch oven, topped with fresh sweet cream with whipped cream. The entree was fresh elk liver smothered in onions, sides were baked potatoe with sour cream, chives and real butter, grilled corn on the cob still in the husk.

The real kicker is when the yahoos in the next camp, who are staying in those one man nylon tents, come over to BS and they are choking down an MRE and shivering. The look on thier face is priceless.

Opposite.... Bacon, sausage, hash browns, eggs, pancakes, or omelettes for breakfast with coffee or fruit juice. Lunches are big sandwiches, fruit, trail mix, jerky, and a candy bar. Suppers are grand affairs with salads, stir fries, grilled steaks or chops, baked spuds, stews, chicken or shrimp casseroles, chili, or burritos. Then some time for a fine drink and conversation around a warm stove. Can't get any better, and I still drop about 12 lbs.

I wouldn't call us "yahoos", but that was us last year. We stayed in our sleeping bags most of the time just to stay warm.

Not this year, we picked up a wall tent and have the material to make a wood stove. This year will be better, I hope.

It really depends on how many canyons we hunt. If I'm hunting with my wife we normally aren't too tired to do a pretty good spread ie. grilled steaks with spuds or something like that. But sometimes it's canned chili and a couple of tortillas.

While bow hunting me and my huntin pard have enough ready made food to get by for a week or more. Plus stuff to make some really fine meals.

My personal favorite hunting camp meal is fresh grouse wrapped in foil,so you can turn it, stuffed with rice-a-roni, done either on a grill or in a big dutch oven.

A few years ago, we had a decent camp set up. A couple guys showed up before daylight in a small foreign car and headed up a ridge where they killed a decent bull. By dark, they only had a half packed out. They had no camp and no food. They spent the night sitting up in that miserable mini-car and didn't even have coffee, let alone breakfast.
Why do some people go hunting like that? Even a half-wit stumbles across game once in a while.

My philosophy is that I am simply refueling and I want to do it as quickly and efficiently as I can with the least amount of mess. I don't spend time cooking because that takes away from time that I could be hunting. I eat lots of freeze-dried and dehydrated meals on many spring and summer backpack trips because weight is a serious consideration when you have to carry it all on your back. But when I setup a base camp I have the luxury of eating things that weigh more. I still try to choose items that will meet the criteria of easy preparation and little mess to clean up. My wife is an excellent cook and there's no way that I could replicate the meals that she cooks, so I can't eat the same as I do at home. I do the best that I can.

Often when hunting alone, I will have Stouffers lasagna or some other pasta dish for dinner. Can place the plastic bowl of lasagna in a covered pan of boiling water and heat for 20-30 minutes. Steaks, burgers, or polish sausage on the grill also work. While that is "cooking" is a good time to sit down and have a beer or glass of wine and some cheese and crackers. A piece of pie for dessert.

Breakfast is often a Danish, some OJ, and a piece of fruit. Sometimes I will have an egg/potato/sausage scramble already cooked and in a ziploc for heating in boiling water that will be used for coffee in the french press.

Mostly, anything to avoid making lotsa dirty pots & pans by cooking.

We eat very well. I go to hunting camp to enjoy myself and the company of my friends. No MRE's here.

Wall tents ? Wood stove ? Not me. I just set the termostat on the forced air heating system of my Lance Camper and I'm as warm as I need to be.
Breakfasts are double portions of Instant Oatmeal, a fat free w/ fruit Yogurt and a whole wheat bagel. And coffee, of course.
Lunches are a combination of Power Bars and Cliff Bars. "Lunch" is often at 9:00-10:00 AM, 1:00 PM and again at 4:00 PM.
Dinners are white rice, canned white chicken and italian style tomates all mixed. Fresh carrots and usually a sweat trail bar for desert.
Along with the forced air heating, I consider a hot shower every night a necessity. As do I consider the clean sheets I sleep in.
For bad weather, or rest days, there is the local restaurant where I can have whatever I want for a second breakfast or a very fatening lunch of say a juicy hamburger with all of the trimmings. A change of pace for dinner is also in order upon occasion. Those home made pies are hard to beat.
These rest days I've found very helpful. If I don't, I loose too much weight elk hunting.
Makes getting out of bed at 2:00-3:00 in the morning and being on the go all day much easier to do. E

E.Me thinks your weight loss is more from your diet than hunting.

