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Sawtooth Outfitters
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 Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Camping Recipes Basics for Main Meal Dehydrating Reply
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Poll: What is your favorite month in the BWCA/Q?
| Previous Messages: | |
| Author | Message Text |
| ripple |
04/21/2013 10:06PM Hi Bronco It has been awhile since I posted- but love to hear that the thread was helpful! This is my "stocking" season. I love cooking huge batches of everything and dehydrating for the coming season of outdoors fun This year my daughter begged to "borrow" the dehydrator for her college outdoors club trips. I couldn't get her to bring it home again- so I had to give up and buy another Excaliber! Have a great year of eating well out there! |
| goaljohnbill |
03/08/2013 10:27AMquote Bronco: "Ripple..... thanks for all your posts ... thanks for your insperation" Concur, also for the bumps that brought it back to the top to be noticed by late arrivals. Sure seems like it would be a good sticky though I just saved the link to it. I do the big batches, feed the fam, and put up what is left. We have only had our dehydrator a couple of weeks and have already put up servings of chili, spagetti, and the fantastic Guiness beef stew from the main meals thread. Thinking a curry is next maybe Balti Beef or Rogan Josh Lamb. Cant wait to use them this summer! Thanks again |
| Bronco |
03/06/2013 10:15PM Ripple..... thanks for all your posts Last fall i let my wife read the whole meal plan you laid out. I got a large dehydrator for Christmas and I have to say it has been fun stock piling our rations for next summers trip. Again thanks for your insperation |
| forestmaven |
02/25/2013 10:06AM Bump. |
| billconner |
01/12/2013 09:03AM BUMP for sleepnbag "control-f" and then "ripple" |
| fitgers1 |
11/19/2012 01:43PM Bump it up. There are some listening point questions about dehydrating and dehydrators. |
| nojobro |
08/21/2012 07:55PM I'm drying spaghetti with sauce in my Excalibur right now! So excited! |
| ripple |
08/20/2012 12:52PMquote Goby: "Moderator, can this thread be thumbtacked on top? Seems to be awfully popular." I think the Jello Mold thread should go up as a thumbtack too. |
| Goby |
08/20/2012 12:12PM Moderator, can this thread be thumbtacked on top? Seems to be awfully popular. |
| ripple |
08/20/2012 11:54AM All of those are great meals I have had good luck with making! Let me know if you need any help! |
| SIRT |
07/14/2012 06:55PM Wow Thanks for all the info Ripple. I will be using my dehydrator for the upcoming September trip. I'm thinking seafood chowder,beef stroganoff,spaghetti , gumbo! My mind is racing with ideas. Again, thanks for detailing the process. Travis |
| ripple |
05/01/2012 10:34AM Bump for Deb who will likely join the dehydrating obsession! |
| ripple |
01/20/2012 10:39AMquote shsylvester: "quote KevinL: "I put a piece of paper towel in and it helps and then have one for cleanup. " Absolutely brilliant! I will try the same with my next round of dehydrating! |
| shsylvester |
01/19/2012 06:55PMquote KevinL: "I put a piece of paper towel in and it helps and then have one for cleanup. " Yep, I just stumbled across that idea last night. Put stew in a baggie, wrapped 1/3 paper towel around, popped in vacuum bag and sealed. Worked well. |
| KevinL |
01/19/2012 06:43PM I put a piece of paper towel in and it helps and then have one for cleanup. |
| ripple |
01/19/2012 05:41PMquote shsylvester: "Ripple, It puts a dent in the puncture rate- but it is still an issue for me too. When I finish sealing a batch of food I leave the packets on the counter for a day or so to find the ones that "unseal". I then re seal. Some things are bigger problems- like pastas. For these I actually put the food into a smaller food saver bag- open on one end- then put inside another that is used for sealing. It is likely over kill- but again the best way to prevent any bacteria growth is in the preventing air and moisture from getting to the food. |
| shsylvester |
01/18/2012 09:40PM Ripple, Just picked up a foodsaver and I'm starting to lay up for a long summer trip. My first two dishes, Beef Stew and Hamburger have enough jagged edges that they end up puncturing the foodsaver bag on suction. I see in your pics that you have your chili in snack bags before vacuuming and sealing. Do you find that helps to avoid the problem I'm having? |
| ripple |
01/17/2012 05:40PMquote Brooklynn07: "Here goes with the questions again!! Another year more trips to plan! So I am wondering why in your recipes you say to dehydrate the noodles and the sauce separately? Last year we make chicken Alfredo mixed it all then dehydrated it. It worked ok, so I was wondering if it is just for some recipes, or if you have had problems in the past. Thanks so much for all the help, it has saved me alot of trouble!" I have an aversion to gooey noodles- by dehydrating the noodles separately they tend to stay firmer in my experience. |
| Brooklynn07 |
01/14/2012 09:42PM Here goes with the questions again!! Another year more trips to plan! So I am wondering why in your recipes you say to dehydrate the noodles and the sauce separately? Last year we make chicken Alfredo mixed it all then dehydrated it. It worked ok, so I was wondering if it is just for some recipes, or if you have had problems in the past. Thanks so much for all the help, it has saved me alot of trouble! |
