camp meals '14 planning edition

[elk-n-walleye]

With all the new forum members and planning going into full swing I thought it may be helpful to revisit the conversation about camp meals and what we all do to make it easy, tasty and affordable. I know there is a thread from last year but I figured this could be the 2.0 version.

For me and my hunting partner I spent about $120 dollars on some perishables like prefab burgers, precooked sliced chicken/beef, sausage patties, brats, bacon bits, shredded cheese, bagels, tortillas, a bag of potatoes, a few onions and 5 dzn eggs. the remainder of the $120 was spent on tuna packets, pre-packaged pastas/rices, canned soups, canned veggies, pancake and gravy mix, individual PB packets and jelly, jerky and trail mix, and some basic condiments.

This was enough variety to have a different meal each night. Breakfast was pretty routine with some form of eggs, breakfast meat and potato or biscuits and gravy. Lunch was the simplest meal where we would pack tuna, PBJ or can of soup with a bagel. Plus, we always had trail mix and jerky in our packs.

The frozen meats plus a few frozen juice bottles kept everything cold for the 10 days.

Usually I hunt from home and have not had to plan meals so last year I learned I can refine my meal plan because we ended up taking plenty of food home. Better to have more than not enough I guess.

[8seconds]

Wow. I would gain weight! 5 dz eggs???? I have to work at eating when i'm hunting. The more tired i get the less appetitie i have so i have to munch throughout the day. Pre sealed sandwiches (PB with bacon vacuum sealed), 1-2 apples a day; deyhdrated bananas; maybe some walnuts; etc. I even prepare an oatmeal mixture with powdered milk that i can use on the trail by using my little heater heating up the water. I add raisins, walnuts, cinnammon, etc.

Need a quick breakfast suggestion for bacon and eggs? Try this: Over some hot coals (no flame) with stick across the fire to hang something or other method, take a basic brown bag you would get for a small item at a grocery store. Put 4-5 slices of bacon in the bottom of it then break 2-3-4 eggs over the bacon. Fold the bag as if you were keeping the air out. Use part of a coat hanger and penetrate the top of the bag in a hook fashion then created another hook at the other end of the partial hanger to hang the sack over the hot coals. You will notice the bacon grease on the sack increase as it cooks. At the same time the eggs are cooking in the grease. Time depends on the heighth and heat of coals.

When you think you're there, remove the sack ( i use a sack that is used by the clerk at the register when i purchase a half gallon of milk) in from hanging over the fire and set it aside for about 10 minutes. Open it up and you have a bacon egg hand held sandwich in the bottom of the sack. No skillet to wash, no knife/fork to wash, no plate to wash. Add salt and pepper or tabisco. You could even take some soft tortillas and wrap the mixture in them. Burn the sack.

[elk-n-walleye]

[quote="8seconds"]Wow. I would gain weight! 5 dz eggs???? [quote]

That is only 3 eggs each for 10 days = 60. Thing is I still lost 10lbs over the course of the 10 days.

that brown bag things is an interesting idea.

[elk.addict]

The more tired i get the less appetitie i have so i have to munch throughout the day.

I am the complete opposite, I eat like a Clydsedale when I'm hunting


I am doing something new this year. My wife is going to buy a new food dehydrater and we're going to start experimenting with dehydrating all my backpacking meals. I've done a lot of research and it doesn't look too time consuming or tricky. I think it would be good to get away from the Mountain House meals, not only for health, but hoping to save a few bucks too.

[under H2O hunter]

I was just discussing this today as my girlfriend, son, and I were traveling back from our weekend fun. Seeing how I am spending the full season in the woods our plan is to take two weeks worth of meals then re-supply halfway through the season. We pretty much stick with oatmeal, cereal, and the occasional egg sandwich for breakfast. Lunch will consist of sandwiches or soup. Dinners will be a variety of Mountain House meals, Elk hamburgers, Pastas, Soups, and anything else that is pretty simple to make after getting back late and in the dark. We do paper plates and and plastic to cut down on clean up. I hate doing dishes after a long day of hiking however a quality meal is sometimes worth the extra clean up.