Nothing in your list approaches 2500-3000 calories that one needs to sustain themselves while hunting and expending energy

Yogurt, oatmeal, and rice add nothing.While out working hard, hiking,climbing, etc, fat free is the last thing someone wants to eat.

Not picking on you or meaning to offend

We usually go for "easy" but filling, and usually have a variety to choose from.

Breakfast:

Bagels, peanut butter & honey or jam, instant oatmeal, cold cereal, fresh fruit, milk, juice and/or coffee.

Lunch:

Sandwiches, smoked oysters, kippered snacks, hard salami or jerky, string cheese, bagels, crackers, granola bars, candy bars, fresh fruit, pudding packs, etc.

Dinner:

Hamburger Helper or Tuna Helper, canned stew, grilled steaks/chops/fillets, fried spuds, canned veggies, spaghetti w/marinara, garlic bread, tacos or fajitas, rice, Ramen noodles, etc. A lot of times breakfast items are on the diner menu too; ham steaks/sausage/bacon, eggs, hotcakes, hashbrowns, etc.

The worst hunt I ever went on as far as meals went is when I was first married, a buddy and I took his trailer and decided we'd save time and energy and bought TV dinners for every meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner!) I was so tired of those things by the time we got done it wasn't even funny!

Saddlesore

After reading your menu..................How about me throwing in with you guys?

Just kidding. Good food and a comfortable camp is a big part of the hunting experience. I work hard at cooking good hardy meals.

Being Texans we got to have chili, fajitas, red beans, big stews, steaks on the grill, corn on the cob in their shucks grilled, migas, tamales heated on a bed of spanish rice.

If any one connects the meals get more elaborate, but if not our breakfast and lunch is very basic.

We bring a lot of home pre cooked items in seal a meal bags for boiling. No cook ware to clean up and it is fast.

It's not hard to figure out the guys I'd rather go with.

The "recon" thing...been there, done that. Pass the steak platter, please.

We trade off on dinner duty night to night. It means most nights you have it easy, but you have to back at camp a bit early to cook, one or two nights.

My usual dinner is fat Porterhouse steaks, twice-baked potatoes, and a caeser salad. It's good.

Sheesh,
When I hunt elk(usually backpack hunting) I have to get by with gatorade, power bars, and jerky!

Whatever the wife is cooking when I walk back through the house door. I get to hunt a few miles from the house...

Last years elk camp we had a rottiserie prime rib with salad and baked potato, another night was quickly seared fresh Albacore with wasabi and an asian salad, grilled Moose steaks and potatos and onions, etc.

Breakfast is a late affair that usually combines a real braekfast and lunch in one. The usual eggs, taters, onions, ham, bacon sausage, croissants, coffee, tea, juice, water.

Oh and Pendleton....

That is the way the eat/hunt!

Ribeyes ok? I like Coal Miner Spaghetti one nite too.

Tim, oh, I pack all that in. The BBQ is the hard part... <g>.

We typically set up camp at the edge if a wilderness area, and hike in/out every day. I'd love to do a backpack hunt. Considering doing Hells Canyon this fall (on a spike tag) because I'm not at ALL horned up over what the guys are proposing this year...

The weather is the Big Scary Monster when it comes to a backpack hunt in late October... 2-3 feet if snow could mean real trouble. And that happens up there, and quickly too!

Jeff,
Sounds like you have your elk vittles wired, for sure!


Hells Canyon sounds very interesting, have thought about hunting that area myself...

What is coal miner spaghetti?

Big difference in what I eat--depends if I'm backpacking, horse, camper, or cabin camping.........





Casey

We have a big camp and hunt right out of camp or a short drive to a drop off. Our kitchen is a 10' x 20' w/ 4 8" tables around a horseshoe at one end. We share clean up duties and the same guy (HOPSING aka George) has cooked nearly every hot meal in the camp for twenty years, it is his kitchen. We have 4 big burners and an oven out of an RV, a full size smoker and the kitchen box doubles as cabinets. Another table with drying racks for washing dishes. We sleep in 2 big wall tents seperate from the eating/cooking for a variety of reasons. our meals are generally simple but if someone gets the gourmet bug he usually brings it from home.
Buying food for 10 days in the woods for ten+ guys got easier when we decided everyone bring their own lunch stuff enough food for one dinner and one breakfast for as many in camp.
That simplified the process dramatically as we always have more than enough. plenty of variety as well
Once we have Meat on the ground We all pitch in to pack it out and the shooter becomes camp queen/queens and does all camp chores and meal prep but does not cook.plus tending to the meat and fire. This frees up time for the hunter to become a camp queen sooner as well.
also Camp queens assume bartender status at night after the hunt.

