What's your best dehydrated meal?

[Bob B.]

For me canoe tripping, I am so hungry that meal time is really just calorie replacement. One of my favorite meals on long travel days is a Knor rice packet ( broccoli and cheese ) with about a pound and a half of dehydrated ground venison. This is a serious helping of food, but I have no problem consuming it all. I like it because it takes up little pack space, keeps a LONG time, is fast to cook, replaces carbs and protein and is ( to me at least ) very tasty.
It is funny, at home on occasion I make it … it is ok, nothing special and way too much to eat. In the bush it is like there is a party in my mouth and everyone is invited! Man it is tasty … I can feel my body responding happily to the sudden intake of calories. I finish it off with a glug or two of honey and stout cup of coffee … wow, it feels kinda good just remembering …

Bob.

 

[ppine]

I really don't like pouch food at all. Dehydrated mashed potatoes are okay and some of the soups. I like to bring things like smoked salmon or canned chicken for protein in small amounts. I have never used a dehydrator at home. We don't portage much in the West and bring fresh food. I don't go that far on backpacking trips either.

For winter trips, I have made food ahead of time and frozen it in plastic bags. Then it just needs to be thawed in hot water on a fire. My dog pulls a sled to carry some extra weight.

 

[billconner]

Eat to live OR live to eat. I'm mostly in the latter group. Plenty of room for both and in betweeners.

 

[Odyssey]

Best. Dehydrated. Meal. Those three words don't quite fit together, at least in my experience. But that's not to say things can't be tasty.
In the last decade there's been a shift in popular culture away from fussy extravagant and towards simpler mindful. Food writers have reflected this in vlogs, blogs, and books, to the appreciative benefit of impatient foodie fantasists like myself. As much as I'd love to prepare the perfect meal I just don't have the focus to stare down a slow simmering sauce for more than a few minutes at a time. Quick and easy suits me fine, or at the very least, cozy up the 1-2 pots on low and let them take care of themselves. This translates to camp cooking as well. She OTOH considers kitchen time play time/comfort time. Her perfect end to a busy day, whereas I look at kitchen time as just more busyness but with a delicious result. Oh well. To each our own. So long as we're both slowing down and eating well, that's what counts.
Today being the culmination of Shrovetide, Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Tuesday, means that she'll insist on pancakes for supper tonight. She also happens to have book club tonight which means I'll be chained to the stovetop tonight. No worry. It'll be just like a canoe trip breakfast minus the smoke, burned bits, and bugs in our food. Pancakes are more dry than dehydrated, but still fit Best and Meal quite comfortably any time of day.

 

[recped]

I've also heard "farm fresh" eggs that haven't been washed can stay at room temperature for quite a while. I'm going to find a way to pack them, because a good fish fry needs them.

Yes quite awhile, the longest I've kept them (and still eaten) is 36 days and they were just regular grocery store eggs that are washed in a disinfectant, unwashed should be better. The yokes tend to transition from the light yellow of most fresh eggs to a deeper orange (the eggs you leave in the fridge at home change similarly when they approach the BB day), the whites tend to thin slightly. To avoid illness all you need to do is skip the sunny side up, go for thoroughly cooked scrambled or omelettes.

For safe transit I use the paperboard cartons, cut down to 8 egg size you can fit 16 eggs in a larger zip-lock, blow into the bag to create an air cushion. Two options from here, I usually have a soft sided cooler (the fruit/cheese bag) if there is room I use it for the eggs, on long trips there may not be space for a week or so, in that case the zip lock goes in a plastic shopping bag which is stuffed into the bow or stern.

Bacon and eggs are my go to meal for layover days!

 

[billconner]

Agree you can keep store bought (washed) eggs for a couple weeks. Probably keep out of sun.

I wrap paperboard carton with two layers of bubble wrap and a Bungee Dealee Bob. Set in top of CCS food back. No losses in many trips.

 

[Paddlinhal]

The secret to drying chicken is to start with canned chicken. That's because it's cooked in a pressure cooker which somehow keeps it porous while it dries. Cauliflower Curry (see hurrythefoodup.com) has protein and is very tasty. Also add that chicken if you want. The simplest, of course, is to cook one- pot slop like chili, then dry it.

 

[Mason]

If you have a dehydrator, add some silicone disks and dry your own homemade (or store bought?) sauces. I dried some homemade bolognese sauce, and it worked really well. The problem was grabbing a bit out of the bag while I tested its shelf life--very robust flavor.

 

[billconner]

I use parchment paper for sauces in dehydrator.

