How to cook food in Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest is a survival horror game that combines surviving on a deserted island with the horror of fighting off its monstrous inhabitants. To this end, the protagonist will need to eat regularly, as running out of food will result in death. The best way to gain sustenance is by catching the animals that roam the island and using them to cook food — once you know how that is.

Related: Sons of the Forest Parents’ Guide – Is Sons of the Forest ok for children?

What you need to cook food

The player needs Sticks and Raw Meat to cook food in Sons of the Forest. Sticks are everywhere on the island, especially in wooded areas, so it shouldn’t be too hard to max out your inventory with Sticks. Acquiring the Raw Meat is a little more challenging, as it involves killing the animals on the island, such as a deer, rabbit, or squirrel, and harvesting their flesh. If the player only has melee weapons, then they will have to try and sneak up on the animal or dash and try to head them off at a pass before slaying them.

Once the materials are in hand, equip a Stick in the inventory and look down at the ground. A prompt (shown in the screenshot above) should appear, and pressing the left mouse button, or right trigger on the controller, will cause the protagonist to snap the Stick in two. Repeat this process once, and a fire prompt should appear, activated by pressing the E key or its associated button on the controller. The protagonist will then use their lighter to set the wood ablaze.

Now that the fire is going, a prompt should appear to select the fire. The protagonist will then bring up a board with all the items they can put on the fire, one of which should be the Raw Meat, which can be thrown down onto the ground.

Sons of the Forest cooking timing

Those who have played the Monster Hunter series will be familiar with what comes next, as the meat doesn’t automatically cook on its own. In Sons of the Forest, the player has to watch the meat and wait for the fire to do its job. The Raw Meat will switch to Cooked Meat once the meat turns from red to brown. The Cooked Meat can then be picked up and added to the inventory. This cooking process is exactly the same for fish.

Cooked Meat is beneficial, as it not only eases Hunger, but it’s one of the best ways to heal in Sons of the Forest, as there are plenty of animals on the island, with their meat acting like a portable healing potion. Just be wary while cooking, as staring at the meat can leave the protagonist vulnerable to sneak attacks from the island’s denizens.