Cooking Own Meals at the Motel

hunter94 said:
if i happen to be hunting right up to the golden hour i like a comfy chair and a waitress.
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Back in the day it was great to go out and get some hot food for breakfast and/or dinner. You used to be able to go to a local diner or restaurant and get a decent meal but the food I've gotten in the areas I hunt now has been awful. The last time I hunted in Idaho I stopped in a local place that was recommended to me for a hamburger. Just as I took my first bite, the cook came out from the kitchen and she was the poster child for the classic 90 lb meth head w/ colored hair and rotten teeth, I left the burger on the plate.

I went out for dinner last year in Aberdeen at a local place that was packed. The food was awful. If I find a place that has great food, homemade pie and milkshakes, I'll be their best customer but until then, I'm going to heat something up in my room and hang out with my dogs.
 
I hunted last year in a Montana town which is class B in high school so around 1000 people in town and plenty of people in the out lying area. For years they had two places to eat, both really good, now none. We drove 20 miles to another town, huge cafe, one waitress and two high school girls helping, and packed. It was so painful. When the high school girls brought out our salads an hour later it was one at a time. There was eight of us. I was nice but wanted to yell you have 2 hands or I see a platter over there. I praise them for working and trying and the waitress was too busy to explain things to them. I decided I will do it myself from now on. Plus we can have a few drinks and not worry about driving.
 
If I'm traveling and actually shooting birds--I'd much rather eat them in camp than stick them in a cooler and cart them home. Not to mention-- possession limits start to kick in if you're real lucky. Getting comfortable cooking wild birds with some basic seasoning and a little bit of butter or oil in a pan goes a long way. Montreal chicken for white meat birds and montreal steak for dark meat work great. Supplement with some easy to cook or re-heat starchy sides (boxed rice/potatoes, etc.) and you're good to go. Or cube up and cook your birds and throw them in a can of soup. Doesn't have to be fancy. I always plan to cook and bring the stuff for it--then fall back on the restaurants if hunting is slow or I'm just beat. Half the time I'm camping in the boondocks and smell like I haven't showered in days (because I haven't), so flirting with the local waitress isn't on the table anyway.
 
One of the best things I’ve ever bought is a holland companion grill. Small little indirect fire grill that does an amazing job and is easily travelable.
 
I haven't tried this but I wonder how a sous vide would do in heating frozen meals? I think mine goes to 200*. That would easily reheat frozen chili or a stew and it would be ready the minute you walked in!
 
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airmedic1 said:
I haven't tried this but I wonder how a sous vide would do in heating frozen meals? I think mine goes to 200*. That would easily reheat frozen chili or a stew and it would be ready the minute you walked in!
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It works great! I took an old cooler and drilled a hole in the lid to hold the heating element. Have done everything from stew to ribs.
 
roadscholar said:
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.
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Those fajitas are right down my alley
 
When money was tight, I always brought an electric frying pan, and usually cooked chili and cheese. I stayed at the cheapest motels, and I stayed at some real dives that's for sure. A lot of those places are not even open anymore, or have been torn down. But yeah I used to cook in my room a lot, sometimes I would do pancakes.
 
A group of us camp along the Missouri River every year for SD opener. We bring a few blackstones, a few coleman camp stoves, and one buddy brings a pellet grill. We eat like kings every night. Outdoor cooking has gotten really easy.
 
I’ve made skirt steak fajitas twice lately that use a pineapple juice, lime juice, Worcestershire, olive oil, cumin, red pepper flake (forgetting a few items) marinade that will be righteous for prairie grouse…can’t wait! Google “best steak fajitas”, you’ll find it…incredible!!!!!! Garlic, too. It’s from “little spice jar” recipe source
 
When I was in my twenties and thirties and '40s, I used to stay in the cheapest motels that I could find in these little towns.I always had an electric frying pan. A lot of times, there isn't a decent Cafe in town, and maybe no Cafe at all.
 
Mosby said:
Back in the day it was great to go out and get some hot food for breakfast and/or dinner. You used to be able to go to a local diner or restaurant and get a decent meal but the food I've gotten in the areas I hunt now has been awful. The last time I hunted in Idaho I stopped in a local place that was recommended to me for a hamburger. Just as I took my first bite, the cook came out from the kitchen and she was the poster child for the classic 90 lb meth head w/ colored hair and rotten teeth, I left the burger on the plate.

I went out for dinner last year in Aberdeen at a local place that was packed. The food was awful. If I find a place that has great food, homemade pie and milkshakes, I'll be their best customer but until then, I'm going to heat something up in my room and hang out with my dogs.
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Unfortunately, that's the way it is in small town bird hunting trips. Every once in awhile you will find a really good Cafe, or steakhouse, but that isn't the norm.
 
Here is a good tip, if you go to a restaurant, ask to test the gravy. If the gravy is packaged gravy,well that isn't a good sign.
 
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