prepaired frozen meals for elk camp
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: bigmartbowhunter
06-Jul-20
I will have a microwave in my cargo trailer this year, I have always prepared meals after returning from hunt. I am looking for ideas on good meals to prepare at home a freeze them in Tupperware, mainly interested in dinner meals. Thanks for your input.
From: Brotsky
06-Jul-20
Chili, pasta dishes, pulled pork, sloppy joes, taco meat, endless possibilities.
From: jerrynocam
06-Jul-20
Personally I wouldn’t use Tupperware. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer I’d get one. Saves space in the cooler and like Brotsky said possibilities are limitless. You could even cook steak, seal it and it’s ready to.
From: joehunter
06-Jul-20
White wild turkey Chili is our favorite with tortilla chips! Elk Steak and noodles over bob Evans mashed potatoes. Elk burger red chili and on and on. Freeze solid in disposable plastic containers and keep in freezer in cargo trailer. Then every morning take out to thaw what we want to eat for that nights meal . Get back microwave and eating in 5 minutes with no prep time.
From: Treeline
06-Jul-20
The vacuum sealer is the way to go! Will save you a lot of pack space. Lots of ideas for good meals above and many more if you start thinking about it. Soups, stews, chili, etc, etc, etc...
From: Tlhbow
06-Jul-20
Group of four, three meals each or four. All in one gallon freezer bags laid flat out till frozen . Line the bottom of iicechest with block ice and stack frozen meals upright. Add ice on end if necessary. Everything from stews, chili, enchiladas, spaghetti, chicken, . Most made from deer or elk.
From: KSflatlander
06-Jul-20
KSflatlander's Link
Pasta Milano. I make it and freeze every year. You will thank me after a long day hiking.
I heat everything vacuum sealed in boiling water.
From: cnelk
06-Jul-20
I just made some of this stuff. Quick, easy tasty.
Brown 1lb burger, add container of spaghetti sauce, cook 1.5 cups of elbow macaroni and add them to the meat sauce. Stir. When cool, use whatever type of container you want to freeze for later use.
I’ll also be bringing some canned elk, WT, MD and antelope to add to mashed potatoes.
From: bigmartbowhunter
06-Jul-20
you guys are awesome, keep em coming !!
From: Inshart
06-Jul-20
Yup, prepared meals ..... been doing this for years. Depending on how many hunters and how many days you will be hunting, each hunter makes a few meals to share ---- lasagna, chicken and wild rice hot dish, chicken pasta fettuccine and mixed vegetables with alfredo sauce (our camps favorite), chili, BBQ'ed - steak / chicken / brats / polish / hot dogs, etc, etc,. virtually any meal you can think of at home you can have at camp. Make each meal a single serving size.
Pre make it at home - vacuum seal - then freeze flat ....... Then when you leave camp in the morning set out a frozen meal for each hunter. The first person gets back to camp (noon or in the evening) - put in pot of boiling water, until heated all the way through. Either dump onto paper plate or just eat right out of the vacuum bag. Easy / peasy clean up - throw away empty bags.
From: orionsbrother
06-Jul-20
Venison fajita meat, onions and peppers in a vacuum seal bag.
My wife makes a chicken stew/pot pie filling that is full of vegetables and is thick and freezes well.
Breakfast burritos. Make them, freeze them and then seal in the vacuum seal bag.
If you have a microwave, a few apples, a little butter, brown sugar and cinnamon can make a fast, simple, tasty dessert on the fly.
From: BUCKeye
06-Jul-20
Tuna casserole is a camp favorite for me.
From: Matte
06-Jul-20
Frozen Quesadillas, chicken or steak. Believe it or not order your favorite pizza and freeze those slices and that will be a camp favorite on day 4 or 5.
From: cnelk
06-Jul-20
We have an annual walleye fry at elk camp.
From: cnelk
06-Jul-20
Midwest Nick supplies some Iowa bacon
From: cnelk
06-Jul-20
And apple turnovers for dessert
From: KSflatlander
06-Jul-20
KSflatlander's Link
OLIVE GARDEN ZUPPA TOSCANA - this is another good one that is full of calories that I cook and freeze in advance when hunting from a truck base camp. Freeze in Tupperware then transfer to a vacuum seal food saver bag.
Good day pack lunch is pepperoni’s, pepper jack cheese, and ritz crackers. Vacuum seal them together in the same pack with a few other snacks and a crystal lite single. Perfect lunch while glassing.
From: Norseman
06-Jul-20
Stroganoff Boil in bag No dishes for cleaning
From: Cheesehead Mike
07-Jul-20
Brown some elk burger with chopped onion, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce in a large saucepan. Add 2 cans cream of mushroom soup, 2 cups water, stir in 1 cup of rice. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Good stuff!
From: midwest
07-Jul-20
"And apple turnovers for dessert"
I thought they were called "apple jobbers"?
