Cooking Own Meals at the Motel

[gps4]

Who cooks their meals in the motel room or on porch/parking lot outside your room?

This year, our road trip lodging will be 5 nights in a single level roadside motor motel. The roof overhangs the 3 or 4 feet the of the front stoop/porch and the trucks can be backed in right in front of the doorway to our rooms.

The motel rooms have a microwave and a long counter along the back wall with the sink on one end of the counter leaving 4 or 5 feet of open counter top that would fit an electric griddle, a crock pot, a single burner butane camp stove and possibly a countertop fry daddy. We also have a Weber baby q propane grill we could use on the porch or on the tailgate.

This rear, instead of eating all our meals at restaurants, we are considering cooking our meals at the motel. We have 6 folks in our group this year and I’m already trying to plan the menu and what gear we will need to cook it. 3 of our group are accomplished deer camp cooks and football game tailgate chefs that can make almost anything palatable.

Anybody else do this; and if so, what meals do you cook in your room?

 

[UplandHntr]

We’ve had good intentions of cooking meals the past couple of years staying at a vrbo. Reality set in after we got back. Everyone was too tired and we still ended up going out to eat every night. We did have some great field lunches though. I love setting those up out in the middle of no where.
I agree that the cost of eating out has absolutely gone crazy. Even for garbage food ordered thru a speaker.

 

[BritChaser]

Maybe spread a little money around by eating out.

 

[birddude]

I never have but I've noticed a lot of old grills sitting around some of the dives I've stayed at. Always figured some guys grilled some pheasants and left the grill.

 

[Timmer92]

I started a business right before we had kids. We had some lean years before the business really got going. Cooking in a hotel room was something we did quite a bit, especially for ski trips where we didn't necessarily want to go outside to grill after a day in the cold. We even packed all of the cooking tools in a suitcase for a trip via plane and would hit the grocery store on the way to the hotel. Most of what we cooked was done in an electric frying pan - spaghetti, pork chops, chicken, etc. For meat we cooked that first and set it aside, then cooked some sort of boxed rice, pasta, or potato next, and then put the meat back in the pan on top of the rice/pasta for a few minutes to make sure it was hot before serving. Did the opposite for spaghetti. Cook the noodles first and set them aside, make the meat sauce, put the pasta back on top or mix it in. Used the microwave for canned vegetables. For trips via car my wife would make hotdishes and freeze them to bring with. Heat those up in the pan too.

 

[remy3424]

I don't travel to bird hunt, but when traveling to shoot prairie dawgs, I cook breakfast and diner at the motel. You can find Coleman suitcase stoves for little to nothing on FB MP or at swap meets.
*that just happens to be my pheasant breakfast sausage

 

[Tomahawker]

Big thumbs up to Zatarains Jambalaya, Red beans and rice, etc.. Super easy prep, super good, great with Phez. and cottage cheese. I cut up phez and throw straight into the pot and cook all at once. 2 boxes, tub of cottage cheese will feed 6 hungry men. Any leftovers get mixed with scrambled eggs and hot sauce for breakfast. Growing up my Dad would make us his specialty- baked beans over buttered toast! Love it to this day.

 

[17Hunter]

Get a Blackstone Adventure 2 burner griddle with the non-stick griddle top or something like that. There is nothing you cant cook on them and cleanup is super easy. I bought a cheap camping table to set it up on. Use paper plates and plastic silverware; no dishes to clean.

 

[roadscholar]

I take multiple bird-hunting trips each season, some as long as 2+ weeks, so I do a fair bit of cooking in motels. I rely on a crockpot quite a bit. Stuff like beef stew, spaghetti sauce, curry, etc. It's great to get back to the room and only have a few min of prep to do before chowing down. Pre-cooked rice or pasta, put it in the microwave for a minute or two.
When hunting sharptails in Sept, we like to make sharptail fajitas with the breast filets. Coleman stove, hot pan with a bit of olive oil, cooked med-rare with some Tony's cajun seasoning, then sliced up to go in the tortillas. Very tasty.

 

[John Singer]

I have cooked meals with a Coleman stove outside the hotel quite often while bird hunting.

