Re-Packaging Freeze Dri Meals

[Andrew Priest]

For my upcoming Holland Track ride I have decided to take Backcountry Cuisine meals along with me as I suspect that the single serve sizing will be more than sufficient and it just makes things a little easier for this ride.

Anyway my probably rather silly question (and I suspect I know the answer) but is there any reason why I cannot put a small hole in the packets to let the air out so I can get them to pack down smaller or for that matter any reason why I couldn’t repackage them them into ziplocks as really I cannot see the need for the package for rehydrating; my pot can do that.

Silly ideas?

[J R]

Silly ideas?

No.

[Matthew / BPL]

If you are going to rehydrate in your pot anyways, you can repackage into loose, thin bags like the vegetable bags at the produce section of a grocery store. These compress and pack better than ziplocks. You Candace further space if you are having duplicate meals by packing them together in one bag.

[Mercedes Clemens]

I typically do freezer bag cooking & will often repackage commercial meals (especially if they are 2-serving bags) into pint or quart freezer ziplocs. Works fine, saves tons of space & weight. If I was making my meals in my pot, I’d just use regular ziplocs.

I’ve tried produce bags but find some types of meals poke holes easily in those (things with flat rice noodles, for example).

[Nick Gatel]

I always repackage mine into individual freezer bags or Ziplock microwave bags and discard the heavy packaging (Mountain House). For meals just add boing water, wait 12 minutes or so and then eat.

 

[Andrew Priest]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions. Re-packaging is the way to go then. Will look into the vegetable bags versus ziplocks and see what I think will work. May give both ideas a go on this trip.

[Matt Swider]

I have repackaged #10 cans of freeze dried meals for several people into ziploc bags.  I would at least double bag anything loose that I put ingrocery store vegetable bags as I have had them fail on me before.

[Bob Moulder]

I repackage #10 cans of MH entrees into VacMaster ziploc-type vacuum bags, sealed with a FoodSaver vacuum machine. I use a good scale to divvy out 4-oz portions, which is what most MH individual (2-serving) pouches contain. The quart-sized bags are a bit too long so I trim a couple of inches off the bottom before filling and sealing.

 

[Jerry Adams]

I use those thin vegetable bags.  A ziploc freezer bag weighs maybe 1/4 ounce.  I use for dinner, and oatmeal for breakfast.  Maybe save 2 or 3 ounces total for a trip.

[JCH]

I’ve been moving away from pre-packaged/freeze dried meals and toward FBC/home assembled recipes and eating more “real” food on the trail like cheese, salami, tortillas, bacon etc. My reservations with this approach have been the health concerns regarding “cooking” in a freezer bag and the common occurrence of freezer bag failure (especially the new ziplock bags with the big blue zipper grip surface).  Those zipper vacuum bags look to be a sweet bit of kit…provided the manufacturers claims of being able to be boiled/microwaved are valid.

Seriously rethinking my approach…I see acquiring a vacuum sealing system in my near future.

[Bob Moulder]

I’ve been moving toward a hybrid approach because I find the MH meals need a little tweaking in some cases.

For the chicken-n-rice, IMO it needs some carrots and peas (and maybe red pepper) and some more chicken, quite frankly, so I’ll use the dehydrator to prepare those ingredients to add using canned veggies and chicken. I know, the purists are cringing, but it suits me fine, and I add a little salt and pepper as well.

I found that the chili mac doesn’t have enough macaroni, so I cook and dehydrate some macaroni to add to it — EZ ’nuff! :^)

[John Barber]

I repackage my mountain house meals in freezer bags, I also make what I call shepards pie, Dehydrated hamburger or chicken, vegetables, instant red garlic potatoes. I put my mix in an opened zip lock and put in a sealer bag and seal the sealer bag.  I carry one empty MH bag with me and put my zip lock food bag inside it to rehydrate my meal. The MH bag works as a cozy and I don’t have to worry about leaks or washing my pot.