| JJ396 |
01/13/2012 04:34PM Thanks for the great info. I am just getting back into camping and find this site to be a great resource. I have eaten the commercial dried foods and they all seem very salty. You have inspired me to try making my own stuff to take along next summer. THANKS! |
| ripple |
12/30/2011 04:26PMquote trashbag: "quote ripple: "quote trashbag: "you mention putting food in ziplock bag then vacuum seal. wouldnt air be trapped in the ziplock?" Exactly- the little fine crumbles tend to prevent the seal in the vacuum bags. I put the dehydrated food into the bag- then slide it into the sealer bag in with the opening at the bottom. I think any secondary bag would work- zip lock is mainly stated in my description to give a reference for the volumes I tend to seal as a serving size. Lots of us old hippies here! |
| trashbag |
12/30/2011 01:39PMquote ripple: "quote trashbag: "you mention putting food in ziplock bag then vacuum seal. wouldnt air be trapped in the ziplock?" so the ziplock is used to keep food from getting sucked into sealer? i have used regular sandwich bags before. is there another reason for ziplock bags? like the gd reference |
| ripple |
12/30/2011 11:47AMquote trashbag: "you mention putting food in ziplock bag then vacuum seal. wouldnt air be trapped in the ziplock?" The zip lock is kept open- not sealed |
| trashbag |
12/28/2011 12:16PM you mention putting food in ziplock bag then vacuum seal. wouldnt air be trapped in the ziplock? |
| ripple |
12/21/2011 03:38PMquote BillConner01: "I was waiting for Ripple's reply but I find that things with cream or cheese sauce, the sauce seems to break down a little. Still tastes fine, just can get a little granular texture to it." I have made lots of things with this type of sauce- tuna or turkey tetrazzini is a cream sauce, my daughters favorite cheesy potato bake is a cheese and cream sauce- all have turned out well probably because the sauce is all tossed around in noodles and potatos rather than soup consistancy. We make a potato leek soup that is essentially a very thin mashed potato consitancy- it also does well. Though I think that any dairy does add an element of food safety that I worry more about- the fat content makes it harder to completely get rid of moisture so this is one of the meals that I dehydrate- keep in the freezer and use early in the trip. |
| billconner |
12/21/2011 12:26PM I was waiting for Ripple's reply but I find that things with cream or cheese sauce, the sauce seems to break down a little. Still tastes fine, just can get a little granular texture to it. |
| ripple |
12/21/2011 10:08AM @giddyup- the food is remarkably like what ever you began with. The only draw back I have found to the consistancy is that the big chunky food like beef stew- has to be more of a shreaded version to keep the food evenly dehydrated. @keth0601- wow I have not gone as far as weighing before to make sure of the rehydration need! Probably would be a very exact way of making it work- but all I do is add enough water to cover the food- then add more if it seems too dry or cook longer if I added too much water. |
| keth0601 |
12/19/2011 04:44PM Just out of curiousity, how do you determine how much water to add back to the food to rehydrate it? Do you weight the food before and after dehydrating to see how much weight it lost in water and then add that much back in when you rehydrate it? I would think that it would not take in ALL of the water that it had before dehydrating as the cell structure would not be capable of reclaiming all of it. Is there a general ratio for water to food by weight? |
| giddyup |
12/18/2011 08:54PM Ripple, you've got me really curious about this whole dehydrating thing....can you tell me is the color, texture, consistency, and taste of the food the same after you rehydrate it as it was before you dehydrated it? I'm assuming after you do the 2 hour water soak then you could finish rehydrating it in a microwave if you have access to one. Seems to me you could pay for the dehydrator pretty quickly using it on road trips instead of eating out. And you have the benefit of your own home cooking. Also, you mentioned eggs don't dehydrate well. What other things are better left alone? |
| billconner |
12/12/2011 06:23PM Eggs last. As fresh as possible - try farm stands or farmer markets. Also small or medium - thicker shells. I know Ripple likes the plastic carriers but I like the cardboard cartons and just a wrap of bubble wrap. For me, one or two always broke in the yellow plastic containers, none in the carton with bubble wrap and a rubber band. (Want the yellow containers? They're free.) I just keep on top of food pack. Two dozen don't usually last two weeks for two people but I'm sure they'd be fine. Somewhere in one of my trip reports you'll find the deviled eggs we made one day - about a week into trip. The adventure eggs are pretty amazing for powdered eggs - especially for baking or mixed with onions and peppers. Consider using summer sausage cut up as a very stable meat. |
| strom2127 |
12/12/2011 01:59PM good to know. thank you again. |
| ripple |
