Is it hunting....

[TXGunNut]

...when you leave the big cooler at home?
Headed out in the morning for my second and probably last deer/hog hunting trip of the year. I'll take a rifle or two but the lease will be almost as crowded as my freezer so I'm pretty tickled to be one of the camp cooks. Cooking breakfast for about eight Sat and Sunday and I'm pretty pumped about that, get to cook dinner for five Friday as well. Dutch ovens rule!
Dove and quail are in season down there so will take a shotgun to see what we can kick up.

[DIRT Farmer]

I'ts still hunting. I enjoy my cooking to. Anyhow it is a lot easier to pack out and clean the birds.

[GoodOlBoy]

When I was a kid I got assigned "camp cook" during a hunting and camping trip one time. Go so board between meals I made up some set hooks and set them out down on a nearby creek. I think everybody was a little surprised to get fried fish for dinner that night. :p

GoodOlBoy

[NSB]

To me, hunting and killing deer are two different things. It's about being outside, being with good friends, getting away from all the distractions that your "every day" life offers. Some of my best days at camp had nothing to do with shooting deer.....and I've shot a LOT of deer. If I knew I was never going to shoot another one I'd still go. I like this post.

[TXGunNut]

Quite frankly it's a fair bit of work for me to get one critter, let alone two, processed and into the freezer by myself. A few of my old bones and joints don't enjoy the task much anymore and I can only eat so much venison and wild pork in a year. I'm looking forward to going but I'm more excited about cooking and seeing what everybody else shoots. There have been some very nice trophies taken this year and there will be a few youngsters along that will keep it fresh for all of us.
Oh, well. Truck isn't going to load itself, guess I better get moving!

[44man]

My secret was to bury the dutch oven in a hole with coals, we like young wood chucks best, always got a few with a bow first, then went fishing or bow hunting while the oven did it's thing. Made bannock to go with it. None of us ever ate that good at home.

[runfiverun]

I dunno about the cooler, but I managed to leave the house without any ammo a couple of times this year. :lol:

[telebasher]

The "ANTIs" will never understand that hunting has very little to do with killing, but everything to do about shedding mans modern lifestyle and going back to a much simpler way of living.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Sounds good to me!

That's one of my goals, to make my hunting more of a social event, rather than just cramming stand time in a few spare hours then following up with hours of processing if I was successful. We did a little better this year than years past, managed two post hunt campfires complete with cold beverages and fresh venison cooked over the fire. Maybe one of these days we'll get enough people far enough away from home (so they can't run back) for a proper hunting camp.

[Treetop]

Good luck with your bird hunting and camp cook chores, TxGunNut! I understand that we have a bumper crop of quail this year.

None of my friends deer hunt, but almost my entire family does. I haven't killed a deer this year and probably won't, because our oldest 3 grand kids are now old enough to hunt and I get way more enjoyment out of being in the stand with them.

Last year, during Christmas break, I brined some fresh deer steaks overnight. The next night, the grandsons built a nice campfire, down in the woods apiece, using oak and hickory wood and we cooked our deer steaks on green sticks over the campfire coals while the coyotes serenaded us. The steaks actually turned out to be delicious and during this last year, the big city dwelling kids talked more about cooking out, under the stars, than they did about the deer hunting!

It's all about family with me! Tt.

[300 TC]

Wish the rest of the world knew what we did. We just get lumped into killing and don't get started on that.

[starmac]

You can leave the cooler, but don't forget the DOMINOS. lol Iffen you don't take a cooler, is them other folks going to supply the cook with ice for his drinks?