We have had every thing from PBJ sandwiches to steak and lobster,Wild Turkey and Wild Boar over the years and I am not sure which one tasted better at the time. As I recall every meal in Elk camp has been a good one.

Don't forget the fresh elk liver,onions and bacon.

About 10 yrs ago we invited a new member to our camp and Eddie suffered thru about 2 days of meals before he asked if he could cook breakfast the next day. Of course all said yes. He took the leftovers and some home made green chili and made breakfast burritos. Almost in unison on the 3rd bite it was decreed that he was the cook and has been ever since. His only flaw is he tries something unique every year and it doesn't always work. The year he tried tripe comes to mind. Eddie's hispanic so almost all meals are hispanic and and the "heat" level is usually pretty high. Another priceless moment was hearing "Arkansas Dave" come over the radio and say "damm you Eddie" as he was trying to put out the grass fire he'd started with his morning constitutional up on the mountain. or so he said.... I do know I smelled it 2 ridges away.

We alternate cooking dinners, so you can hunt late 3/4 days most of the time. And you get back to camp to a hot dinner, be it chili, or steak and potatoes, or a spaghetti dish or.....

A good hot meal is a marvelous reward after a long, hard day elk hunting.

BTW.I tried some of those dried hash browns that Costco carries now. Not too bad. Not quite as good as the frozen ones,but palatable..
They would be good for pack ins, and the later days of a camp when the frozen ones get thawed.

No offense taken Saddlesore. My diet is low in fat, but not devoid of it. While rice, and oatmeal don't have alot of calories, they have some, as does yogurt.
The Power Bars and Cliff Bars I eat, and that's at least six a day, total better than 1500 calores by themselves. With the rest of it, I'm somewhere between 2500-3000 calores a day.
I might mention that my hunting trips are not 7-10 days long as are most. Mine run 7-8 weeks, 49-56 days. E

Coal Miner�s Spaghetti
1 pkg (16 oz) spaghetti
1 clove garlic, finely chopped ( I like 2 or 3)
1 Pound sliced bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano Cheese
2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsely ( I leave this out)
1/2 Tsp pepper
Grated parmesan cheese
Freshly ground pepper

Cook spaghetti as directed. Meanwhile cook and stir garlic and bacon in oil until bacon is crisp; drain. Mix eggs, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup romano cheese, parsley (if used) and 1/2 Tsp pepper; reserve.

Drain spaghetti and immediately return to kettle over low heat. Toss spaghetti quickly with egg mixture. Add bacon and olive oil mixture and stir. Top with parmesan cheese, serve with pepper.

Easy, delicious and filling.

I will definately give this a try, it should be a hit in camp as well as at home.

elk steak fajitas, at least one night in camp, then the rest of the time it is pretty much sandwiches and easy items.

You guys are making my mouth water talking about fresh elk liver and onions!

Wow, you guys have solid menu's.

We split meals, you bring one or two days, all three and you are the 'Hopsing/cook'.

Breakfast early on is a grab and go, biscuit/sausage/egg or granola bars.

May have a hot bubba breakfast of eggs/bacon if there is time (i.e. short morning)

Simple omelet that is always a hit.

Bacon bits (real or soft pack works, crispy)
Green pepper pieces (small)
Shredded cheese
Box or two/three of betty crocker dry hashbrowns
Dozen eggs or so depending on amount of hashbrowns - beaten

Cook the bacon bits, set aside, leave some bacon fat in the pan, add the hash browns and water to match the number of boxes, add your green peppers same time, get the eggs beaten, when the hashbrowns are done (water absorbed and flipped) add your eggs, bacon, and cheese, mix it in the pan. Turn to medium heat. Cook solid on one side, cut into pie or square shape pieces and flip it. Good hot or cold. Jalapenos added are good to.

Dinners -

Also grill up steaks, pot roast, pulled or make meatloaf/baked potatoes or sliced potatoes/onions/camp beans.

Usually have beef stew in the fridge for afternoon warm up or lunch and a sandwich.

