Good To-Go Herbed Mushroom Risotto Review (Video)

[Ryan Jordan]

Companion forum thread to: Good To-Go Herbed Mushroom Risotto Review (Video)

This Good To-Go Herbed Mushroom Risotto review features one of the best packaged backpacking meals I’ve ever eaten.

[BlackHatGuy]

Good stuff. A few of us have written about these meals here before. I prefer the single serving size, which REI, in their infinite wisdom, don’t carry. I’ve had the risotto, the Thai Curry, the Pad Thai, the Smoked Three Bean Chili and the Classic Marinara with Penne. All were good, but the double serving package was simply too much to eat for me, so I haven’t had any in quite some time.

The company itself use to really overcharge for shipping, which was irritating. Even now, if you order on Amazon via Prime, you pay $10 for a $6.75 meal (but with free shipping!), so $3.75 shipping for each single meal, even when purchasing multiples. The double servings don’t rip you off like that.

 

[Rex Sanders]

Fun video, you should do more of these. Thanks!

— Rex

[Kendall Clement]

That was great, Ryan. Thanks for the tip… Very funny, too. 😄

[D M]

So funny, seriously, you didn’t have a match? ;-)

[Russ W]

I’ve eaten most of their meals,and while I’m a fan of the brand, this is my least favorite. My guess is that not dehydrating in a cozy and adding salmon immensely improved the the experience for you. By itself….meh.

[Ben Perry]

I’m a big fan of Good To-Go products from a taste and nutrition standpoint, but they don’t fully rehydrate via the boil-in-bag method. Like, ever. Depending on how the day has gone and where I am in a trip itinerary, I either just suck it up and eat them after 15-20 minutes of waiting (regardless of rehydration progress) or I do as Ryan describes and cook ’em.

[Marcus Bendixen]

@idester-2-2 I take the double serving packages and split them into two ziplock bags for rehydrating. Saves weight and bulk. I also found a full double serving to be too much food for one sitting.

[Ken Larson]

What quantity of salmon did you add AND did you increase the water and 20 min cook time by doing this?

[Ken Thompson]

In the text below the video you will find,

“In the video, I add a 4-oz filet of smoked sockeye salmon. This added an additional 180 Cal, 8 g of fat (2 g saturated), 75 mg of cholesterol, 1210 mg of sodium (!), and 26 g of protein.“

The cooking info is there too. Plus more.

[Mike B]

I have added a couple of small trout to this to extend it to 2 full servings for 2 hungry hikers.

[Ryan Jordan]

Adding some fat/protein (salmon) / bulk (fresh mushrooms) to this meal makes it hearty for 2 people.

Doug: I’m with @scandiman-2 – split into baggies and get more mileage for your $.

Definitely can’t recommend the boil-in-a-bag strategy for this. But with any meal, even the Mountain House meals that don’t require long cook times. I like my food hot!

I’ll have to try the other GTG meals, this was my first one.

@kenlarson I sauteed the mushrooms in about an ounce of water. I added the salmon with no additional water. Then I set all that aside. Then I made the GTG meal as per instructions w/their recommended amount of water. As soon as the GTG meal cooked, I added my previously-cooked mushroom/salmon mix and just stirred it all up.

I was thinking the whole mix would be really good in a flour tortilla and/or refried in some avocado oil at high heat to brown it all a bit.

[BlackHatGuy]

“I’m with @scandiman-2 – split into baggies and get more mileage for your $.”

Makes sense, so thanks to both of you. Sadly, it simply never occurred to me.

“I’ll have to try the other GTG meals, this was my first one.”

I’d recommend the Thai Curry or the chili. But the Thai Curry first…

[Kenneth Knight]

I’ve not had this meal but have tried s couple others and liked them. I think I prefer Pavkit Gournet overall. 

 

Ryannyou own a $240 dehydrator. Considering a simple American Hatcester is something lije a quarter the cost I’d say you’re serious about your food.

[Tad Englund]

I was just thinking about the cost of the reviewed product and after you added the salmon and mushrooms that would be the cost of more than a week’s worth of food for some of us.  I guess if I was to splurge on something I would rather get a better meal on the way home, spending the money on real food.

I also own an Excalibur, they are great.  I think they are well worth the money, especially for me; I got mine off of Freecycle for – Free.  But if I didn’t get it for free, I would have saved up, and bought it.  I also own an American Harvester and a different one (name escapes me) and the Excalibur is far above the others. I still use them all at times.

[Nick Smolinske]

I’ve never had a problem rehydrating these meals (or any for that matter). Maybe because if it’s a cold night I stick the pouch inside my down jacket (while wearing the jacket). That way my body heat helps keep it warm and my jacket performs double duty as a cozy. Works way better than a separate cozy and some of the heat loss goes into warming you up! Turns waiting for the meal into a more pleasant experience.

Pro tip: Put the pouch above your base layer, or ideally between a fleece and a down jacket. Otherwise you could burn yourself.

[JCH]

I do what Nick does except…I put the bag into a ziplock freezer bag (extra insurance against leakage and reusable for each meal) then into a small DIY reflectix cozy, then under the puffy.  Not only does it rehydrate better, but the warmth under your jacket makes the wait more pleasant…I sometimes wait 50% longer so it’s better hydrated and not too hot.

[Hanz B]

Cool. Thanks.  I too appreciate the freezer ziplock method of redistributing. I save one cleaned MH bag for the whole trip with the corners rounded and excess cut off. I think I save a half pound this way for a 6 day trip once. But I’m thinking of switching to the Mylar potato chip method. I just haven’t gotten the seal right at home. But I switch maybe I can’t use them for rehydrated MH and GTG meals. Has anyone rehydrated using the mylar bag approach?

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Thanks for the menu suggestion Ryan.

I live to eat, not the reverse, as in Russia. I can see adding some dried mushrooms like Shitake to this and maybe a bit of extra olive oil.

I might just add 1/2 of a package to 1/2 the H2O and simmer for another 5 minutes to avoid the long 20 min. cozy envelope wait time and just wait 8 to 10 minutes. So what if I have a pot to clean?

Like the gents above, I always divide my 2 person servings in half and store them in quart freezer bags. Yes, 880 mg. of sodium would give me a really bad bout of tinnitus! Even 440 mg. is pushing it but I flush it out the next day as I sweat my way down the trail. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

 

 

 

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