12/12/2011 01:47PM Powdered eggs=blech! IMO- but I haven't met too many that like them! There are some powdered versions- some people find tolerable but I don't know much about them. Bill recommended one that I haven't heard of- that might be worth a try if you are not into carrying the weight of real eggs. Yes fresh eggs will last quite awhile without being refridgerated- the trick is to get real fresh eggs and do not wash them. The shell is naturally bacteriostatic (protected from infection). Unbroken eggs are sterile inside as well. We routinely bring fresh eggs in a cheap plastic protective container- Coleman Egg Carrier . We bring enough for 1-2 days worth of breakfasts. This link is pretty helpful- Info About Fresh Eggs |
| strom2127 |
12/12/2011 01:37PM also, thank you for the tips on how to help make the idea work. very invaluable. |
| strom2127 |
12/12/2011 01:32PM You bring fresh eggs? Don't they need to stay refridgerated? Last year we brough egg beaters and froze them before we went in, but by the third day when we finished them I was a little nervous. No one got sick, but I thought it might be a bit sketchy. I've never tried powdered eggs. How are they? |
| billconner |
12/12/2011 01:04PM I am doubtful if dehydrating cooked eggs would be healthy or appetizing. Suggest dehydrating peppers and meat separately; using powered eggs - like Adventure Egg which are pretty good - and cheese packed separately. I find cheese will keep find but if in doubt, bring a block of cheddar or other hard cheese and a small grater. Sounds good. We do quesadillas with dehydrated peppers and onions, fresh cheese, and foil packed chicken. I plan to try dehydrating the roasted chicken in the grocery store deli department in place of foil pack. And fresh eggs are nice and not to hard to carry and can't be beat for flavor in the woods. |
| ripple |
12/12/2011 12:49PM @strom2127- glad to be of help! I have not tried eggs in the dehydrator. First we bring fresh eggs for eating purposes- but mainly because they are one of those things that just isn't worth doing in general. The food safety aspect is significant- hard to do raw eggs safely. Finally cooked eggs- then dehydrated are just icky no matter how you do them! My best suggestion for doing a breakfast burrito is how we make my husband's favorite breakfast skillet. I saute up all the yummy stuff he would like with his eggs- peppers (red/green) onions, a baked potato diced up etc... then dehydrate them. When you are in the woods- add water to slightly cover them- then add to your fresh eggs you have scrambled- for my husband's skillet I make eggs over easy. Roll up with cheese in your burrito. You have save some weight with the dehydrated veggies, they will last as long as you need them to before hydration, they are all ready chopped so you have little work to do- best yet they are scent free in your pack. Good luck! |
| strom2127 |
12/12/2011 12:10PM wow, I guess I need to visit the camp recipe forum more often. Such great info in here. So here is my question. I've been thinking of doing breakfast burritos. How well would dehydrating cheesy scrambled eggs work. I'd imagine I would dehydrate the hamburger seperately, but was thinking I could melt the cheese on the scrambled eggs before dehydrating that. How about red and green peppers? Could I mix that in with the eggs too before dehydrating, or should I do those seperately? Also, how much water do I need to use to rehydrate? Just enough to barely cover the servings, or more? Thank you for doing this thread Ripple. Such good information in here. |
| campcook184 |
10/20/2011 09:01AM Ripple, thanks for the ideas to try dehydrating different things. 3 things from our trip this year that stood out were the dehydrated baked beans, dehydrated beef (canned) and noodles, and the sausage gravy. The bear actually got the sausage gravy, but we had trialed it before we went and it was YUMMY.. |
| ripple |
09/16/2011 08:46PMquote BillConner01: "Just had Ripple's Ziti last Wednesday night on Quetico Lake, given out at the Chicago spring wing night. Wonderful! I do need to learn to read though because I had Jambalaya on my written list. I've got to work on this "craft" over the winter." Dang Bill you're gonna make me blush some more!!! The Baked Ziti is really good in the oven with extra cheese on top too! |
| ripple |
09/16/2011 08:32PMquote BillConner01: "If this has been covered I apologize but how do you protion this? Is it as simple as dividng food into portion sizes or multiple there of and keeping separate on dehydrator trays? " When I spread the food onto the dehydrator tray- I have an idea of the size of the portion that fits on it. I scoop a serving bowl into the pot of what ever I have made then use it to spread on to the dehydrator try. Now that I have done so very many servings- I know that my trays each hold 2 "average" size portions. |
| billconner |
09/16/2011 04:52PM If this has been covered I apologize but how do you protion this? Is it as simple as dividng food into portion sizes or multiple there of and keeping separate on dehydrator trays? |
| billconner |
09/11/2011 01:48PM Just had Ripple's Ziti last Wednesday night on Quetico Lake, given out at the Chicago spring wing night. Wonderful! I do need to learn to read though because I had Jambalaya on my written list. I've got to work on this "craft" over the winter. |
| luft |
09/06/2011 11:09PMquote ripple: "quote boonie: "quote ripple: "My 24yo- very experienced light weight back packer- son just came back from a 10 day hike through the Cascades and reports the food I sent was so light weight and tasty- he will never go back to the eating Ramen Noodles for a week!" That is a wonderful donation Ripple! So many people have talked about how fantastic your meals are! |