Also, it is quite enjoyable to take a break and cook lunch in the field on the tailgate. Burritos or hamburgers are quite easy to make.

 

[redcows]

Get a Blackstone Adventure 2 burner griddle with the non-stick griddle top or something like that. There is nothing you cant cook on them and cleanup is super easy. I bought a cheap camping table to set it up on. Use paper plates and plastic silverware; no dishes to clean.

Son in law has a Blackstone. Last winter when we visited in Florida, we took pheasant breast with us. I can still see him making pheasant fajitas with palm trees in the background. Back to the original question, yes. My wife always manages to throw something together while I am cleaning birds and getting ready for the next day. Motels, houses, or Abnbs.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

I seldom travelled to pheasant hunt, since I usually hunt at home. I have friends that always have a great field lunch. They travel with grill and the goods. Back in the day when we hosted our annual dove opener, the ladies put on quite a spread. We celebrated some birthdays with my wife's special German chocolate cake. A great time of fellowship, hunting, clays and shooting our muzzle loaders and rifles in preparation for deer season. Meals while hunting are the best. My most memorable camp meals were in a remote cabin in SE Alaska and our trips to elk camp in Colorado.
My last elk camp was in 2014 and our meals were so good. Came home heavier and with no elk, but it was a great hunt with family and friends.

 

[That1uncle1776]

Get a Blackstone Adventure 2 burner griddle with the non-stick griddle top or something like that. There is nothing you cant cook on them and cleanup is super easy. I bought a cheap camping table to set it up on. Use paper plates and plastic silverware; no dishes to clean.

I do this at home already

 

[Jake300win]

We’ve had good intentions of cooking meals the past couple of years staying at a vrbo. Reality set in after we got back. Everyone was too tired and we still ended up going out to eat every night. We did have some great field lunches though. I love setting those up out in the middle of no where.
I agree that the cost of eating out has absolutely gone crazy. Even for garbage food ordered thru a speaker.

I feel you. On long trips we grab stuff like frozen pizza and salad kits, soup and grilled cheese or eat out for dinner. By the time you walk 10 miles for five days straight, taking care of dogs and planning the next days hunt. I don't feel like cooking a real meal. Lunch I either pack sandwich and snacks but Redbull Zyn and jerky works too

 

[Mosby]

Cooking from scratch isn't on the menu for me. I take pre-cooked meals and pre made breakfast sandwiches and heat them up in the room microwave.

 

[BrownDogsCan2]

I eat a lot of sausage burritos for dinner. The potatoes are prepped ahead of time, cubed and in baggies nuked before fixiing to take the edge off . Crack a coors throw them in cast iron in some bacon fat from breakfast and crisp them up. Add some garlic a colored bell pepper , maybe a few seranos from the garden…

 

[NMpointinglab]

Crock pots, multiple if necessary, are the way to go. We prep meals for up to 10 folks prior to the trips for trips of 5 days or longer. Freeze if necessary and transport in gallon zip locs. Croc pot lines make clean up a snap. Its easy to do the same for lunch if that works into you daily hunt schedule. Coming back to a warm, prepped lunch or dinner is such a time saver. It does require upfront work but it is so worth it. Green Chile Stew (local favorite for our New Mexico crowd), chili and beans, Corn Beef and Cabbage, Split Pea and Ham, Your favorite Stew, Ribs, Spaghetti (noodles separate), hearty Chicken and Veggie soup. The options are limitless.

 

[Matt D]

Maybe I’m in the minority here but I have no issue cooking a full meal for dinner. Steaks, salad, a potato or pasta and a veggie. Pheasant and noodles, breaded and fried pheasant breast, bacon wrapped pheasant breasts over rice, lots of variety. As good or better than a restaurant at about 1/3 the cost or less. I cook and my buddy cleans up. Works good. Some pics from last years trip of some of the meals

 

[3goldens]

We precook all our meals and freeze. Vac seal the meals, a better choice is a chamber vac though, especially for soups and liquidy items. Take an electric roaster put some water in it set temp at 170 drop meals in water come back and eat. We do it that way for lunch and dinner. Have a roaster at both locations.