Backcountry Meal Test: What Actually Tastes Good on a Sheep Hunt?
- Dan
- Mar 20
- 5 min read
There’s a moment on every hunt where food stops being something you packed…and starts becoming something you look forward to all day.
Not because you're picky. Not because you're craving anything fancy. But because when you're deep in the mountains—cold, tired, and burning through calories—a hot meal can completely reset your mindset.
This wasn’t meant to be a polished gear review.
No big production. No lighting setup. No “top 5 meals” countdown.
Just three of us in a shed—me, Mark, and Eric—boiling water, opening bags, and figuring out what we’re actually going to eat on this year’s sheep hunt.
Watch the Full Backcountry Meal Test Video
If you want the full, unfiltered version of this night—the laughs, the reactions, the chaos…
You can watch it here
Why We Did This (And Why It Matters More Than You Think)
A lot of guys don’t test their food before a hunt.
They’ll spend hours dialing in:
boots
packs
optics
layering systems
…but when it comes to food?
They grab a pile of freeze-dried meals, throw them in a tote, and hope for the best.
We’ve all been there. But food isn’t just fuel out there it’s:
recovery
morale
energy for the next day
And if you get it wrong, you feel it.
So instead of guessing… we decided to test it all beforehand.
Where Food Fits Into a Backcountry Hunting Camp
If you’ve read through my full Backcountry Hunting Camp Setup Guide, you’ll know I don’t look at gear as individual pieces.
I look at it as a system.
Your shelter, your sleep setup, your stove, and your food… all work together.
Because it doesn’t matter how good your meals are if your stove setup is inefficient…or you’re burning extra fuel just trying to cook.
This meal test was part of dialing that system in.
Not just:
what tastes good
But:
what’s worth carrying
what cooks efficiently
what actually fuels you for the next day
The Setup: Keep It Simple, Keep It Honest
We kept the entire night as real as it gets:
Boil water. Pour it in. Wait. Eat.
No measuring cups dialed to perfection. No ideal conditions.
In fact, we messed a few things up on purpose—or at least didn’t stress about it.
Because that’s exactly what happens in the mountains. Wind, Cold, Distractions, Fatigue. You’re not always going to hit that perfect 383ml water line.
So we wanted to see: How forgiving are these meals, really?
What Everyone Brought to the Table
Mark & Eric: Running Peak Refuel (affiliate link)
Both of them are leaning heavily toward Peak Refuel this season.
And it didn’t take long to see why.
Meals we tested included:
Chicken Pesto Pasta (~920 calories)
Chicken Alfredo Pasta (~830 calories)
Beef Stroganoff
Right out of the gate, the calorie count stands out. These things are built for the mountains.
Not light eating. Not dieting.
Real fuel.
The Comparison: Mountain House(affiliate link)
We also had a Mountain House classic in the mix:
Beef Stroganoff (~580 calories)
And this is where things got interesting. Because Mountain House has always been:
reliable
consistent
widely used
But when you compare it side by side with something like Peak Refuel…
You start asking different questions. Not “Is it good?” But: “Is it enough?”
My Setup: Doing Things a Bit Differently
If you’ve followed along for a while, you know I’ve got some dietary restrictions.
So I don’t have the luxury of just grabbing whatever’s on the shelf.
Instead, I brought:
Freeze-dried scrambled eggs (used our own freeze dryer)
Plans to pair with things like pemmican and added fats
And I’ll be honest…
Even I wasn’t sure how these were going to turn out. Freeze-dried eggs don’t exactly have a great reputation.
First Impressions: No Filters, Just Reactions
Before we even took a bite, we did what everyone does:
We smelled them. And honestly?
They smelled… exactly like you’d expect. Chicken smelled like chicken.Eggs smelled like eggs. No surprises there. But the real test isn’t the smell.
It’s that first bite.
The Most Honest Review You’ll Ever Get: A Kid’s Opinion
We had Mark’s son there with us. And without overthinking it… we handed him the first bite.
Because let’s be real:
Kids don’t fake reactions.
They don’t care about brands. They don’t care about calories. They either like it…or they don’t.
And just like that:
Chicken Alfredo → approved
Chicken Pesto → even better
That told us a lot, right away.
Taste, Texture, and Reality
Once we all started digging in, a few things became clear.
1. These meals are actually good
Not “good for camping.”
Not “good considering…”
Just… good.
The kind of food you could eat after a long day and not feel like you’re forcing it down.
2. Texture isn’t perfect—and that’s okay
One thing we noticed, especially with chicken:
Sometimes it doesn’t fully re-hydrate. You get a bit of chew. A bit of inconsistency.
But here’s the honest truth:
None of us cared.
Because when you're out there… you’re not critiquing it like a restaurant meal.
You’re asking “Does this hit the spot?”
And it did.
3. The eggs shocked everyone
This might have been the biggest surprise of the night. Freeze-dried eggs have a reputation for being… not great.
But these? They worked.
They tasted like:
simple
real
familiar food
And more importantly… I know exactly what’s in them because I made them. That’s a huge win for me.
The Real Conversation: Calories vs Enjoyment
At some point, the conversation naturally shifted.
Not just “What tastes best?” But “What actually works best in the mountains?”
Because we’ve all been there. Long days. Heavy packs. Burning calories non-stop.
And that’s where Peak Refuel started to separate itself. Not just because it tasted good…
But because It delivers serious calories in a small package.
That’s efficiency you can feel.
Where Most People Get It Wrong
This was probably the biggest takeaway of the entire night. Most people treat freeze-dried meals as a finished product. Open. Eat. Done.
But that’s leaving a lot on the table.
How We’d Actually Run These Meals
Instead of relying on them as-is… we talked about building them out.
Simple upgrades:
Add extra beef
Add noodles
Add fats
Turn a good meal into a high-performance meal
Something that actually supports:
recovery
energy
long days in the field
The “Butthole” Strategy (You’ll Remember This One)
Mark brought something that honestly sums up mountain food perfectly.
A vacuum-sealed sandwich:
French Toast Bagel
Peanut butter
Bacon
High calorie, simple, no prep.
And yeah… it has a name you won’t forget.
But jokes aside—
This is the kind of thinking that keeps you going in the mountains.
The Thing Nobody Talks About Enough: Morale
This might be the most important part of all of it. Because food isn’t just physical.
It’s mental.
After a brutal day:
cold
wet
exhausted
That hot meal? It changes everything. It slows things down. It gives you something to look forward to. It resets your mindset for the next day.
And that matters more than people admit.
Final Thoughts: What Actually Matters
This wasn’t about finding the “perfect meal.”
It was about figuring out what works.
And what we walked away with was simple:
Peak Refuel → best balance of calories + taste
Mountain House → still solid, just lighter on calories
Custom meals → huge advantage if you dial them in
But more than anything, the best system is the one you test before the hunt, not during it.
Final Thought
You don’t need perfect meals.
But if you can figure out what fuels you properly…
before you step into the mountains…
you’re already ahead.
Build Your Full Backcountry System
If you’re working through your own setup for this season, don’t stop at food.
Your camp system is what determines:
how comfortable you are
how efficient you move
and how long you can stay out
I break down my full system here: Backcountry Hunting Camp Setup Guide
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