pre cooked camp meals

[VI Blacktails]

Going on a ten day moose hunt and was looking for some ideas and recipes to make life easier in camp

[Jerrya]

We do cabbage rolls, lasagna,a few different soups , chili etc

[Nimrod]

Canned meat is awesome, use the 500ml wide mouth jars and use last years deer with onions and Peppers, the meat flakes like it was in a slow cooker over night.
no refrigeration needed and can be eaten right out of the jar.
Add it to instant mash potato's a can of Peas and corn, a hand full of shredded cheese instant shepherds pie and all you need to do is boil water.

[Arctic Lake]

If you want real easy ! When you make your dinner at home make extra . Package it up place in a Ziploc freeze it . When at camp take out ahead to defrost , come in a night from hunting heat up in pot and there you go . If your moose hunting you can eat dinner before you are out for an evening hunt and have snacks before turning in .
Arctic Lake

[sidney-hunter]

We freeze tin trays of spaghetti, lasagna, stew etc, then throw it on the mini bbq when we come back to eat lunch. Leave it on low, and by the time you get back at dark, shes piping hot and ready to eat.

[puddlejumper]

Going on a ten day moose hunt and was looking for some ideas and recipes to make life easier in camp

Burritos, either breakfast or dinner, individually wrapped in tinfoil and defrost/warm up over a campfire or your camp oven. Left overs for lunches.

[puddlejumper]

Frozen stew and bannock over the fire is another we used this year on a horse trip. Simply the best.
Burritos, either breakfast or dinner, individually wrapped in tinfoil and defrost/warm up over a campfire or your camp oven. Left overs for lunches.

[Citori54]

Lasagna, spaghetti, shepard's pie, stew, stroganoff, sweet and sour ribs with rice. Of course none of the useless males in our group do the preparation, rather we have great wives who would gladly do the prep to get rid of us for two weeks.

[XPEIer]

We did the same as above, but we make a double boiler out of large tin foil trays,,, put a couple of small wood sticks in the bottom, 2" of water, set the casserole in on the sticks, cover the entire thing with tin foil and put on woodstove in wall tent at lunch, come home after evening hunt the tent is warm and so is supper.

XPEIER

[VI Blacktails]

thanks for all the suggestions I definetly will use some of the suggestions

[Trekker]

Vacuum seal cooked meals like chilli, soups, spaghetti sauce etc. Put the bags in a pot and simmer, no clean up and works great.

[caddisguy]

I am a big fan of the "no clean-up" these days.

Canned food from the pantry and carefully warm it up by the fire or let it sit in a pot of boiled water, then eat it out of a can with a plastic spoon. Just make sure it's vented and not heated with any direct extreme heat.

We used to eat a lot of Mountain House but it's harder to get and a bit too expensive these days.

Sardines in mustard are another new found favorite. Taste great cold.

As much as I like my food fast with no clean-up, I still bust out the frying pan from time to time. To make some wraps or quesadillas... usually just use some pre cooked bacon or deli meat, cheese and Louisiana sauce.

The egg mix and hash brown you can buy in the carton are pretty good too. Still minimal clean-up and carton hash browns don't require refrigeration... surprising amount of calories in one little carton. Can be half a main course for two or side for 4.

Umm... frozen pre-cooked chicken thighs (teriyaki and liquid hickory smoke) are great too. We can freeze those up in a freezer bag and eat them as they thaw out... taste great cold.

As mentioned I am really liking wraps these days, even if it's just Stag Chili wraps.

A couple weeks back we froze up an entire pizza from Jim's (Fort Langley) ... that was great too.

Anyway if you can freeze stuff at home and have ice or other cooling for the trip, the possibilities are endless.

If you dont have enough cooling, those cartons of hash browns, wrap bread, canned food and a little bottle of hot sauce will keep me happy.

And it's amazing how delicious a little can of chefboyaredee mini meatballs tastes if you are hungry after a long hard day.

Instant garlic mash, slices of fried spam are another couple tasty calorie dense things that only take a couple minutes and not too much clean up.

Most of the stuff I mentioned is just for 2-4 day trips for me and caddisgirl and we arent picky.

Some guys want to indulge at hunting camps and go all out, eating bigger and better than they do at home. I have prepped food for such camps... bust out a couple ziplock freezer bags of the hickory + teriyaki chicken thighs or some frozen steaks, warm it up and whip up the instant garlic mash and you have instant hunter hero status... next day "is there any more of those chicken thighs? I dont want to eat anything else now" lol

[REMINGTON JIM]

https://www.hungry-man.com/ :lol: RJ

[caddisguy]

Vacuum seal cooked meals like chilli, soups, spaghetti sauce etc. Put the bags in a pot and simmer, no clean up and works great.

