Grilled Elk & US Military Meals 1 & 2 (Wilderness Cafe)

Chris and I want to learn as much as we can about the great outdoors, which includes improving survival and bushcraft skills, but we also want to be able to sit back and enjoy these amazing wilderness environments. So we're slowing things down with our new food series, Wilderness Cafe. We'll be trying new survival or hiking meals as well as enjoying some amazing food grilled over a smoky wood fire. To start things off, we're trying two different U.S. military MRAs or meal ready to eat for lunch and then finishing the day with some grilled elk meat over a smoky campfire. That is not what is going to be for lunch. At least I hope not. Don't they call them like almonds or something? They look like milk duds. I love milk duds too. I'm pretty sure there's no caramel in the center of those. I like milk duds. I like milk duds. There's a lot of thorns around here too, eh? Yeah. I'm gonna be a little bit careful. I am getting absolutely famished, dude. Are you? Yeah, I am. I'm getting hungry. Well, what do we eat? Well, let's go find a place, man. Some place to rest our weary bones. Becoming one with nature is very prickly, eh? Yeah. Whoa. Oh, this looks kind of cool. What do you think? I think it's time to eat. I think it is. Look at that log. It has my name on it. Well, we're not going to sit on the log. We thought, oh, it'd be nice to sit in the sun, but you know, it's actually, despite seeing snow, it's really warm. So, we're going to try and move into more some, some shade, you know? Got two rocks, two buddy rocks here. All right. Mine looks comfortable. Yours doesn't. Oh, yeah. So, you found a nice, perfect little perch. And where's my, uh? Right there. My spot? The, oh, the one on the severe angle? Oh, no, that one there. Yeah. That one's fine. Could have got you a sharp one. You're the greatest. All right. Let's get these MREs going, dude. Definitely pushed it farther before we ate. I could have eaten like at least an hour ago. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I agree. What is that? What? What the heck is that? It's a thermarest fatty seat. You got, you got a cushion. Oh, and it takes away the cold of it. Now, it's not even the spoon. You're like, oh, you don't have one of these? Super lightweight. Very comfortable. Perfect for sitting on rocks. What a douche. I can't believe you just pulled that out. It's like a recliner, man. Yeah, I know. It looks fantastic. And it weighs nothing. And I have a bony butt. So, it's not good. It's like bone on bone. Oh, is that sourdough bread? Sourdough. Not for now. San Francisco sourdough. Oh, that's gonna be good. I baked it last night. All right. We got two MREs. What do you want? Menu one, chili with beans. Menu two, beef shredded and barbecue sauce. I know what we're doing. Thank you. Come on, man. Of course. I shouldn't even give you up like, here you go. You got chili and beans. So, this is a start. Starting with menu one and menu two. Menu two. We're gonna go through all 24 menus. Menu one and menu two. It's a good start. Yeah. Yeah, for one of us, it's a good start. Beef shredded and barbecue sauce. All right, let's get these suckers open. You're like gonna be eating way before me. That's what I do, man. No, you're always ahead. Look. Look. I don't even have any problems opening that. You're really strong. It's like a jerk. What the heck? You got like a little... Did they always do this before too? I don't remember this being all sealed in like this. No, they're different kinds, you know, depending on... Yeah, it's like vacuum sealed and then vacuum sealed. I don't remember them ever making it like this. Oh, nice. Cheddar cheese crackers. Dude, I've never had that. That sounds pretty good. Yeah. I have to steal those. Cornbread too with the chili. Dude, I bet, I guarantee yours is gonna be good, but cornbread and chili, that sounds amazing, right? Lemon lime, that's my favorite flavor. Remember I told you? Yeah, yeah, it's like a Gatorade almost. What's that smell? This. Oh, I was like, why do I smell chemicals? Oh, dude, mine's cooked. Mine's cooking. Oh, is it hot? Oh, geez, it's smoking like crazy. What is this? What is this? Cheese spread too for my crackers, dude. This is a really good one. You know what I got? What is my menu one, eh? Cheese spread. Oh, with jalapenos. What? Jalapenos. Why do you get... Tortillas. That's like a beef fajita you got. Yeah, yeah. Man, this is fun. It's like a grab bag full of... You just really never know what you're gonna get in them. Yeah, yeah. It's like a food adventure. But being one and two, we're gonna take the adventure the whole way, right? One through 24. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. Every single one of them. While holding Emery's pouch and heater above the line. Oh, okay. So that's what you do. You got it? I'm gonna do it the real way. You got it figured out? Oh, you take the pouch out? You hold them both above the line, then you fill it to the line, then you drop them in. Oh, that's crazy. That's really interesting. What a jerk. Hey, I'm trying to follow the rules. I'm a rule follower. Oh, yeah. Woo. Tart. Oh, is that the same one? Lemon lime? Yeah. That looks good though, dude. So I've got raisins. Oh, that's good. Wow, that's a... Let me see that. That's a big, big pack, man. I like raisins. I like raisins. And then, well, that's the... Come on. I do have black beans in a seasoned sauce is what it says. Dude. It's not working as usual. What the dude? Here, feel this. No, I can see the steam coming up. See this? It's supposed to look like this. Dude, feel mine. I got nothing. I got a dud. I'll rub it and hold it and love it. I called it yours. I broke it. Touch that side. Okay, now it's gone. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Don't double it up because it'll explode. Let it vent a little bit. But tip it back and let the water soak all the way through that pad. Why did my... I was doing that. I just, I tilted it back. Did you follow the directions? I'm going to put it in here too because that stupid sleeve doesn't work. Gotcha. I hope your shredded beef gives you the runs. Barbecue sauce. Oh, things are looking up. That's good. So we'll have to go through and see what the best one we like. And then if you guys are ex-military, army, whatever, anyone who's had MREs. Yeah, you got a recommendation. Yeah, let us know what your favorite is. Or just let us know what your favorite is, yeah. I saw a lot of the same ones that I like. The vegetarian lasagna one. Oh, that was good. Tortillas. Are they going to be MRE tortillas? Oh, they're like legit tortillas, dude. That's like legit, but they're not corn. They're flour. Flour ones. I'm going to warm them up inside my bag. This bag is like a warming bag. You just give them to me. I'll put them in my pocket. My tortillas have a slight nutty flavor. I don't know why. All right, there we go. Oh yeah, look at that. Sir, you might have an infection. It's an IV bag. You just drink from this? Don't spill it all over yourself. Why would you say that? And now all of a sudden I'm like, oh shoot. Hey, wait. You need a funnel? It tastes good though. Or a nipple? No, no. One of those. There's a time and place for everything. Come on baby, light my fire. Oh, you open it that, is that where you're supposed to open it? Is that way? You don't have to dig in so far, right? I've only told you that like 16 times. I know, but I thought it was just like your little tips and tricks. No, because it's got the weight to both sides. Did that look like earlier this morning? Oh, it smells really good. Here, let me taste a sample of that. Where's my spoon? That's legit. It's good? Mm-hmm. Like a mesquite barbecue. Shredded. I gotta at least try one with the whole setup. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get that thing rolling. Do you need some help? I need a third hand. Here, I'll help you. If I put too much in here, it's probably just going to squirt out the ends. I'm legitimately surprised by how legit those tortillas are though. Yeah. You know what I mean? They're good. And how remarkably close that is to the way it's going to look when it comes out. You got some on your finger there. It's squirting. It's like a little delicious. It's not bad. Now, how's the bread though? Is it like stale like the other bread is or is it like seemed fresh? It tastes like tortillas that you get from the store and you don't like either microwave them for 10 seconds. Oh, right, right. Like, yeah, yeah, yeah. I got to get my cornbread out. Oh, there's