Fireside Flavors: Cooking Authentic

Choctaw Cuisine at Your Cabin

When you grocery shop for a luxury cabin getaway in Hochatown, you probably stock up on the classics:
burgers, steaks and s’mores ingredients. But since you’re vacationing in the heart of the beautiful Choctaw
Nation of Oklahoma, The Utmost Host wants to invite you to upgrade your cabin menu with an experience that
is exciting, delicious and deeply connected to the history of this land.

Long before modern luxury cabins lined the hills of southeast Oklahoma, Choctaw families were cooking over
open flames in these exact woods, creating vibrant, comforting dishes using local ingredients.

Two of the most unique traditional dishes you can easily replicate or enjoy during your stay are Banaha
(shuck bread) and Grape Dumplings. Here is why these Indigenous comfort foods are the ultimate addition
to your next luxury cabin weekend.

1. Banaha: The Ancestral Travel Bread with a Crispy Twist

If you love tamales, you need to try Banaha, pronounced ba-naha.

Historically, Banaha was the ultimate portable food for Choctaw hunters and travelers moving through the
ancient woods. It is a savory bread made by mixing cornmeal with water, salt and field peas. The dough is
shaped into a log, wrapped securely in softened corn shucks, tied in the middle and boiled until firm.

Why It’s Exciting for Cabin Cooking

While traditional Banaha is wonderfully simple, our guests at The Utmost Host love to get creative with it in
our fully equipped kitchens. You can easily liven up the coarse, yellowish-white cornmeal dough by mixing in
modern staples like jalapeños, sharp cheddar cheese or smoky bits of bacon and venison sausage.

Better for Breakfast
While eating Banaha fresh out of the boiling pot is a treat, the absolute best way to eat it is the next morning.
Slice your leftovers into half-inch rounds and fry them in a cast-iron skillet with a little bacon grease until they
are golden and crispy. It makes for an incredible, crunchy breakfast to enjoy on the deck with your morning coffee.

2. Sweet Grape Dumplings: The Fireside Dessert

Step aside s’mores, there is a new fireside favorite in town. Grape dumplings are a legendary, sweet-and-tart
Choctaw delicacy.

Historically made from healthy wild Possum Grapes harvested from the vine in the autumn woods, this
comforting dessert is created by boiling pure, unsweetened grape juice, then dropping rolled-out strips of
simple biscuit dough directly into the rolling liquid. The dumplings simmer in the juice until they swell up,
absorbing the deep purple glaze and thickening the sauce into a rich, sweet syrup.

Served warm in a bowl around your private outdoor fire pit on a chilly Hochatown evening, it is pure magic.

Bring the Culture into Your Stay

Part of an exceptional vacation is trying something new. Preparing these dishes is a fun, interactive,
hands-on activity the whole family can participate in while learning about the history of the region.

• Where to taste it: Want to try it made by the experts first? Take a quick drive from your cabin to the
  Champuli Café inside the Choctaw Cultural Center or explore the dining options at Choctaw Landing to
  see how Indigenous chefs honor these traditions.
• Make it at the cabin: Grab some corn shucks, cornmeal and grape juice from a local market, utilize
  our premium pots and pans and start a brand-new family vacation tradition.

At The Utmost Host, we believe a luxury stay is defined by the memories you make. Book your next fireside
escape today, download our guest cooking guide and see your campfire in a whole new light.