 

[Tryin']

The best boughten dehydrated meal I have ever eaten has to be the Peak Refuel Biscuits & Gravy, with their Breakfast Scramble being a close second. Plenty for two, and I can EAT. The Breakfast Scramble will easily fill 4 large tortillas with leftovers. Pricy, but man...

Best homemade is some chicken chile I did last year. Unfortunately, I have lost the recipe.

Using canned chicken definitely yields better dehydration than fresh, just be sure to use a brand you like, rinse well, and season before dehydrating.

 

[scoutergriz]

If you have a dehydrator, add some silicone disks and dry your own homemade (or store bought?) sauces. I dried some homemade bolognese sauce, and it worked really well. The problem was grabbing a bit out of the bag while I tested its shelf life--very robust flavor.

I use parchment paper, it helps absorb some of the grease and moisture, and it seems to dry faster.
some people swear by breaking your eggs into a Nalgene- DON'T DO IT!!! breaking those eggs exposes them to air and contaminants, and lovely things like salmonella, botulism, and even Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) can cause severe illness or even death. Even worse, noner of these pathogens cause any major change to the colour, taste, or smell until it's far too late. Staph especially can set in in as little as 3-6 hours and can be extremely debilitating. I remember one church group I was teaching did this, and by lunch most of them were tossing their cookies and crapping their pants, all ended up dehydrated and 3 spent a couple of days in hospital...

 

[billconner]

I use parchment paper, it helps absorb some of the grease and moisture, and it seems to dry faster.
some people swear by breaking your eggs into a Nalgene- DON'T DO IT!!! breaking those eggs exposes them to air and contaminants, and lovely things like salmonella, botulism, and even Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) can cause severe illness or even death. Even worse, noner of these pathogens cause any major change to the colour, taste, or smell until it's far too late. Staph especially can set in in as little as 3-6 hours and can be extremely debilitating. I remember one church group I was teaching did this, and by lunch most of them were tossing their cookies and crapping their pants, all ended up dehydrated and 3 spent a couple of days in hospital...

I agree. The egg shell is nature's perfect container. Carrying raw eggs outside of the shell seems extremely risky.

 

[Odyssey]

recped says..."For safe transit I use the paperboard cartons, cut down to 8 egg size you can fit 16 eggs in a larger zip-lock, blow into the bag to create an air cushion."
I do the same without breakage. Inflating the ziplock is a great idea!! Thanks for that.
Tryin says..."Using canned chicken definitely yields better dehydration than fresh,"
I like the sound of canned chicken as a dehydrating shortcut, unfortunately I've yet to find any on our grocery shelves. That means taking leftover roast chicken and processing it (removing skin and bones, shred, chop). This works well.

 

[Gamma1214]

I like the sound of canned chicken as a dehydrating shortcut, unfortunately I've yet to find any on our grocery shelves.

I can it fresh using a pressure canner. Grocery stores here regularly run boneless chicken cheap so I grab a box or two (40#/box) and restock the basement shelves. It falls apart when opened & dehydrates way better than canned from the store. (note: venison, IME, does not rehydrate as well as pork and pork not as well as chicken.) With any meat, you'll get 1 pretty close to 1 lb per pint, 2 lbs in a quart jar.

 

[ppine]

There is no such thing unless you are in desperate straights. If you are cold enough, tired enough and hungry enough, it is all fine.

 

[Seeker]

I was a big fan of HawkVittles dehydrated meals for a long time, when Hawk had the company, but no longer buy them. New owner has apparently done some recipe tweaking for the 'spicy' American palette, which conflicts with my German upbringing. I've also had issues with portion size/quality and shipping timeliness. Some of this might be 'new owner/now we have it worked out', but I'm done, just based on the new flavorings.

The only spices I normally like/use are cinnamon, bacon, cream, mushrooms, cheese, fruits (lemon, apple), onion, garlic, brown (not yellow) mustard, and seasoned salt. I don't even like black pepper. "Savory" is how I like things. Meaty, gravy-y, slightly salty. I am also blessed with being able to eat the same exact meals for dinner for weeks in a row (record is 6 weeks deployed eating pretty much the same MRE 3 meals a day with only a handful of deviation, and no hot sauce). Oatmeal/bacon for breakfast, similar diet of a starch/dried meat/sweets/dried fruit for lunch, with a hot beverage (tea, cocoa, soup) as conditions warrant.

That said, my 'best' dehydrated meal is homemade venison stew. Aside from the basics of meat, spices, and vegetables to taste, the only advice I have is to use ground meat instead of cubing it... I've tried cubes as small as 1/4", and they just don't rehydrate right; woody is the only way to describe it. Ground, they work better. Most instructions say "Let rehydrate for 20-25 minutes", but i find 25-35 works even better.