| boonie |
09/06/2011 09:09PMquote ripple: "quote boonie: "quote ripple: "My 24yo- very experienced light weight back packer- son just came back from a 10 day hike through the Cascades and reports the food I sent was so light weight and tasty- he will never go back to the eating Ramen Noodles for a week!" Thanks, I wish I could make wing night, but it's too far from WV :). Unfortunately, I'll just miss everyone, as I'll be driving home just before that from my trip. |
| ripple |
09/05/2011 04:33PMquote boonie: "quote ripple: "My 24yo- very experienced light weight back packer- son just came back from a 10 day hike through the Cascades and reports the food I sent was so light weight and tasty- he will never go back to the eating Ramen Noodles for a week!" I am donating a week supply of dinners for 2 for the Fall Wing Night Raffle! Support BWCA.com!!! |
| boonie |
08/26/2011 05:09PMquote ripple: "My 24yo- very experienced light weight back packer- son just came back from a 10 day hike through the Cascades and reports the food I sent was so light weight and tasty- he will never go back to the eating Ramen Noodles for a week!" No doubt, ripple - I won't eat ramen noodles for a day :). I'm sure your food is much better - could you whip me up a supply for my Sept trip? |
| ripple |
08/26/2011 04:51PM My 24yo- very experienced light weight back packer- son just came back from a 10 day hike through the Cascades and reports the food I sent was so light weight and tasty- he will never go back to the eating Ramen Noodles for a week! |
| fitgers1 |
06/30/2011 05:34PM Thanks! I did get your e-mail with the link as well. |
| ripple |
06/30/2011 09:02AM You will find that if you take the time to make a really good meal, leave it in your dehydrator (usually overnight) you have an amazing meal for the next BWCA trip. It really gets addictive! Try the link I posted for Excaliber- the brand I have used. |
| fitgers1 |
06/28/2011 10:55PM Ripple, Thanks for all of this outstanding information. I have been wanting to try dehydrating camp food for a long time but the people I go with usually want to bring frozen stuff and lots of grocery store bought bags of stuff - Knorrs noodles and the like, good stuff, but still store bought - and about 8 pounds of candy bars! I will be making future trips with my girlfriend and she loves to cook and is a great cook. We have already talked about dehydrating and she is looking forward to doing it. I currently own a smaller round w/a few trays and have only used it for making venison jerky but it takes like 24 hours. I think we will try it for the camp food. I may have missed it in the thread but how long does it take to dehydrate different foods? I might have to go shopping for a new one. Where is a good place to get one? Cabella's? Fleet Farm? Specialty stores? I'm sure my girlfriend (who will be making her first trip in Aug) will ask you a few questions when she comes up with a screen name for the board. Thanks again! |
| OBX2Kayak |
06/23/2011 09:26PMquote Brooklynn07: "I am sitting here thinking about how you would rehydrate a meal for six people with out the boiling water. Any ideas? What container would you use? Haul it with you all day? Or hang with food? We have been trying to come up with new food ideas, and yours sounds great, just trying to make it work for six." Brook -- I found freezer bag cooking while prepping for a twelve day trip with eight people a few years back. Everything was packed in single serving bags. Most evenings we just boiled one large pot of water, added it to each bag, wait fifteen minutes and eat. Some days we added cold water in the morning and dinner was ready immediately after we set camp. These days I only use FBC, even for one night solos. Its just so easy. |
| ripple |
06/23/2011 03:33PM Blush.... I like feeding people. I'm glad to have helped! |
| FrogWood |
06/23/2011 12:16AM I have had the pleasure of eating several of Ripple's meals in the BW this past week and loved it! Her method totally change our meal prep: saved time; saved effort and the food was amazing! We will never go back to shlupping in all the ingrediants and acting like the galloping gourmet again. All ya gotta do is remember to add meal and water to ziplock container a few hours before eating, what could be easier! Thanks again Ripple! |
| ripple |
06/22/2011 12:04PM SO sweet Mitchell!! Thank you for your appreciation- I am glad to have fed you on part of your solo! Looking forward to your trip report! |
| Chicagored |
06/20/2011 01:25PM I just finished my first solo BWCA trip and will be filing a trip report shortly. I just wanted to take an opportunity to thank and praise the Ripples. They were handing out samples of their dehydrated meals at the Chicago area wing night. I took the Shepards Pie and the Jumbalaya. Both meals were extremely lightweight, and I treated each as a single portion since I was hungry. Each time, I put the meal in a pot with about 10 oz. of warm water and let it sit for a little more than an hour, before I put it on the stove to warm up. The Shepards Pie was great, although I added some pepper per my personal taste. The Jumbalaya was perfect. I could not have had better at home. I have a dehydrator that I've only used to make venison jerky in the past. Now I feel I have to expand my horizons. |
| canoepaddle |