[Gary Dunckel]

I’m like Bob (everybody wants to be like Bob). My approach is to buy the Mountain House #10 tins of goodies when they have their spring sale. Then the next time temperatures and humidity drop way down (usually late December-early January), I’ll go to work on the food packaging for the next year’s worth of meals. I’ll also do most of my dehydrating then too, since humidity is very low, and it helps heat the house.

The MH ingredients get mixed and matched, like adding chicken and peas to the mac & cheese, and adding a favorite spice or two. Every meal is portioned to yield 450-500 calories, and then it is vacuum sealed. These have an incredible shelf life in my cool,, dry, and dark basement pantry, up to 4-5 years.

The dehydrated foods also stay good, but only for 2-3 years. Meats with high fat content need to be stored in the freezer. I vacuum seal the FD things separate from the dehydrated items, since they rehydrate a different rates (FD is faster of course). Also, some dehydrated items take much longer to rehydrate than others. For example, I have to soak my dehydrated Vienna sausage slices and Spam dices (very high cal/ounce meats, although I figure I lose ~10% of the fat during the dehydration process) for quite awhile to soften them up, whereas the dehydrated Bush’s beans that I combine with them come back fairly quickly.

Keep in mind that some of my meals require pre-soaking, as well as a little simmer time in camp. This can get a bit fuel intensive, and I use a light dedicated simmer pot w/lid, but I don’t much mind that if I can eat well and get lots of tasty calories. If I am hiking in grizzly country, like Glacier or especially Yellowstone, I take a safer approach and simply eat MH Pro Pack meals.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Freezer Bag Cooking is “OK” as long as you are not using retort pouch “wet” meat like salmon, chicken, shrimp, etc. As soon as you get those items into your FBC menu you’re adding a lot of water weight.

I re-package “Serves 2”)  freeze-dried (f-d) meals in Zip-Loc bags and use my fleece cozy when adding boiling water. It’s the cozy I made for FBC meals and it works fine for quart sized freezer bags.

Truly, whether its f-d meals or FBC meals it’s all up to the individual’s taste – literally. But I’d advise saving the more spicy meals for days near the end of your trip because it’s then that you need to get away from bland tasting meals.

[jimmy b]

Geez, I gotta run out to the kitchen for a snack, getting hungry reading all this…

[BlackHatGuy]

“But I’d advise saving the more spicy meals for days near the end of your trip because it’s then that you need to get away from bland tasting meals.”

Just did 12 days in Montana and Idaho. Didn’t have a bland dinner any night. I’m a huge fan of Packit Gourmet meals, so I repackaged those. Different, quite tasty dinner every night. Some of my campmates started to get a tad jealous…

[Kief H]

Bob, which model of the FoodSaver machine are you using? I’m a little bemused by all the permutations on their website. My use would be very similar to yours.

[Bob Moulder]

Hi, Kief:

The FoodSaver I have is Model V4435, which I got at BJ’s Wholesale Club last year, and in fact it was the only model they stocked. FoodSaver makes some models that have more features and some that have fewer features, and I really don’t know if it makes a difference for our purposes. This one has the drip tray option for moist or dry foods, and it has the long-roll storage bag compartment and cutter, as well as the suction option for vacuum jars, etc.

It’s been useful for general home food storage as well, so we can call it “dual use”! :-)

The one on the FoodSaver website that looks identical to mine is this one, now designated model V4445.

[Kief H]

Bob,

Many thanks for your help. I’d be using it for some home storage too, so I like the option for vacuum jars.

[MJ H]

For meals just add boing water, wait 12 minutes or so and then eat.

Is this missing an ‘l’ or does it have an extra ‘i’?

[Franco Darioli]

Boeing water.

Boils faster than running water.

[Peter H]

Kief, check your local craigslist. Found my foodsaver for 15 bucks. I was only looking for one that vacuums and seals, no special attachments necessary.

[Author]

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