Something I used to eat a lot of but can no longer find is the Knorr sides "Beef Stroganoff"... you can still get Knorr sides, just not that flavor... I would make it and chop beef or venison jerky, summer sausage, or salami/pepperoni into it, and it was quick and good.

Ramen noodles also serve as a good base, though they're high in sodium... same thing; make the noodles, season to taste, add some dried meat.

I have heard, but not yet tried, that you can dehydrate pasta/spaghetti sauce pretty well, to include beans and ground beef with it.

 

[yknpdlr]

Since Hawk died not long ago, I imagiine whoever took it over has made significant changes to his methods an ingredients. Like I said, his basis starter was recipies from the Linda Yaffee dehydrator cookbook.

Regarding spaghetti... you can either dehydrtate the sauce into a "leather", which rehiydrates nicely, or you can dehydrate sauce with cooked pasta all together. I have made sauce by blending a favorite spagheti sauce (homemade preferred) along with peppers, onions, mushrooms, and kidney beans all together. Mix well with cooked pasta and dehydrate. Very good hearty stuff that rehydrates well.

 

[Kliff]

I make a "poor man's gumbo". It's delicious fresh, dehydrates easily, and just as good. Cook and dehydrate the meats separately. I haven't tried canned chicken, but I'm going to. For dehydrated, I've used ground. It's still on the chewey side. The sausage should be fried before dehydrating, and get rid of as much fat as possible. I spread the diced tomatoes on a dehydrator rack, with a sauce sheet underneath to catch the juices. After dehydrated, vac seal.

1 lb chicken cubed
1 lb andouille sausage cut in half length wise, cross cut at 1/4"
1 can diced tomatoes
1 box orzo pasta
cajun spice to taste
dried chicken stock (enough for 1 quart)

At camp, add the appropriate amount of boiling water (water removed, plus 4 cups for pasta) let soak for about 15 minutes. Bring to a simmer until pasta is done. The hardest part of any decent dehydrated meal is waiting when you're hungry (or cooking on a stove that doesn't simmer well).

With all dehydrated meals, I weigh ingredients before and after dehydrating, so I know how much water I've taken out. I write it on the pouch.

 

[Penns Woods]

Does anyone dehydrate raw eggs? I'm not talking about those freeze dried eggs you buy. I mean raw eggs dehydrated like you would anything else. I've seen dozens of videos on dehydrating eggs and they claim it's fine. I've been wanting to try it, any advice?

 

[yknpdlr]

Oh, there are so many possibilities for favorites. Recall for the first Yukon 1000 mile canoe race in 2009, race officials required 20kg! of food per paddler to be on board at the beginning of the race, wet cans of beans or complete high calorie tasty dehydrated food, total dry weight (minus water) is what counted before we were allowed to race (estimating possibly 3 weeks including an emergency week). I was in a voyageur canoe with 7 paddlers, do the math. Fortunately, the race officials saw the error in that necessity for all subsequent years and dropped that ridiculous requirement for our second year race. Finishing the race in just 6 days, we consumed only 1/4 of the required amount of food and no one went hungry. One paddler (in seat #5) acted as galley slave and heated water to rehydrate food on board while the rest of us continued paddling, each taking short turns to eat without the others stopping.

To get to the point, I home dehydrated all of that tonnage of food for many months. But I had previous 27 years of experience dehydrating food for BSA high adventure and trek leader guide training.

Most breakfasts and dinner meals were taken and modified mainly from a large variety of ideas found in the Linda Yaffe Backpack Gourmet dehydrated trail food recipe book, plus other individual ideas. I most liked my own version of burritos with dehydrated ground meat, dehydrated salsa, dried refried beans, with fresh onion and hard cheese. Also spaghetti dehydrated together with custom cooked tomato sauce that includes pureed fresh veggies with beans. Same with homemade custom Spanish rice. Instant mashed potatoes with cooked dehydrated onions and veggies with some kind of gavy/sauce was good. Dehydrated hearty soups with couscous thrown in is filling and quick. Dehydrated crumbled breakfast hash brown bricks with sausage gravy is always popular. A version of an eggy casserole with potato or rice casserole also works well (eggs cannot be successfully or safely dehydrated alone but work well cooked within a casserole). A high quality Logan bread can be made very high energy and baked extra long at low temp to remove most of the moisture for long keeping (not quite to hard tack, which is also a possibility).