06/13/2011 09:36PM This whole thread got me thinking of new things I can bring to BWCA. With that in mind, I found several items that worked out great. Sam's has canned chicken, 5 14 oz cans for around $10.00. I added two of these to a box of Macaroni Grill fettuccine Alfredo that they sell at Sam's Club. After making it, I dehydrated it. It rehydrated great and tasted great. More than enough for 4 large guys. It will be on my menu going forward. canoepaddle |
| ripple |
06/03/2011 09:24PM RECIPE!! |
| serenityseeker |
06/03/2011 06:35PM Erin, I dehydrated black bean soup with ham and homemade stuffing with jimmy dean sausage for our trip. it was yummy. |
| billconner |
06/03/2011 03:17PMquote ripple: "Bumped for Jeff from chat who had dehydrating thoughts!" So where is the recipe and what exactly do dehydrating thoughts taste like? Chicken probably. |
| ripple |
06/03/2011 12:22PM Bumped for Jeff from chat who had dehydrating thoughts! |
| ripple |
04/13/2011 01:56PM I thought I would bump this with the request for dehydrating ideas from the forum. I have maxed out my recipes for dehydrating and need some more ideas.. If you could have your favorite meal or ingredient dehydrated for your next trip- what would it be? |
| ripple |
03/25/2011 08:29AMquote Brooklynn07: "Also Ripple you mentioned a snack size bag, but a sandwich for your husband. Does the amount of food in a sandwich bag fit in a mug? Do you know about how much food that is? I know I am asking a lot of questions, hope I am not bugging anyone to much :)." Brooklynn07- Questions are what this forum is great for! The snack sized bags fit in the mug perfectly. My husband, the big eater, his sandwich bag portion doesn't quite fit so he just warms part of the meal- then refills the mug from the Ziploc container when he eats everything from the mug. I think any fireproof mug would work- we just have the titianium mugs and spork- Like Savage Voyager said they are super light weight and easy to clean up. The uneven heating isn't as big a deal in the little mugs- but bigger pots I do notice it more. The biggest drawback to the titanium is how pricey they are- I gave all the kids a mug and spork at Christmas and I had to search like crazy to get the price down to near $50, but most places it would have been a near $100 combo!@ |
| Brooklynn07 |
03/24/2011 08:58PM Also Ripple you mentioned a snack size bag, but a sandwich for your husband. Does the amount of food in a sandwich bag fit in a mug? Do you know about how much food that is? I know I am asking a lot of questions, hope I am not bugging anyone to much :). |
| Savage Voyageur |
03/24/2011 06:53PMquote Brooklynn07: "Would one of those blue with white specs. mugs work instead? Haven't ever used a titanium mug before. Do they cook faster? Sounds like a good idea! Thanks so much might just make cooking easier!" I use a Titanium mug and spork. Very lite and strong. For boil and dump meals they just cannot be beat. Very poor heat dissipation, but it cools quickly so you can use it for coffee. |
| Brooklynn07 |
03/24/2011 06:33PM Would one of those blue with white specs. mugs work instead? Haven't ever used a titanium mug before. Do they cook faster? Sounds like a good idea! Thanks so much might just make cooking easier! |
| ripple |
03/24/2011 11:10AM Dehydrated Food Safety per the experts "How safe to eat is dried food? In comparison with foods preserved by other methods, like canning, it is quite safe. Botulism is feared in canning because the bacteria that cause it thrive in a liquid environment. Botulism could only occur with a dried food that had been rehydrated, then left unattended long enough for bacteria to grow. Mold may form on dried food if it was not dehydrated long enough or if the container it was stored in had moisture in it. If you see or smell mold, all the food in that container must be discarded. Remember that the organisms that cause food spoilage, mold, yeast, bacteria-are always present in the air, water, and soil. It is important to observe sanitary precautions at all stages of the drying process. As to the safety of drying meats, the latest word from food-science researchers at the University of Wisconsin in Madison is that microorganisms are effectively killed when the internal temperature of meat reaches 145°F for 45 minutes; or 167°F for 20 minutes; or 200°F for 15 minutes. This means that the internal temperature of the meat must remain steady for the designated amount of time, which is not the same as putting meat in a 200°F oven for 15 minutes. If your food dehydrator does not reach a temperature of 145°F or if its temperature control is inaccurate, then transfer the food to a preheated 200°F oven for a minimum of 20 minutes to eliminate safety concerns. You can also store dried food in the freezer, another form of ensuring its safety." Here is a list of some great websites and info! National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service- Food Dehydration Options Post-Harvest handling of dehydrated chiles Drying Foods (Guide E-322) Drying Food at Home (CFS-146) Drying Food (Circular 1227) Preserving Food: Drying Fruits and Vegetables Drying Fruits How to Dry Foods at Home New Dehydrating Recommendations |
| ripple |