My wife is from a big family with several uncles and cousins. All of them plus numerous inlaws, a few outlaws and just some friends has converged on the same camp for a week since back in the 50's. It has grown so much that they use two 16 X 32 army tents now instead of just one. One of them even printed and published a deer camp cookbook, out of all the things that have been cooked in camp over the years. lol Some of the guys don't even bother to bring a gun, it is just a week long get together. There is a couple guitar and fiddle players in the bunch though.
One year it came a big snow, and nobody could get out for 9 days after season was over, by that time everybody had written there name on their paper plate and had them nailed to trees. lol

[TXGunNut]

Just got in, what a hoot! Cooking turned out great, was good to rattle the old cast iron a bit. Even cooked breakfast in the rain Friday morning, took all weekend to get some of my gear dried out but it was worth it. One young (20's) hunter said he hadn't seen dutch ovens in use since he was a Boy Scout. My brother and I learned to use them as scouts too but we never quit using them. It's great to have an audience when you walk over to a big Dutch oven and raise the lid to reveal perfectly browned biscuits. That never gets old, lol.
I actually did spend a little time in a stand last night being entertained by a few deer, some rabbits and even a raccoon. Someone in camp wanted a piggy and they've been a little hard to find so I went out to try to anchor one for them. Someone else was cooking last night so I figured I'd go have a little fun. One yearling doe hung out with me most of the evening and was quite entertaining. I actually loaded a rifle but never so much as popped a scope cover.

[44man]

I love cast iron, nothing better. I have a lot of it and one large skillet on the side burner of my grill, heated to smoking, a little oil and steaks seasoned to blacken, 4 minutes a side. Pink in the middle, tender as all get out.
Cast iron is like cast boolits. Makes good friends.
If you want bashed, put soap in my cast iron!

[Fishman]

Just got in, what a hoot! Cooking turned out great, was good to rattle the old cast iron a bit. Even cooked breakfast in the rain Friday morning, took all weekend to get some of my gear dried out but it was worth it. One young (20's) hunter said he hadn't seen dutch ovens in use since he was a Boy Scout. My brother and I learned to use them as scouts too but we never quit using them. It's great to have an audience when you walk over to a big Dutch oven and raise the lid to reveal perfectly browned biscuits. That never gets old, lol.
I actually did spend a little time in a stand last night being entertained by a few deer, some rabbits and even a raccoon. Someone in camp wanted a piggy and they've been a little hard to find so I went out to try to anchor one for them. Someone else was cooking last night so I figured I'd go have a little fun. One yearling doe hung out with me most of the evening and was quite entertaining. I actually loaded a rifle but never so much as popped a scope cover.

Great report! Thanks for the post.

[TXGunNut]

It took a fair bit of cast iron to pull it off but it was fun. Between my brother and I we have five Dutch ovens and at least a dozen skillets. Dinner for five Friday was grilled marinated pork loin from the trip earlier this month and the Dutch ovens held baked potatoes, cornbread and cobbler. Breakfast for seven Sat & Sun was cooked to order breakfast tacos with my homemade sausage, potatoes, mushrooms and eggs prepared on dueling cast iron skillets. Ovens held warm tortillas and fresh-baked biscuits. Don't have a cast iron coffee pot but my old blue percolator is getting pretty famous among my brother's hunting buddies. Stopped for lunch Thursday in Wacko, Fishman. Was a bit disappointed in the Elite Cafe earlier this month so I made the mistake of trying the downtown Whataburger. I guess we need to talk next time I head that way, lol.
Didn't see any quail, Treetop. Apparently a neighboring ranch had some quail action Saturday but I make a lousy bird dog.:oops: I chased a few doves around but that was about it.

[44man]

I miss the old days, big tent, still have it, 12'X12' space tent.
Now I hunt here and my basement is my camp, toss the clothes on a chair, all else on the floor. Depend on Carol to eat, can of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches or something when the freezer is full of venison.
I got old and lazy, wish I had some Indian bread or sourdough pancakes.
When you make the pancakes, put the yolks in but beat the whites with a little sugar and fold in. Light as air and 10 are just a start with home made apple smoked bacon. Real maple syrup and a lot of real butter.