a chunk right there. This is what's chilly. Oh, look at that. That's a huge piece of beef, eh? Where's the beef? Do you want to try a piece of cornbread? Don't try to make me grab a bigger piece. That's it. Oh, it's good. It is. Yeah. Moist. Well, that's really good. I'm always nervous with these things. Menu 12. Menu 12. Maybe you'll have a redemption, you know? Yeah. Maybe everything in this one is going to be fantastic. This is actually really good. You want to try a little bit of this? No. What? Look, it's beef. It's beef chili. Dude, that does not look any worse than that slop that you're shoveling it in your mouth right now. You don't know that. I'm saying it. I'm saying it doesn't look as any worse. Dude, just try it. It's good. It looks good. Look. Oh, there's little beans. It didn't get super hot, but the taste is good. What does that remind me of? That's not bad. You know, some of these taste like stuff out of a can and some of them taste worse, obviously, but some of them taste a little bit better. Yeah, like better than the Chef Boyardee. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Stuff like that. I think it's when they put a little spice in them, they taste a little bit better. Yeah. Yeah. There is a tiny bit of spice in this. Yep. That hit the spot, man. Even if it was a bad one, you know, I was hungry. The cornbread is really good. I'm very pleased with that. Despite the sometimes nasty quality of MREs, we've always had fun eating them for lunch. Each meal is like a special surprise box filled with unknown treats. But honestly, we just hope that the other guy's MRE is worse than our own so we can laugh at each other. For the rest of the afternoon, we just hiked around the super tall Ponderosa Pines here in the mountains to work off that survival slop sitting in our guts. We've talked to a lot of people, including ex-military, and honestly, even soldiers don't eat that stuff every single it went like this and came back in. Look at that. I spy with my little eye. So it's not bad. That little knife is working pretty good. So that's the first full tang Mora. Mora Garberg and it's got the really nice sharp, you can throw sparks here, sharp top edge. Scandy grind. It's stainless, it's not carbon steel, but still. Yeah, it's good. Looks like the coals are almost ready, Meaty. Well, I baked this up for us last night. Oh, did ya? You got some sour... What the heck is that, dude? What are you, a Rambo? Holy mackerel, how thick is that, the spine on that? It's a very functional knife. Easy to walk around with. Yeah. And it's very good for cutting San Francisco sourdough. Oh, dude. Yeah, let's get some... I'm going to eat this later on tonight. Yep, that's going to be fantastic. Four slices for some delicious elk burgers. Elk burgers. Oh, dude, this is going to be so good. I'm totally putting my cheese spread on it. Oh yeah. But I'm going to put it on after because I kind of want to taste the elk. Well, I kept my barbecue sauce from the MRE just in case, like a, you know, ketchup mustard type of condiment. Okay, we got some bread. We got bread. And I definitely will eat this whole thing tonight. Yeah, uh, absolutely. That is not a lie. That is absolutely... I really like San Francisco sourdough. I like the density of it. It's dense and firm. It's like old-timey. It's dense. So, just like someone else. So, we got some, um, some elk. We're going to make elk burger. Yep, ground elk. Nice. Ground elk. And then we've got some nice dense, good dense bread here for it. Oh, dude. Oh, you know what? I'm going to actually lightly toast mine on the grill after. Hey, that's a good idea. Yeah, I know. All right. So, I just need to get the... So, maybe a couple of rocks or something like that. Put some rocks on the sides and we'll get this grill in there. Yeah, yeah. Get some burger action going. Look at that. I'm like... I'm making a spatula. Are you going to spank me later with that thing? No, look. I'm going to make a spatula for our burger. It's a little thick. It's not the thinnest. Good thing you brought the giant axe slash knife. This blade is so thick. It's the only one I really feel confident chopping. And it's... Oh, yeah. Well, sort of, eh? I got that side working fine. Yeah, get the... But it's, it's, it's a robust blade. You