[bloodarrow]

We are getting dropped off at a spike camp, so limited on the weight we can each take in. Although, I dont see this as a problem. Last time I did this, I prepared meals like chicken catchatorie(sp), spagetti sauce, etc..and froze these meals in heavy duty ziplocks so I only had to drop them in boiling water to reheat. Between that, and paper plates, etc, we didnt have many dishes to do. We did take one meal of frozen steaks, some eggs and bacon, as who doesnt like at least one good meal like that....We also had chicken chili, and some other things, but you get the gist. Then packable stuff like instant oatmeal, chinese noodles, etc for out in the field. Of course Jerky and other dehydrated snacks...Time to start planning!!!!

[foxvalley]

I pack in and cold camp,so my choices are limited on "tasty",but are very affordable.
Morning consists of coffee,instant oatmeal,dried fruit,and gaterade, with a packet of "emergent C".
Lunch is venison jerkey,dried fruit and nuts and a candy bar, or power bar.
Dinners main entree is a "hormel complete". This is a ready to eat meal that you can get in any grocery store,and they come in about 15 different meals. I am always real busy at nite after the days hunt doing laundry,shower,and getting ready for the next days hunt,but the hormel meal, you just throw in boiling water in the sealed package for a few min.,and boom,you have your meal,along with hot water for coffee or cocoa. No dishes,but a fork,and the hormel meal is only about 2 bucks. A hunk of good WI cheese, and some flat bread complete the dinner.

[NoWiser]

Eating is the last thing I want to worry about when I'm hunting, so I keep the meals simple. For breakfast it's a vacuum sealed package of granola with powdered milk. All you have to do is add water, stir, and eat. Throughout the day it's trail mix, jerky, a snickers, and a sandwich of some type. For supper it's a Mtn House meal. I like to minimize time spent cooking and doing dishes and this does the trick.

On really strenuous days I have to force myself to eat, if I can at all. But, not having enough food is miserable. Three years ago on my moose hunt in the middle of the wilderness I took care of breakfasts (two bags of oatmeal) and suppers (mtn house) and told my buddy he was in charge of snacks and lunches. Two days into the hunt he admitted to only bringing enough for us to each have a Nature's Valley granola bar every other day. It was absolutely miserable until we got a moose. I couldn't stop eating for about 3 weeks straight after that hunt!

[Huntmaster]

I am doing something new this year. My wife is going to buy a new food dehydrater and we're going to start experimenting with dehydrating all my backpacking meals. I've done a lot of research and it doesn't look too time consuming or tricky. I think it would be good to get away from the Mountain House meals, not only for health, but hoping to save a few bucks too.

I have been doing the dehydrated meals and they are great. Put them in a freezer bag and your good to go.

Hardest part is making sure you get the water amount right or you'll have soup.

[Swede]

All I need this year are the perishables. I have enough left over canned goods from last year, if I but any more, my wife will have me strung up on a meat pole, just for torture. I won't buy a lot of meat as I have saved some deer and elk.

[Texasdan]

You guys are making me hungry.

[elk.addict]

It was absolutely miserable until we got a moose. I couldn't stop eating for about 3 weeks straight after that hunt!

I've got 2 buddies that got lost while elk hunting. They shot a bull and blood trailed it for over a mile and eventually found it. So they loaded up a pack of meat and decided to take an easier way back to camp, out towards a trail (keep in mind these guys didn't bring a GPS, Map or Compass). Well they totally got lost and since they hadn't planned more than a morning hunt, so they had no food with them. They spent 2 days wandering around until they found a trail, and another day to get out. Fortunately they had elk meat, and a way to make a fire!

[WapitiTalk1]

Jetboiled coffee and a blueberry bagel or Erin baker cookie for bfast, a quart zip lock with pack snacks for the day (tuna creations or jif to go and jelly/honey on mre bread, a few mini snickers, Lara bar, cheezy crackers, jerky), topped off with the piece de resistance mountain house meal. Mmmmm . Kind of a remote base camp this year so perhaps, just perhaps, a few more evening snack items.