Gotta love the Elk Steak Fajitas,

I have a new hunting partner this year just becuase of them,
I fridge age the steak 4 days, rare "RARE" grill them over a wood fire, then suatee red, green, and yellow bell peppers with some roasted anaheim peppers, and onions then slice the steak up and put it all in a tupperware container, Then when we get to the lake I just throw the mix in a cast iron pan over the campfire and reheat (which also cooks the steak a little more hence why I grill them real rare) then add any fresh lettuce etc.
But one of my fishing buddies after eating them is going this year.

Have you guys tried the omlet in a bag option we just bring some pre cooked bacon or ham add eggs and in plastic freezer bag and boil while making coffee it is great wrap it in a soft taco shell and its clean no mess and it takes less than five min we can cook enough in one pot for 5 guys. Breakfast and we are out of there.

We do the each guy brings a meal for night and then you only have to cook once or twice on the trip. Lunches are just plain old soups and sandwiches.

We also do a poor man's chilie relleno.We do grilled cheese sandwiches,but place a whole roasted/peeled chile pepper between layers of cheese. Filet the chile out and remove the seeds

Blackened Elk Back-Straps....

For this you need a couple chunks of firewood, thick cut back-strap stakes (about an 1 1/2 - 2" thick) fresh garlic, butter and a very hot fry pan.

While the butter and garlic are heating up to the point of smoking. Pepper the back-strap stakes and set them on one of the chunks of fire wood. With the other chunk of fire wood, smack that back-strap stake like you mean it! You want it to grow to about 150% of it's diameter.

Have all your stakes ready and toss them in the pan at the same time.

You want the butter and garlic to be so hot that the smashed back straps crackle and do a summer-sult when they first hit the pan!

Keep turning the stakes to cook a good black crisp on the outside, but reduce the heat as soon as they blacken and let them just simmer till there 'just' cooked in the middle.

Having everything else ready and serving while there still sizzling is what life is all about!

I know this an old thread, but I'm kicking in high gear for this years trip preparations. Food is a big part of it since I like to splurge on food when I camp. I've got one elk horse pack in hunt under my belt with a great group of very experienced guys, however the long time member, and camp chef has decided his knees can't take it at 75. For all of you horse and mule packers, do you take in any frozen meals and/or meat ? I and my boys will be in 1 full week and 2 more guys will stay in another week. At 9,000 to 10,000 feet can it keep safely for a week for the fresh and frozen stuff in a cooler ? We didn't have any trouble with eggs, bacon, etc for two weeks before, but I'd kinda like to make 7 or 8 dinner meals and freeze instead of trying to dehydrate if possible. I'm hoping for max food quality with little prep time to hunt as much as possible ? I can do the mountain house and freeze dried if I have to..but like to keep it to a minimum.lucnh is on the go and minimal.
Thank you

I cook chili, beans with ground pork and green chilis, taco soup, and freeze before hunts. Once fully frozen, I vacuum pack in shapes to accommodate truck camping or pack in on horses (soft cooler). Any of these with flour tortillas turns into multiple meals and only requires reheating to be ready.

Can you just call "Cookie" and as him what was his M.O.? What worked for him? Then adjust from there.

eh76

How many folks does that basic recipe serve?

Thanks guys. This is an old thread, so I don't if you'll hear back from eh76. Our old camp cook did a great job..but I'd just like to upgrade some menu dinners with some things they haven't tried before. From Saddlesore's menu post's , I should probably ask him.

444afic, We're pretty spoiled.... We have a small chest freezer in our camper, and the wife prepares a lot of the "main" meals in casserole pans and freezes them. Quick and easy in either the oven or micro. Of course, there's the full breakfast every morning. And, occasionally something special like.... crawfish etouffee, sausage/chicken jambalaya, grilled pork loin, or everyone's favorite "elk burgers"! memtb



After finding out "how old" this thread is, I just wanted to say ... The elk burgers are "not" from '09! memtb

When hunting, I want to spend as much time hunting as I can and I don't want to spend a lot of time cooking. Meal time for me is just refueling. So my meals are simple, easy to prepare, easy to cleanup, and most are also lightweight for backpacking. I use a mix of freeze-dried, dehydrated, and canned foods so that foods are nonperishable

In each category, the easiest to prepare are at the top of the list. Items get heavier and more complex near the bottom of each list. Although none of them are very complicated.