know, I never like to chop with my knives. Yeah. But this is... Come on. This is a pry bar. That ain't a knife. This is a knife. Oh, we messed this up. It's a lesson learned, I guess, eh? Keep it steady. It's stuck on this side here. Smells fishy. What? Oh, watch out, dude. Oh, careful. Oh, that looks all right. That looks all right. Is it hot? Yeah. Oh, hold on, hold on, this part right here is coming over. Don't mess up my burger. Oh, we almost shared a burger. Pat mine down a little bit. Squish it in there. Yeah. Look at the spatula, man. Spatula time. Works perfectly. Look at it. Nice round handle. Thin edge here. Yeah, yeah. Oh, dude. It's looking good. Yep. Nice. The heat's all perfect because it's just not, it's not overcooking it or anything. Slow cooking with coals. Oh yeah, baby. That smoky goodness. It's time, my friend, get your toasted toast. Oh, don't you knock my bread. Look at that. Perfect. You got yourself a little spatula slash plate, dude. It's a plate. Oh, that one's hot potato, hot potato, hot potato. Hot potato. You're putting your barbecue sauce on it? Barbecue sauce from the MRE. Oh yeah, from the MRE. Nice. I'm using my cheese sauce from the MRE. Right. Elk burger with barbecue sauce. Leave this here in case you want to use it. Yeah. Yeah. You got to take the first bite, dude. You gotta let me know. It's cooked perfectly. Is it dry? Like I've never had elk. That's good. It's good. Oh yeah. Yeah. Nice dude. Yeah. Elk burgers in the wild. Delish. Barbecue sauce is really good on it too. There's my cheese. Oh cheese. You know, you definitely know it's not cow. Yeah. It's got a gamey flavor, right? Well, it's just, well, that's kind of what I, I've never had elk before. So what could be better than elk on a, on a wood fire, man? You know, that's where it's real. Man, what the heck? I got to turn this around. Figure it out. Figure it out. As per usual, you are going to be done before I'm even started. Dude, that looks good, man. Right? Look at that thing. This is not looking good. Looks like I might be ruining the elk is crying. Oh, cheese. Oh, cheese. Oh, cheeseless. It's all right. It tastes all right. That's the thing I was worried about. My thing with burgers, I just like to make sure they're cooked through. Yeah. Yeah. I don't, I don't like it pink. It doesn't have to be well done. It just needs to be cooked through. That's all. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But having a little char on the outside like this makes it good. Yeah. I swing. Oh, right. The toasted bread really sets it off too. You got cheese in your beard for a couple of crackers. That's for later. Dude, that tastes really good. So this is like our first, um, kind of real meal type of thing, right? Yeah. We've done. Yeah. Oh man. Totally worth. So good being out here too. Yeah. That tastes great. It's hard to cook on that little grill though. It's pretty small. We can get better with it though. Oh, for sure. I think we'll get better with it. We're going to become outdoor chefs. Chef please. Elk. Elk burger is, is definitely good. Maybe cause the coals were low. It didn't like, and we didn't crush it. We didn't knock all the juice out. How's the cheese? Oh, it's good now. What a fantastic day it was exploring being out here. But you know, doing like a transition from a lunch that's like whatever, you know, roll of a dice to an actual, Oh, so like real hearty type dinner. It makes you after a long day like this, it really, it really hits a spot. I like it a lot. That's good. Yeah. I'll have the softball burger please. Oh, you can tell though. It's not, it's not beef, right? You can tell. It's not that it's gamey. It has a different flavor. It's a great flavor though. I Elk is really good, man. That's yummy. What about that deer we saw with the big old ears? It's like jack rabbit ears. The mule. Was it a mule deer or something? I just think it looked like a mule ear. So I thought I couldn't focus in on it. I was looking at your screen. It looked like antlers. And I'm like, Oh, those are just ears. I'm like, Holy mackerel Dumble flap your ears. You can fly that bread though is key. Oh yeah. Toasted too. If you try to do like a regular bread, no man, you need dense kind of heavy, dense bread that can hold up to that. I like it.