How long will cooked chili last on the trail?

“Boiling the reconstituted meal will kill most bugs.”

It will NOT, however, remove the bacterial endotoxins produced that cause much of the “food poisoning”: Staph, Salmonella, Bacillus, enteropathogenic E. coli, Clostridium.  Much worse news than rancid fat, IMO.

Oops, just saw that moggie said much the same thing.

On a personal note, I once consumed some bean stew a co-worker had kept in a “warm” crockpot the previous shift…got really bad food poisoning after probably 10 hours at the temps you are describing, Doug.  Just dehydrate it!

I’ll just quote from John Lennon: “Old turkey/ has given/ me the runs.”

“Curious about where you’re going.”

Forbidden Lakes in the Trinity Alps. Short trip, just a few days, with two friends. My first backpacking trip since covid.

“Just dehydrate it!”

I’m too lazy. If my meals don’t come on time, I’ll just eat bars and such. :-)

Being a life long chili lover and maker I appreciate the discussion! I am a carnivore, but I once dated a vegetarian. I gave a shot to make chili with vegan vege crumbles (freezer section in stores). I was amazed. The texture was like finely ground beef. Along w the same flavors as meat (I use lean cut low fat) I could pass it off as regular chili. Add some olive oil for trail calories. on the trail you could make 2- or 3- way chili. And of course top it off w a nice cheese! Now to dehydrate some….

““Curious about where you’re going.”

Forbidden Lakes in the Trinity Alps. Short trip, just a few days, with two friends. My first backpacking trip since covid.”

Nice. Ya know..if it’s just a few days…couldn’t you freeze the chili, put it on ice for the drive up, and eat it for dinner that night and lunch the next day? You could put it in a stream…who knows, maybe even dinner on the second night too. I know I’m contradicting myself. So what? this seems doable, perhaps. It it doesn’t pass the smell test, toss it out. Wait, I mean carry it out.

Bringing it up frozen changes the calculations…maybe.

.. putrefaction adds character.”

For steak it does.  If cutting out the sides of a steak, the exposed beef will have bacteria deposited on it leading to a degree of tenderization if stored right.  That’s one reason why steak is put on a sizzling hot grill .. not only to cook (“char”)  the meat but kill off any bacteria on each surface.

That’s why hamburgers aren’t recommended to be rare if the meat has been cut up for awhile.  All the bacteria get mixed in and they start growing into places the flame won’t reach.

Presumably it’s the same with chili.  Also freezing something like chili may send little ice shards through the various tomato pieces and other plant cells .. resulting in a mushy flavor when thawed.

That said, the only person I knew who’d take steaks out to grill (assuming a grill and fire conditions allow it) packed in one of those frozen steaks individually wrapped and vacuum sealed – probably for blood not to go everywhere, temperatures to control bacterial growth, etc..

Food poisoning out in the wild is zero fun when a hiker could probably get just as good chili from Mountain House (in the form of chili mac  .. a US Army “favorite”!).

(of course I shouldn’t be giving any culinary advice as I’m about to order a “keto burrito” from Pollo Loco .. aka Crazy Chicken).

The Food Saver packaging will not prevent growth of nasty microbes. The packaging is intended to keep dry food dry, and frozen food from getting stale, but the packaging alone will not keep wet food from spoiling. In this context, it serves no useful purpose.

There are thousands of examples of beneficial microbes going about their business and converting our foods into products that we enjoy. Yogurt, moldy cheeses, leavened bread, cured sausages, sauerkraut, kimchi, fermented soy products, alcohol, vinegar… the list goes on and on. Even dry aged meats. The problem is when you lump spoilage by potentially harmful microbes into this carefully curated category. Most of the beneficial microbes either are introduced on purpose, or are abundant in the environment where the food is being processed and outcompete the harmful microbes. Carrying chili around in a plastic bag should not be thought to fit into that well established regime.

Then again, maybe you have a taste for this stuff.

You could just carry a can of chili. Or if you’re looking for adventure and are keto…

I’m with JScott on this one…Freeze two portions – one for each of your first two nights out.  Keep them insulated in a coozie (or wrapped in a puffy or the like) and there will likely still be a frozen chunk in the portion when you get to camp on night #2.

Just remember to pack some extra TP in case I’m wrong…

What a bunch of wimps in that video!

Fortunately my ordered freeze-dried meals arrived early so I don’t need to use my chili. Could have been an interesting experiment though.

Had a nice relaxing, low mileage trip with Jerry and He Who Shall Not Be Named. Beautiful weather.

Some pics:

I am now convinced that Ursacks are a bad idea.

Although Doug and he who shall not be named (Ken) had Ursacks successfully.

Uh oh, I’ll probably be banned now : )