03/24/2011 10:35AM First the question about volume meals... We are usually a group of 4-6. I have solved the dehydrating volume issue by packaging all the meals in individual serving volumes. Before we go on the trip I have 50-60 small packs of food, labeled and on the dining room table for everyone to paw through and decide what they think they want to eat on the trip.  Then when we are in the woods- Everyone is responsible for their own meal and can choose what they want to eat each day... lots of ease and less drama for the meal choices- you know "Ed hates Swedish meatballs, but it is Anna's favorite meal EVER" The food packs everyone choses get packed into the bear vaults.  Again the way we often have done this is- at lunch the dinner decisions are made- each person puts the dehydrated food of their choice into their own Ziploc container that I showed earlier in the thread, uses the water filter pump to pump their clean water for the rehydrating process, adds the correct amount of water to the food choice (more for soup, less for stew) and carries the food in the jar for the afternoon. When we are at our site ready to eat dinner, a fire is made or the stove is heated up (really the fire on the BWCA grates works best for a lot of people)Heating the rehydrated food is done with each person dumping their now rehydrated food into their titanium mug, then setting it on the fire or on the MSR stove. The heating process is very quick and does not require tons of fuel like boiling water for all the food would. Clean up now is the Ziploc jar, the titanium mug and the spork- each person does their own clean up. The plastic bag is packed out flat and clean because it was only dried food in it- less stinky garbage in the pack! Freezer bag thoughts... The set up I described is similar and can be adapted to the freezer bag cooking idea- if you seal the food in the FoodSaver bag with enough room to add the hot water. Just make the bag bigger when you do the final seal. You would not want to use boiling water- but warm water. Know ahead of time that it will take quite awhile to rehydrate- sometimes and an hour or more if the food is chunky. Sausage gravy advice... The sausage gravy would likely work perfectly. My suggestion would be to make the gravy very thick before putting on the wax paper over the dehydrator tray. Crumble the dried gravy very small and it should rehydrate nicely. This is the Bob Evans Receipe I have made before (pretty yummy, but I would love to see another one posted) I have never tried to dehydrate 1 pound Bob Evans® Original Recipe Sausage Roll 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 cups milk Salt and black pepper to taste 8 prepared biscuits Directions Crumble and cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat until browned. Stir in flour until dissolved. Gradually stir in milk. Cook gravy until thick and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot over biscuits. Refrigerate leftovers. Pack time... When you cook the food originally- you have completely boiled, baked etc, then dehydrated at 145 degrees. You then seal out the air with the Foodsaver- at this point you have already made the food able to last months, likely over a year, per the websites I posted. I put everything in the deep freezer just because I am a little OCD about food. It allows the food to last, with absolute certainty and safety, over a year. So for our dehydration process I cook like crazy in the winter and use the food through our camping season spring-fall of the coming year. Once you pull the food out of the freezer- if the bag is still intact and sealed completely- you are able to keep everything relatively bacteria free for months. Remember it is DRIED and vacuum sealed- NO moisture- so it doesn't "defrost". If we go home with un-opened food and it is still sealed, I put it back in the freezer for the next trip. I tend to throw away whatever food is past the 1 year mark- likely overkill but like I said I am alittle OCD when it comes to food. Plus since I cook a lot- the next batch of chili or Jumbalaya will replenish the supply quickly. Finally the use of the reflector oven with your dehydrated food- If you make the baked ziti receipe I posted, dehydrate- rehydrate, put in a pot with string cheese on top and bake until gooey and crispy- people might hurt each other to eat it! This goes for tons of stuff- the shepards pie with crusty potatoes on top, gooey/crispy mac and cheese, I could go on and on... We are going to try out this new toy for this year.. Bemco Backpacker Oven |
| billconner |
03/24/2011 07:15AM I apologize if this has been answered but you prepare dehydrated meal, vac seal, and store in freezer. How long will the meal last in a pack? Obviously will defrost in a few days at most but will it still be safe in a couple of weeks? More? And if you bring it out after three weeks can you refreeze for next year or should you toss it? |
| Pikehunter |
03/24/2011 03:33AM I'm thinking of the sausage gravy also. My reflector oven makes awsome biscuits. |
| bobbwca |
03/24/2011 02:32AM I gotta try dehydrating my girlfriends sausage gravy, make some biscuits in the reflector oven. That would be great for a late breakfast! |
| Brooklynn07 |
03/23/2011 05:10PM Still thinking!! LOL I was looking up the freezer bag cooking. Does anyone have experience using those? Can you make any meal you want and just add boiling water to the bag? Is it the same amount of water as ripple has posted before? I am trying to cut down on the amount of time we spend cooking, while still having meals that everyone likes. Thanks so much for any help! |
| Brooklynn07 |