That's a really good one

[boxhitch]

I like your thinking Caddisguy, lots of good canned food out there good enough for camp even though I'd never have it at home.
Try Brunswick herring instead of sardines maybe , Smoked flavour is a fav, Lemon&Pepper and Hot Sauce are good too.

We try to get in a breakfast snack with early coffee, something that sticks, have a home recipe for 'energy muffins' that works good
Good to have the pockets full of food and snacks to keep the stomach quiet til the big meal mid day.

[r106]

My favorite is breakfast wraps. Egg, onion, peppers, cheese, hashbrowns, and bacon or sausage wrap it up in tinfoil and freeze them. Some times i put some salsa in there. Chuck it next to the fire and heat it up. No pots, pans or cutlery needed. Ive made all sorts of meals like that so i can simply heat it up on the fire in tinfoil

[waserwolf]

My favorite is breakfast wraps. Egg, onion, peppers, cheese, hashbrowns, and bacon or sausage wrap it up in tinfoil and freeze them. Some times i put some salsa in there. Chuck it next to the fire and heat it up. No pots, pans or cutlery needed. Ive made all sorts of meals like that so i can simply heat it up on the fire in tinfoil

This is what I do for Breakfast to offset Porage.
Throw it on my Seek Outside Stove, turn often and Breakfast is done!!

[caddisguy]

I like your thinking Caddisguy, lots of good canned food out there good enough for camp even though I'd never have it at home.
Try Brunswick herring instead of sardines maybe , Smoked flavour is a fav, Lemon&Pepper and Hot Sauce are good too.

We try to get in a breakfast snack with early coffee, something that sticks, have a home recipe for 'energy muffins' that works good
Good to have the pockets full of food and snacks to keep the stomach quiet til the big meal mid day.

Funny you mention herring. I have a couple containers of herring in my "quick snack bag" (some tins, pot, pan, pocket rocket and fuel I kept in an old cloth cooler bag casing) I did a little cook session on one of my recent youtube vids (the arrow recovery one which I didnt post on hbc as it's looooong) and presented the herring as an option.

We're really liking the transition from freeze dried to canned. My favorite freeze dried is Mtn House breakfast skillet, but a lot of canned food is good or better... and last I checked Mtn House breakfast skillet goes from $14-20 a meal these days vs a $1-2 tin.

Favorites are:

Stag or Tim's canned Chili, Spam, Chefboyaredee (the lower trans fat ones like mini meatballs w/ pasta shells), Campbell's Chunky (Steak and Potatoes, Clam Chowder) Cream Corn with some S&P, canned peas can be a good side. Canned salmon right out of the can or on some crackers is good.

Heinz Beans is decent too if mixed with bacon, especially in a wrap with cheese (burrito style I guess)

Any of that stuff works fine for us. Add some fresh stuff like some garlic bread or some fresh raw veggies and it's a decent meal.

10 day hunt, I'd probably be craving something more wholesome come day 7. A lot of guys want a full on production every day... like having big pub style meals every day and that's part of hunting trips they look forward to. I understand that as well. I prefer to burn 10,000 calories and fast all day then pop a tin with my eyes dilating like a fiend lol ... but I have been in on hunts where food is a major thing/event. On those hunts we have split it, each hunter plans a big meal for the rest... for example 4 guys on a 4 day trip, then each person just has to plan one impressive meal, or 2 if it was 8 days... enjoyed (and prepared) some great meals for a couple trips like that.

Always a great surprise at a campfire when someone whips out a few tinfoil potatos and a handful of those butter and S&P packs you grab at A&W... into the coals they go... now the wait :)

[dasnake]

As everyone has stated we have frozen food, we have brats and buns, cheese and sliced meat, enough for two weeks usually, some fresh meats for burgers and steaks, etc.
I got one funny story from years ago, we were going away for just a week and one of the group didnt want in on the food program so he did his own idea, his daughter worked at MacDonalds, so he thought he was going to be smart, he brought enough big macs to last him for the week, I don't think he ever ate at mickey d's again.

[coastcrickets]

Dinners:
My favourite is to bring the dutch oven and some oil and fry up grouse, rabbit, fish, or chunks of tenderloin when back at camp. Bring some limes, onions, and cilantro and you can make killer tacos that only take 15 mins or so to do and pretty much no clean up. I've yet to see a guy no smile if you bust out a tin tray of cabbage rolls and some skyr yogurt to top them. They're super easy to make, cheap, and guys love them.
For a mid-hunt morale boost, go to a bakery and get pre-made pizza dough. Throw it in a cast iron skillet over the first, give it a flip and then put your toppings on. This is especially nice if hunting is slow and cold. Zero clean up as you can just chop pepperoni right onto the pizza, etc.

