When you are out hunting for mule deer or elk, you really want to spend your time focused on hunting activities and less on daily necessities like cooking.  But, you can’t get away from needing to eat.  Thankfully there have been great advances in meals ready to heat and eat that accommodate sportsmen in the field.

The go-to ready-to-eat meal brands for hunters are Mountain House and Peak Refuel.  You can also find brands like Omeals and Backpackers Country that offer other variations of meals.  Another option would be to prepare your meal of choice ahead of time and vacuum seal it.

Mountain House

Mountain House is an American company that made their bones cooking meals for American special forces troops during Vietnam.  They soon realized that the American sportsman also delighted in their meals and continued serving them throughout the years.  

These meals are fantastic.  They have a vast array of meal options such as:

Chicken Fajita, Beef Stew, Beef Stroganoff, Biscuits and Gravy, Buffalo Style Chicken Mac and Cheese, Breakfast Skillet and more.  

They even have a gluten-free line if you have any allergies to wheat products.  You can buy these meals most easily online through Amazon or directly from their website.  You can buy them one meal at a time or in bulk.  They have buckets that work well for a week in the woods or if you are trying to start a food reserve at your house. 

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Pro Pak Series

Mountain House has multiple lines of food products including one called the Pro Pack series.  These meals have considerably more protein in them than some of the standard meals.  So if you are watching your carbs, you can check out this line of products from them as well.

Peak Refuel

The second big ready-to-eat meal name out there is Peak Refuel.  They are similar to Mountain House with a little different variety and slightly higher prices.  

They have meal options such as biscuits and gravy, chicken alfredo, breakfast skillet, beef pasta marinara, chicken pesto pasta, chicken coconut curry, butternut dal bhat, granola, chicken and rice and more.

Compact Stoves

For meals I mentioned above, you can eat them cold if need be, but they are designed to have some hot water added to them.  So if you are on the mountain, roughing it, then you will need to bring a small backpacking stove and sufficient water to heat.  

There are a variety of backpacking stoves out there that will do the job just fine but Jet Boil is a brand that is hard to beat.  Jet Boil is pretty popular right now because it packs well, and is insulated to prevent you from burning your hand.

If cooking heating up hearty meals like this doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can always opt for traditional easy to eat snacks like:

• Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
• Loaf of garlic bread from the grocery store
• Cooked chicken tenders from the deli
• Traditional sandwiches
• Cliff bars
• Power bars
• Candy bars
• Cold pizza
• Beef jerky
• Salami and cheese
• Trail mix

Base camp cooking

So far we have talked about options you can eat on the mountain.  Those options are for when you are backpacking into a remote area and intend to camp there.  Or you leave base camp in the morning, head out to your hunting areas and don’t intend to come back to your base camp until later that night.  You simply need some food to keep going out there.

But when you are back at base camp next to your truck, you may want to have a proper meal.  The sky is the limit here.  I have been in base camps where we added some mixed meats and vegetables into a castiron pot and made stew.  I have also seen friends whose wives prepare meals like pastas and soups and vacuum seal them into bags so they are ready to heat and eat.  To prepare these you simply need to get some boiling water and throw the bag in until the insides are warm.

If you want to get a little more gourmet, you can have steaks, burgers, and skillets of all kinds, it just depends on your taste and preference. 

I will make a recommendation here though as to what type of stove you would appreciate at base camp.  A stand-up multiple burner stove that connects with a full-sized propane tank really makes hunting camp comfortable.  Something like this Camp Chef Explorer would be a good option.  There are 2-burner and 3-burner options out there so it depends on your preference.  For the cooking surface, you want to use a heavy-duty griddle on top of your burners.  This allows you to have a gigantic cooking surface for cooking steaks, eggs, hashbrowns, and burgers.  

When picking out a stand-up stove for camp, there are a lot of competing options out there so just a word of advice: in general, you get what you pay for with these products.  So I wouldn’t skimp on the price if you can afford it. 

Pack it in pack it out

With all this cooking activity you are undoubtedly going to have some trash.  As responsible sportsmen, we want to ensure our hunting areas and national forests stay in pristine condition for future generations to enjoy just as we have.  So when you are going out for the day, bring a garbage bag with you to put your empty food bags in.  Bring the trash back to camp with you and throw them in the back of your truck.  On the way home you can stop by a public rest area and toss your garbage.  

There you have it folks.  Keep your bellies full when mule deer hunting this year.  

If you enjoyed this article, check out these other helpful articles from Pinetreesandsolitude.com:

What Tent Should I Buy For Hunting? 3 Rocky Mountian Options

What You Need For An Idaho Mule Deer Hunt

What Should I Bring Elk Hunting: Idaho Checklist

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