03/23/2011 01:52PM I am sitting here thinking about how you would rehydrate a meal for six people with out the boiling water. Any ideas? What container would you use? Haul it with you all day? Or hang with food? We have been trying to come up with new food ideas, and yours sounds great, just trying to make it work for six. Thanks for your help! |
| ripple |
02/14/2011 05:31PM BooYAH!! Why you want to dehydrate!!! DIY Meal Vs. Commercial Freeze Dried Meal |
| ripple |
02/01/2011 08:47PMquote Pikehunter: "Have been playing with my Excaliber few weekends. Have done various fruits , veggies, made beef jerky last weekend and yesterday some hashbrowns. Careful- it becomes an obsession! Every time I cook I think "This would probably be even yummier in the woods..." |
| Pikehunter |
01/30/2011 02:13PM Have been playing with my Excaliber few weekends. Have done various fruits , veggies, made beef jerky last weekend and yesterday some hashbrowns. This thing works so well! Next week I am thinking about beef stew and chili. Pikehunter |
| ripple |
01/18/2011 08:31AMquote Pikehunter: "quote ripple: "quote Pikehunter: "Ripple Brilliant! I will do the same. |
| Pikehunter |
01/13/2011 02:39AMquote ripple: "quote Pikehunter: "Ripple I did not get the one with the timer. I am using the timer my wife uses for her Christmas lights and just plug the machine into that. |
| ripple |
01/12/2011 06:02PMquote deepwood: "maybe a stupid question, but is it possible to over-dehydrate your food if its left in at that temp for to long?" The only bad experience I have had is with anything tomato based- spagetti, chili etc... If I leave it too long it has a funny burned taste when I rehydrate. |
| deepwood |
01/12/2011 05:28PM maybe a stupid question, but is it possible to over-dehydrate your food if its left in at that temp for to long? |
| inspector13 |
01/12/2011 05:05PM Thanks ripple! As a frozen lunchtime meal preparer and one who dehydrates veggies, I really appreciate these posts. I will have to try the whole meal dehydrating when I get a better system. In the mean time I am going to try your version of shepherd’s pie. My version has French cut beans as a layer. We’ll see if the coworkers come drooling around my cube at lunch time. : ) |
| ripple |
01/12/2011 01:15PMquote Pikehunter: "Ripple I would have loved the timer part of the dehydrator that yours has!! But my dehydrator is 5 years old and has no signs of dying- so I will just have to live without the sexy extras... Try dehydrating a main meal you like and you will REALLY love the dehydrator! So easy to do, light weight in the pack, and very yummy in the woods- so many wins! |
| ripple |
01/12/2011 12:02PMquote nojobro: "Ripple, where did you get those jars? I get the jars at my grocery store (Jewel here in Illinois) but I have seen them at Target, Walmart etc... They are made by ZipLock. We use cold water and have let it sit for up to 4 hours in the pack. Never had a problem in 5 years of dehydrating, rehydrating- all weather etc... Because the hot cooked through food- is dehydrated at 145 degrees, vacuum sealed, and then put in the deep freezer- the bacteria level is pretty low to begin with. When the dehydrated food is opened, it is instantly sealed in the jar with filtered water- not open to the air- again the bacteria level is likely to be low. The pack temps, depending on the time of year, are likely to be relatively cool. It also helps that it is dark. Finally, when you go to eat the food, it is heated all the way through- boiled for nearly the 10 min necessary to make it sterile really. The evidence on food safety is that this is pretty likely to keep bacteria levels way down. I think it is a pretty safe process and I'm kind of a food freak. Though I also believe we have stomach acids for a reason! This link had lots of info regarding dehydration and the lack of bacteria. How to Dehydrate Food This link had good info about rehydrating- describes letting things soak for up to 8 hours if refrigerated (like a cold day in the BWCA!) and includes cooking times etc... Rehydrating Dehydrated Food Finally- I liked this link regarding food safety in the woods. It confirms that you probably don't want to leave the food in the container for longer than 2 hours if you were then going to eat the food without the final cooking part of the process. Food Safety in the Woods |
| nojobro |
01/12/2011 08:52AM Ripple, where did you get those jars? Do you rehydrate with cold water? Frankly I worry about letting it sit in water all day; I'm be concered about bacterial growth. Apparently that has not been a problem for you. ;-) Nola |
| Savage Voyageur |
01/11/2011 09:10PMquote Pikehunter: "Ripple My back will thank you in June for lightening the load. Oh wait we don't have the food pack do we, the new guys do, haha |
| Pikehunter |
01/11/2011 08:56PM Ripple I just bought the Excaliber 3900 I dried some fruit last weekend. It works soooo much better than the old round dehydrator I had. Jerky this coming weekend or some massive amounts of hashbrown potatoes - not sure which yet. Our food pack will be tremendously lighter this year. Pikehunter still searching for the 50 incher. |
| ripple |
01/11/2011 07:42PM Make some food... Chili is great  Spread the food thinly onto the dehydrator sheets  Put it in the dehydrator over night  Dehydrated Chili!!  Snack sized zip lock= about 1 serving  Suck out the air in the Food Saver...  Label, date, put in the freezer... Take to the BWCA!!!! 