Canned chicken chunks over fresh chicken is great as you can eat them cold or through them in minute rice you've heated up in a pot (sous-vide) for some pretty good protein.

Fast:
If you're hiking a lot get those little energy gel packs: I try to eat very clean so I get the maple syrup type squeeze packs or the brand Noma. Save's you time for cooking breakfast and lunch and put more time into a nice big solid dinner, great for moral.
There are lots of options in at Superstore that are tastier than mountain house meals and about half the cost. Uncle Ben's type pre-made curries, chili's etc.

[two-feet]

Im into eating well. Usually fresh food like moose steak and morels or bear sausages for the first day or two, then frozen stews, soups, chili and curries etc. One of my favourites is split pea and ham soup, there is a pot cooking on the stove now for my upcoming hunt.

I typically drink red wine in the evenings now instead of beer, goes well with a good hot meal and is a bit easier on the system when already cold and wet.

And...I hate mountain house.

[Danny]

The wifes got Chilli and Hamburger soup on the stove as we speak . Vac bag, freeze and into the pot of hot water when yer hungry. Same thing for pre made boil in a bag omelettes !!

[Cordillera]

Moose from the year before. Cook a double batch for your family the week before you leave and freeze half for camp. Add Uncle bens boil in a bag rice. Ten minutes on the stove and you area king.

[tigrr]

We do a lot of sandwiches with ham, fried egg, roast beef, turkey and canned salmon. Breakfast is usually bacon, eggs, fried left over baked potatoe and toast. Then sandwiches for lunch on the trail or road. Then another warming big meal for supper like beef stew, chicken stew, veggie soup, chili with thick home made bread. I like to cook others like to do the dishes!!

[barry1974w]

We have lots of meals pre cooked and frozen in foil trays or twist top zip lock containers. Meat loaf, lasagna, ribs, spaghetti, chili, chicken wings, stew, chowder, all sorts of good stuff. The trays get heated on top of the wood stove in the wall tent, the more liquid like stuff gets put in a pot first.

[northcoastfun]

Usually precook and or freeze, can and vacuum seal at least 12 meals for a 10 day hunt . Have some fresher thawed meals the first couple days . Frozen perogies and Italian deer sausages are a quick meal , marinated steaks or pork chops are quick also . Like already mentioned your precooked spaghetti sauces, stews are always tasty around the fire. Meat balls freeze well and go great with any sauce over rice or potatoes. Butter goose is a great make ahead meal for the goose hunters . A nice moose elk or beef roast roasted to perfection and frozen in a gravy is a hearty supper for those frosty evening meals. Precooked ham sliced also has come in handy for quick meals . I always bring a jar of honey garlic sauce ... for honey garlic boneless moose ribs . And seasoning for grouse fish ect. I always bring a couple canned stews soup for the nights you get back late and still have a moose to hang .... if you have never tried the cans of sardines in tomato sauce topped with cheddar cheese and warmed by the fire until bubbly give it a go. Tried this on a sheep hunt and tasted darn good. Nice change from mountain house ......

[Astepanuk]

On our most recent trip I Pre made Deer Tacos, Chicken Fajitas and smoked pulled pork packed som wraps and had some super eady filling meals in the moutains. Was nice to come home from hiking put the food on the fire and sit back. Definately going to do that again. We did also have fresh Brook trout, graylng and Caribou Steaks...

[markt308]

I usually bring a slow cooker meal and heat it once I get there.
Stew, chilli, pulled Pork, jambalaya

other guys in my group do pastas, burgers, sandwiches

[Redthies]

Bunch of gawd damn enablers! Now I bought a vacuum bag thingy to prep meals for my blacktail boat trip! Boil in bag, here we come!

[Darris doois]

Sous vide your meat to 80% cooked , it will last longer and easier to cook

[604Stalker]

This is so ironic as the shelves are bare as far as mtn house this pandemic is interesting in that way so for my 4 day trip its a big batch of cabbage rolls and a chili looking on the shelves at cabellas there was black barts chili or chicken and rice having had both on my last trip I chuckled at the fact that rhey sold so many oatmeal with chocolates at 6.50 a pack total cost to make a pot of chili and cabbage rolls was roughly 20$ for 4 meals worth of food for 2 people so translated to mtn house with new prices of 16$ a pop would have cost us 64 $ for food instead we will eat homemade cabbage rolls and chili for a portion of the cost breakfast will be oatmeal and 2+1 coffee for a total of 4.69 and lunches channa masala which will equal to 2.65 for both servings little better off than mtn house with their cost and lack of avalibility right now.