Homemade BackPacking Food Thread

[unm1136]

Another college meal favorite gets to the back country. Make a pot of bean with bacon soup. I like to add barbecue sauce, a little liquid smoke, and some hot sauce. Dehydrate. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cop of the dried soup mix to a quart size freezer bag, and add a serving of the macaroni from the box of mac and cheese that you took the cheese powder from for the mexican rice. When preparing, add twice as much water as the total of the soup mix (I usually just add a pint of boiling water if there is a cup or so of mix). Stir and let sit for 20-25 minutes.

When I prep and package these I write the meal name and the amount of hot water to add in sharpie on the bag itself. My stocking cap works as a cozy, but I am going to make one out of reflectix. I don't want my dome to get cold while waiting for my dinner to rehydrate. My sea to summit xmug has the measurements marked on it for dosing the hot water out.

pat

 

[ohhiitznik]

I like to do a venison stroganoff and dehydrate it. Its great in the backcountry and the venison doesn't go rancid as fast as beef because of low fat content. Venison also breaks into smaller chunks because of the less fat and dehydrates quicker.

 

[BuckSnort]

Lot's of great info and recipe's here: http://www.trailcooking.com/

Aron, be careful dehydrating at that low of temperature..They recommend 160 deg for meats.... Then again if you can stomach a Marmot you probably have nothing to worry about..lol

 

[flyinsquirel]

I just recently stumbled upon this site http://www.backpackingchef.com/

Haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but some of them sound good.

 

[loner]

I just bring burritos on my hunts.
I make them rap them in aluminum foil and freeze them.
I bring enough for 3 a day.
When it is time to cook I just build a little fire and toss them in.
No need to pack a stove,fuel or any cook ware.

 

[ohhiitznik]

I just bring burritos on my hunts.
I make them rap them in aluminum foil and freeze them.
I bring enough for 3 a day.
When it is time to cook I just build a little fire and toss them in.
No need to pack a stove,fuel or any cook ware.

You freeze them and then vac pack them? How would they stay good for 7 days?

 

[loner]

I mostly hunt above 9000ft and late in the year.
So it is cold at night and they keep well.
Never had a problem I stay out for 5 to 7 days.

 

[larryschwartz]

As an aside, IF you are willing to use more fuel (like the whole small can of iso-butane that comes with your cannister stove) for a 2-3 day trip and IF you don' tmind a little clean-up of your cook pot, then you can open up a whole world of additional options with the dozens of pasta and rice based pre-packaged meals from the grocery store that just require you to cook them longer than just boiling your water and pouring it into your rehydration pouch.

 

[unm1136]

As an aside, IF you are willing to use more fuel (like the whole small can of iso-butane that comes with your cannister stove) for a 2-3 day trip and IF you don' tmind a little clean-up of your cook pot, then you can open up a whole world of additional options with the dozens of pasta and rice based pre-packaged meals from the grocery store that just require you to cook them longer than just boiling your water and pouring it into your rehydration pouch.

Actually, boiling isn't necesary for alot of them if you use a cozy and let them sit longer. I usually go 20-30 minutes anyway. Every couple of weeks buy two of those meals/sides. Prepare one according to package directions, and prepare the other using a freezer bag, boiling water, a cozy, ect. , adding time to the soaking. Taste after you let it set the amount of time it is supposed to boil, then taste again every 3-5 minutes. This will let you sample the meal, so you can decide if you like the brand, and it will tell you how long it needs to sit to rehydrate to get it to tasty. Then leave the packaging at home, dump the dry mix into a quart size zip top freezer bag, or better yet a vacuume sealer type bag, and write the name and brief prep directions on it with a sharpie.

pat

 

[larryschwartz]

unm1136,

You are right on the money. I always do test runs at home on things I think might work well when camping or backpack hunting, and like you said many of them work fine by just adding the hot water and letting it sit. Unfortunately, I have found some things, like oatmeal, that don't come out like I want in terms of texture without some additional cook time; they need to have a hight level of heat applied to them for a while, rather than the slowly cooling heat from the hot water, to get the consistency that I want. Fortunately, I personally don't mind using more of my cannister fuel to do this since I am going to be carrying the cannister around whether it is full, half empty or almost empty anyway so the weight isn't an issue for me.

Also, some pre-packaged meals don't have pre-cooked starches in them, like the microwave versions do, so they too need that high heat for a few minutes to actually cook.

But, like you said, many of them do work fine in the rehydration sequence of boil water, add to the dry contents, let sit and rehydrate, then eat.

Larry