From: cnelk
07-Jul-20
Thats what we call them :) most everyone else would call them apple turnovers
From: APauls
07-Jul-20
I'd way rather have a small BBQ and a small camping stove than a microwave. Vacuum seal meals/meat and cook on one of these two items. Heck, I'd bring an Instant Pot if I had power. Throw a pile of veggies, taters and meat in there, set the delay function and go hunt. Microwave is the last thing I'd use.
Smokies, pork chops, steak, bbq chicken drumsticks, fish, stew, soup, pizza, tortellini, the list is endless. Anything you eat at home is now possible.
From: bigmartbowhunter
07-Jul-20
APauls, I have a large stove, BBQ, crock pot, dutch ovens, I have been doing this for awhile. I thought a microwave would come in handy for some quick meals.
From: JohnMC
07-Jul-20
We make this at home sometimes and it would be good reheated at camp. We call it sausage and rice. One pound spicy Jimmy Dean Sausage and a 1 pound bag of white rice. Break up and brown sausage in skillet. Once brown turn down heat add rice and water. Let slowly simmer until rice is soft. It is good with some soy sauce and biscuits. Just as good the next day warmed up in microwave.
From: Luckychucky
07-Jul-20
I find the heat and eat entrees at Costco quite satisfying for four to six tired and hungry hunters
From: solo hunter19
07-Jul-20
If truck camping i do like cnelk and bring various home canned meats such as elk, deer, pork and chicken as well as some home canned stews and a few frozen meals as others have suggested. For the canned meats its easy and quick to heat up the meat and pasta or rice or one of my favorites Idahoan instant mashed potatoes and pour the meat on top. Instant filling meal.
From: Empty Freezer
07-Jul-20
Tri Tip chili with extra corn and black olives. Vacuum sealed, boiled to eat and wonderful. Tri Tip is an amazing meat to vacuum seal, freeze and eat. Alot of juices and flavor for that hungry bowhunter. And makes a great turd the next day. :)
From: Native Okie
07-Jul-20
On my whitetail hunts I’ll smoke ribs, bologna and other stuff for evening meals. Ribs are great when vac sealed.
From: Glunt@work
07-Jul-20
You can get a family size little bucket if chili at Wendys. I have made chili many different ways but Wendys is still my favorite and easy. I don't have a vacuum sealer so I just use big freezer ziplocks and squeeze out the air. Works fine unless you need to freeze it a long time.
From: DonVathome
09-Jul-20
Lasagna. Chicken paprikash. Pasta. Corned beef & cabbage. Meatloaf. Dirty rice. Tuna casserole. Mac and cheese. Over summer prepare extra everytime you cook something good and freeze it for your trip. I plugged a microwave into my toyota taco plug in the bed. It worked but 5x slower fyi.
Also there are some great frozen dinners.
From: jordanathome
09-Jul-20
I vacuum seal leftovers starting about this time of year. Sometimes I make special meals just to seal for elk camp. Fork a microwave. I prefer boiling a pot of water then dropping the sealed bag of food in and letting it heat that way. No drying out. Sous vide of elk camp.....I hear grey ghost is a huge fan. LOL......... Then you eat out of the bag like a mountain house if you like and save on cleaning time. Works great for me when truck/trailer camping. Not so much when packing in camp on my back.
From: squid
13-Jul-20
For the roadside camping gang, what is the longest you have been able to keep frozen meals in camp? I've used this method in the past, but always had access to a freezer or power at some point.
This year I will be two weeks off the grid (in New Mexico), so thinking week one I may have to use up all my frozen means and switch to dehydrated for week two.
Anyone stretch frozen meals for more than a week?
From: Empty Freezer
13-Jul-20
6 Days in AZ Jan hunt with a cooler full of frozen gal jugs. Just startin to thaw day 5.
From: Tlhbow
13-Jul-20
12 days or so. Meals thaw out quicker than ice in a cooler. Helps to throw a sleeping bag over cooler and keep in shade.
From: Pop-r
13-Jul-20
Propane freezer or solar charger to charge batteries and use an inverter for an a/c unit. Both work very well.
From: BobH92057
13-Jul-20
Couple of my go to’s are Kentucky fried chicken, mac n cheese, corn on the cob, bbq ribs, lasagne, homemade sausage. All that in vacuum Bags frozen and boiled when ready.
From: Inshart
13-Jul-20
Squid, once it's fully cooked and frozen - even if they thaw out over a few days its still just like having it in your frig at home. I've had left over food in my frig for over a week and eaten it - no problems.
If you are worried just give it a quick smell first.
From: squid
14-Jul-20
Inshart, that is fair statement if I can keep it cold. Just knowing how hot NM can get, from the time I leave home and two weeks off the grid just not sure I can stretch it that far in keeping things cold.
From: ElkNut1
14-Jul-20
Man, some fantastic ideas here, thanks guys!
ElkNut
