Truck Camping meal prep

[TexanSam]

What are some meals that y'all would recommend to be made to prepare for a hunt that ideally can be vac-sealed and frozen before the trip?

The ideal meal would be
- cost friendly
- taste good
- easy to make

I suppose having high fiber content would also be nice since we'd probably be living off bars and beef jerky for breakfast and lunch while hunting. Whoever suggest the best meal I will (try to remember to) do a detailed review of while in the field.

 

[TwistedSage]

Any kind of soup or stew I've even done pulled bbq meat then just freeze it in quart bags for your serving size. Then when in camp I just put the cast iron over the fire add like a half inch of water or so to it then dump in the frozen meal for the night. The water helps to defrost your meal faster and all the water boils off anyways. So I guess I really just thaw out my frozen meals in boiling water then pretty much keep heating until your at the constancy you want evaporating or adding water as needed. Last year took up some frozen green chili stew, chicken noodle soup, and pulled pork and heated it that way. It was amazing and the only thing you do is stand over the fire add water and stir.

 

[TwistedSage]

So pretty much anything you have leftovers of just freeze it and bring it to camp, plus is you don't really need ice when half your cooler is frozen food anyways

 

[rwc101]

Enchiladas, Mac n cheese, pulled pork, chilli.

 

[crock239]

Homemade spaghetti. Preferably with venison or elk meat sauce.

I win.

 

[rwc101]

Biscuits and gravy were a hit last season.

 

[crock239]

Seriously though, last year I did...

Spaghetti
Lasagna
Chicken & mushroom masala w rice
Chili

My buddy makes something he calls hot rice dish with chicken, man was that good.

Have also done noodle stir fry, etc. I like meals that have pasta, meat, vegetables all included.

I think this goes without saying, but don't open the vac bag, just drop it in boiling water then pull out and eat right out of the bag, so you don't have to do dishes.

 

[Potsie]

Anything mixed all together. Favorites I’ve done were pot roast, veg, mashed potato; meatloaf, veg, mashers; stews; enchiladas; spaghetti; lasagna.

 

[hardwoods]

Lots of good ideas already shared but my regulars are chili, sloppy joes, spaghetti, soups, taco's, etc ... Freeze in gallon freezer bags, easy to dispose of bag when done. Plan ahead and thaw what you want for that evening. All are easy to quickly heat up and nice to have a home cooked meal after a long day! Use your imagination and make what you and your buddies like.

 

[gwhunter]

How do you guys get a good seal on your vacuum bags when sealing something like lasagna or stir fry? Do you freeze it first and then vacuum seal it? I can never quite get a good seal when my vacuum sealer is pulling up liquid through the spot its trying to melt/seal the bag. I've done pretty well with my ground meat if I freeze it on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes prior to vacuuming. But haven't quite figured out the items with more liquids.

 

[Farmerj]

How do you guys get a good seal on your vacuum bags when sealing something like lasagna or stir fry? Do you freeze it first and then vacuum seal it? I can never quite get a good seal when my vacuum sealer is pulling up liquid through the spot its trying to melt/seal the bag. I've done pretty well with my ground meat if I freeze it on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes prior to vacuuming. But haven't quite figured out the items with more liquids.

Freeze first. Then vacuum seal.

I cook my meals on the semi with a 12 v lunch box oven. Goes in the pickup with me when I head out with it.

Toss in a single serving cup of veggies with a cup of rice and a piece of meat, let it cook for 80-90 minutes in foil,










Corn beef hash and add an egg




I’ll cook, bag at 4 oz and freeze the hamburger in ziploc bags just before I leave. Use it both for shepherds pie and spaghetti then too. The noodle above aren’t too bad. You can reheat the meat in boiling water if you want.


Drain the water from the veggies into the potatoes. Adds a lot of taste to them.

 

[TexanSam]

How do you guys get a good seal on your vacuum bags when sealing something like lasagna or stir fry? Do you freeze it first and then vacuum seal it? I can never quite get a good seal when my vacuum sealer is pulling up liquid through the spot its trying to melt/seal the bag. I've done pretty well with my ground meat if I freeze it on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes prior to vacuuming. But haven't quite figured out the items with more liquids.

This was one of my concerns that I meant to ask. Unfortunately though my brain tends to short circuit when transcribing thoughts into words.

 

[Boarmaster]

I hunt out of state and precook most of my meals. I pretty much just cook some extra amounts of food at home. Vac pak and freeze the items. I pack them frozen in my food cooler and open it up once a day to get out what I need to thaw out for up coming meals.
I usually have things that make a meal out of one bag. Chicken n rice , chili, pasta with sauce, red beans n rice and taco meat. I will also utilize boil n bag vegetables along with precooked whole or half chickens.

I vac pak the items in a thin flat uniform shapes if possible and find that they stack great and thaw quickly.i

I’m tired at the end of a day of hunting and although I enjoy cooking I dont want a lot of prep at camp. For the most part Im trying to reheat not cook at camp.