I save cafe' packs from restaurants for my condiments.

BREAKFAST
Oatmeal - Quaker Fruit & Cream
Breakfast Cereal & Milk
Breakfast Wraps - Mountain House Breakfast Skillet + Tortillas
S.O.S. - White Gravy Mix (dehydrated) + Summer Sausage (chopped) & Slider Rolls
Pancakes & Eggs- Bisquik Shake & Pour, Syrup
Potato Pancakes & Sausage - Potato Pancake Mix (dehydrated) + Syrup + Summer Sausage (sliced & warmed)
Hashbrown Potatoes & Eggs (dehydrated hashrown mix + Mtn House Eggs with Red & Green Chilis or Backpackers Pantry Juevos Rancheros)

LUNCH
No-Cook Snacks
MREs
P B & J
Cup-O-Noodles

DINNER
Burritos - Mtn House Italian Pepper Steak + Tortillas
Fajitas - Mountain House Chicken Fajita Bowl + Tortillas
Chicken Casserole - Chicken Casserole Mix (dehydrated) + Chicken (canned) + margarine
Mac & Cheese - Velveeta Shells & Cheese + Ham (canned) + margarine
Beef Stew - Dinty Moore Beef Stew or Chunky Soup + Bread
Hot Dogs & Beans - Hot Dogs, Beans (canned) + buns & condiments

NO-COOK SNACKS
Beef Jerky
Summer Sausage
Cheese Balls, paraffin wrapped
Trail Mix
Granola Bars & Candy Bars
Sandwich Crackers
Cheese Crackers

DRINKS
Cocoa (instant)
Coffee - Folgers Coffee Singles, creamer
EcoDrink
Tang

We do the same about a month before hunting season make large meals , save about a 3 person portion,
vacuum pack frozen left overs. Then have a pot big enough to bring frozen food to a boil shut heat off and about 20 minutes its ready. A small cooler will hold a dozen meals, and no smell or mess in bear country.

Fried Spam, taters, beans and coffee.

Most years one or more of the guys will have wild game of some sort they have taken that year that they want everyone to try. I always look forward to those. I've had wild hog lasagna, antelope chow mien, pheasant casserole, elk or venison burgers, and a variety of grilled wild game on those nights.

We always have grouse fajitas one night. I'll bring tortillas, onion, green pepper, fajita mix, sometimes shredded cheese. A couple of the guys in camp have .410 handguns and we always kill a couple grouse. This has become a meal everyone looks forward to.

We nearly always plan to have an open fire cooking night. Some years the weather doesn't cooperate and there have been years when this meal hasn't happened. Usually this is later in the week because we don't go for open fires early in the hunt. Everyone brings a long handled skewer (or they are forced to make one). Fare can be anything from hot dogs to polish to various types of kabob meat that everyone has brought.

Each year we bring a large skillet for one particular meal. The skillet is used for elk loin, potatoes, onions, in the skillet. Usually this night occurs when the first elk is down.

Spike camp food is nothing anyone wants to remember. Usually MREs or Mountain House.

One year my brother brought a live chicken to elk camp, slaughtered it, and cooked for everyone. It came out good but grouse are usually readily available and less work.

I will stick to saddlesore and kc. I try to have the same food I would at home. If backpacking I carry normal food for 4 meals, the rest is ultra light snacks.

Good grub can make or break the hunt. But I am usually too bushed to cook or do much of anything. I like to make a big pot of Chili and leave it and coffee on the fire or stove all day. Then I can eat at anytime and maybe catch a few Z's mid day. When that is gone I make a big pot of stew which hopefully will have some Elk meat in it. This helps me to eat my veggies as it is easy to forget them. Carbs should be high on the list potatoes or pasta usually providing these. Lot's of snacks in the day pack: jerky, granola bars, dried fruit, snickers, Reese's etc. I also carry something nasty like Vienna sausage or Spam that I will only eat if I am really hungry or in an emergency situation.

No freeze dried stuff unless it is a hardcore back pack affair. The windyness is enough to spook any Elk in the territory.


When doing the perpetual chili or stew and coffee routine more than once I have had other hunters help themselves to a cup of cowboy coffee which I am glad to oblige but help yourself to the venison chili and I would have to shoot you. This has worked out well as I got the benefit of their scouting efforts and have even shot an Elk on info obtained this way.

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.