|
| gutmon |
01/06/2011 05:56PM thanks ripple, great stuff! |
| ripple |
01/06/2011 04:24PM I think I have unloaded my entire recipe file of main meals now! Most of the recipes are pretty easy- though some just take time. Unfortunately having raised a family of 5 children- the recipes are all large volumes! I don't yet know how to cook for less than an army. All of the meals are family favorites- kid and picky eater approved. The main trick to any of the dehydrating is going to be keeping the pieces small and the meats all cooked until they are practically falling apart. Rehydrating is really just allowing the food to absorb the liquid- which can really take longer than you think. Try the trick of putting it in the twist top container and you won't have crunchy food. If anyone is really interested- I can do a photo shoot and post the next time I do my dehydrating. Feel free to email any questions! |
| ripple |
01/04/2011 09:22AMquote nojobro: "Thanks, Ripple...can't wait to have the space at home to get a really good dehydrator! Hopefully we'll be moving in the next year or so..." I know- my "kitchen gadget" disease has really created a storage issue for us too! The dehydrator I have does really take up a lot of room- kind of a big cumbersome box! But I keep it in a big garbage bag inside the original box in the garage- then drag it out when I have cooked big meals. It winds up sitting in the dining room for the couple of days that it takes to complete the project |
| nojobro |
01/04/2011 08:56AM Thanks, Ripple...can't wait to have the space at home to get a really good dehydrator! Hopefully we'll be moving in the next year or so... |
| ripple |
12/30/2010 07:41PMquote Amok: "Thanks Ripple. I'm one of those guys who likes the taste of 'real food' but hasn't tried much of dehydrated anything yet. what i have tried has been McYUcky! totally dried, crusty, hard meat or rubbery meat ... not appetizing at all. and I like BEEF. My husband really likes meat in the woods too. Try the Beef Stew recipe that I posted in the main meals- this is one of his favorites. |
| Amok |
12/30/2010 07:23PM Thanks Ripple. I'm one of those guys who likes the taste of 'real food' but hasn't tried much of dehydrated anything yet. what i have tried has been McYUcky! totally dried, crusty, hard meat or rubbery meat ... not appetizing at all. and I like BEEF. so... i may try this and see what happens. seems easy enough! and it would lighten my pack quite a bit, i'm the guy who wants to bring ComPLEATS with me. hahahaa. at 10-12 oz. or more per person, it gets heavy! fast! |
| ripple |
12/30/2010 06:38PM Almost anything you would make for a family meal can be dehydrated- really it is SOOO easy and SOOO much cheaper than any of the premade stuff you can buy. After many years of camping and hiking- I have determined that carrying lots of ingredients to make spectacular meals in the woods is: - a pain in the neck, literally and figuratively, because they WEIGH A LOT Dehydrated meals make life easier in so many ways: 1) Dehydrated food packs so much more efficiently, especially in the bear vault. 2) With the dehydrated food vacuum packed in individual servings, then carried in the bear vault, there is NO food odor which makes you more bear resistant. 3) After a long day of paddling and portaging- it is time to eat dinner NO ONE wants to wait for a good meal- dehydrated meals are super quick to heat and eat. 4) Cleaning up tons of pots and utensils from trying to create a great meal from scratch- ruins a good time relaxing after eating- dehydrated meals make clean up very easy. 5) Provisioning food for the trip takes lots of time and effort, but pulling premade meals out of storage and packing them is EASY! If you spend any amount of time in the woods it is very worth investing in a good dehydrator. This is what I bought years ago- Excalibur Food Dehydrator The basic format is to make your meal, keep the ingredients small, spread the meal out on the dehydrator trays, dry it out for as many hours as it takes to make it completely dry. You often have to turn the food over and break it up slightly to make it dry completely. Put the dried food in zip lock bags. Use the snack sized zip lock bag for 1 portion or my husband can eat a sandwich sized portion. I like the vacuum sealer next- the bags get REALLY small and all the air is gone. Getting all the air out is important to keeping the food from contamination. Then just to bullet proof the whole thing- I put everything in the deep freezer. Dating and identifying the package helps in knowing what you have. When you are in the woods- to make the meal you can do a couple of things- either boil or soak the dehydrated food to rehydrate. Either way- for soups add enough water to have all of the dried food very well covered and then a good inch above the dried food in the pot. If it is a stew or a pasta dish- just keep the dried food barely covered. It takes a good amount of time to rehydrate if the water is cold- faster if the water is warm. If the water is cold it and it is cold outside- it can take hours to really rehydrate well. If the water is warm or boiling it still can take up to 90 min to fully rehydrate meats. I have found that this wastes a lot of fuel and is a frustrating wait when everyone is hungry. I think it is the reason most people who have tried to dehydrate give up- because the food stays crunchy! The best technique we have developed is to choose our meal in the morning,have the food out and ready to go and at the top of the pack when we head out in the morning, finally somewhere around lunch we put the dehydrated food in this  add water and leave it in the pack for the rest of the day. When it's time to make dinner- the stuff barely needs heating and is well hydrated. Then you can eat out of the jar- keeping less to clean up too. |
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