[Grandpas50AE]

I also use the Dutch Ovens a lot during hunting camp. Love to make sourdough biscuits and or/ sourdough Jalepeno cornbread. Sourdough flapjacks work well too with blackstrap molasses. A guy who was our camp cook for many years mostly did the entrée stuff like squirrel mulligan stew (really good with Jaleneno cornbread) and home-corned beef (his was top notch) with cabbage (sourdough blackberry cobbler complimented this well). He didn't know baking on a camp fire very well, so he did the entrees and I did the breads and desserts. Brings back fond memories; most of my group has passed away now, just a few of us older guys left.

[Nicholas]

Great report! Thanks for the post.

This report demonstrates why we need to get back into dutch oven cooking!

[44man]

I have three with the legs for campfire cooking and a flat bottom for the kitchen stove. More cast iron skillets then you can shake a stick at.
Wife uses that non stick junk and complains.
Stick some salt pork in a dutch oven, brown the meat, add all else and let cook slow.
She wastes bacon grease, I want eggs fried in the bacon grease. I want squirrels browned in it too. God made bacon grease for deer steaks!

[1Shirt]

Can't argue with 44Man, good words of wisdom. That said, my wife says I hunt deer, turkey, etc, that I eat, but that I shoot PDogs. She considers PDogs to just be target shooting. Hard to argue with her logic.
1Shirt!

[TXGunNut]

I have three with the legs for campfire cooking and a flat bottom for the kitchen stove. More cast iron skillets then you can shake a stick at.
Wife uses that non stick junk and complains.
Stick some salt pork in a dutch oven, brown the meat, add all else and let cook slow.
She wastes bacon grease, I want eggs fried in the bacon grease. I want squirrels browned in it too. God made bacon grease for deer steaks!

Well said, my friend! Skillets are like rifles. There's one suited for every purpose and you can't have too many. I don't have a Dutch oven for indoor use yet but the Lodge enamel series is looking good to me.

[starmac]

I have been thinking the same thing about the enamel series. I have the largest one lodge makes (regular cast) and the largest skillet, both are nice, but only used when there is a big crowd.

[44man]

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

[Nicholas]

My favorite is the Salt Lake City Olympics commemorative Lodge oven. I have a series of increasing sizes of legged Lodge ovens that can be set up in a cooking stack to conserve fuel. For convenience and better temperature control, I use charcoal briquets.

Merry Christmas to the readers of this thread, too. We are having a Merry Christmas despite having to cancel plans with my daughter and SIL and 5 rambunctious grandkids because of their many contagious bugs.

[44man]

My favorite is the Salt Lake City Olympics commemorative Lodge oven. I have a series of increasing sizes of legged Lodge ovens that can be set up in a cooking stack to conserve fuel. For convenience and better temperature control, I use charcoal briquets.

Merry Christmas to the readers of this thread, too. We are having a Merry Christmas despite having to cancel plans with my daughter and SIL and 5 rambunctious grandkids because of their many contagious bugs.
Sorry to hear that but prayers sent for all to get well.

[TXGunNut]

My favorite is the Salt Lake City Olympics commemorative Lodge oven. I have a series of increasing sizes of legged Lodge ovens that can be set up in a cooking stack to conserve fuel. For convenience and better temperature control, I use charcoal briquets.

Merry Christmas to the readers of this thread, too. We are having a Merry Christmas despite having to cancel plans with my daughter and SIL and 5 rambunctious grandkids because of their many contagious bugs.

There's something special about a stack of Dutch ovens, my brother once showed off a bit with a 16, 14, 12, 10, and an 8 for a memorable hunting camp dinner.
I'm sitting out Christmas with the family this year, such as it is. I have a stubborn cold and don't want to risk giving them a little something they don't want for Christmas, some are a bit too old to risk it. OTOH I didn't get an invite, I love my sister but the "inlaws" and I have a relationship best described as "uncomfortable". Been quite pleasant actually. Got all my hunting and camping gear stowed and even straightened the loading room a bit while listening to Christmas music. Even dropped by TFL for a little while. ;-)