I will usually have a few steaks or salmon filets to grill up and some fresh salad items. I try not to drastically alter my diet while at camp.

This system works for me whether I‘m at a camp or in a hotel. I been doing this hunting and camping thing for 40 some years and it works great for me.

 

[Boarmaster]

How do you guys get a good seal on your vacuum bags when sealing something like lasagna or stir fry? Do you freeze it first and then vacuum seal it? I can never quite get a good seal when my vacuum sealer is pulling up liquid through the spot its trying to melt/seal the bag. I've done pretty well with my ground meat if I freeze it on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes prior to vacuuming. But haven't quite figured out the items with more liquids.

I dont try a vac out all the air with stews and soft food items. I watch the liquid and hit the seal button before it gets up to where the seal is. I also use a sleeve to fill the bag so I dont get the seal area to wet or food on it. I use my items pretty quickly after freezing them and never had a problem with freezer burn or poor seals. Im not really trying to preserve food for the year just trying to get it to camp in a few months. I also have a chest freezer that doesnt have a frost free system so I feel that helps To some extent.

 

[Khunter]

I dont try a vac out all the air with stews and soft food items. I watch the liquid and hit the seal button before it gets up to where the seal is. I also use a sleeve to fill the bag so I dont get the seal area to wet or food on it. I use my items pretty quickly after freezing them and never had a problem with freezer burn or poor seals. Im not really trying to preserve food for the year just trying to get it to camp in a few months. I also have a chest freezer that doesnt have a frost free system so I feel that helps To some extent.

I freeze all my meals befor vac seal, for me it moistly bprevent the bags form burstin in the simmering water I put them in when reheating.

I cook a ton at home but want to cook nothing while hunting. I take a variety of fully cooked wild meat dishes including these regulars:

stroganoff, NM Green Chile, Texas Red chile, elkdersheepmooslope bourguignon, meaty spagetti but with fatter/chunkier noodle instead of ‘spagetti’, smoked ribs, smoked chicken, smoke elk roast,

AND lots of breakfast burritos (wrapped in foil then vac sealed.

 

[longbow51]

Anything mixed all together. Favorites I’ve done were pot roast, veg, mashed potato; meatloaf, veg, mashers; stews; enchiladas; spaghetti; lasagna.

Well, Whatcha' got? Pat McManus

 

[Robert N]

Freeze first. Then vacuum seal.

I cook my meals on the semi with a 12 v lunch box oven. Goes in the pickup with me when I head out with it.

Toss in a single serving cup of veggies with a cup of rice and a piece of meat, let it cook for 80-90 minutes in foil,


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Corn beef hash and add an egg

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I’ll cook, bag at 4 oz and freeze the hamburger in ziploc bags just before I leave. Use it both for shepherds pie and spaghetti then too. The noodle above aren’t too bad. You can reheat the meat in boiling water if you want.
View attachment 234200

Drain the water from the veggies into the potatoes. Adds a lot of taste to them.
View attachment 234201

You Sir, are Genius.

FREEZE the food first THEN vacuum pack it?

Damn. All the damn years…hitting the damn seal button before the stew starts to get sucked out…

Genius.

My contributions:
1. Freeze dried tortellini (local grocery store pasta section) and Pesto.
2. Bags of frozen Pulled Pork and Brisket (LOVE my smoker…).
3. Pita Bread. Nothing quite like a BBQ Brisket sandwich (with a slice of cheddar)…
4. Fruit. Seriously. Small bag of apples goes a LONG way.
5. pre-made egg-cups. a scrambled egg, some cheese, diced ham, diced (preferably smoked) Jalapeño’ and chives… yeah, freeze them up. I used zip-locs but damned if I’m not freezing and vacuuming it now.
6. don’t ever knock a cold-cuts breakfast or smoked salmon with some cream cheese on a bagel.
7. The epicurean classic: Mac n’ Cheese with Hotdog.
8. pre-made salads. Just, can’t fight it. Best damn thing ever.
9. Frozen venison chili or stew.
10. Summer sausage, hard sausage. Yeah…venison.
11. Get sexy with some pre-made pre-sauced ribs. three per bag. Sous vide them in warm-hot water for 20-30m.
12. Dear God, any God of your choosing, NO OATMEAL Or granola for breakfast! I do NOT need to fart like that in the blind!

There’s enough on this thread to keep someone really fat and happy for a week without much effort.

 

[TexanSam]

FREEZE the food first THEN vacuum pack it?

Damn. All the damn years…hitting the damn seal button before the stew starts to get sucked out…

Funny how sometimes the best solution are the simple ones that nobody thinks of. Sort of like the story about the NASA scientist that used millions of dollars of grant money to create a pen that would allow you to write in space, since a normal ballpoint would not function right in zero gravity. Whereas the russians simply used a pencil.