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Re-Packaging Freeze Dri Meals


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Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
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  • #3422228
    Andrew Priest
    BPL Member

    @aushiker1

    Locale: Fremantle

    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?

    #3422229
    J R
    BPL Member

    @jringeorgia

    Silly ideas?

    No.

    #3422239
    Matthew / BPL
    Moderator

    @matthewkphx

    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.

    #3422240
    Mercedes Clemens
    BPL Member

    @motorlegs

    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).

    #3422242
    Nick Gatel
    BPL Member

    @ngatel

    Locale: Southern California

    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.

     

    #3422244
    Andrew Priest
    BPL Member

    @aushiker1

    Locale: Fremantle

    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.

    #3422247
    Matt Swider
    Spectator

    @sbslider

    Locale: Santa Barbara

    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.

    #3422249
    Bob Moulder
    BPL Member

    @bobmny10562

    Locale: Westchester County, NY

    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.

     

    #3422250
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    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.

    #3422294
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    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.

    #3422310
    Bob Moulder
    BPL Member

    @bobmny10562

    Locale: Westchester County, NY

    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! :^)

    #3422316
    John Barber
    BPL Member

    @jbarberd

    Locale: Mid-Alantic

    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.

    #3422320
    Gary Dunckel
    BPL Member

    @zia-grill-guy

    Locale: Boulder

    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.

    #3422414
    Eric Blumensaadt
    BPL Member

    @danepacker

    Locale: Mojave Desert

    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.

    #3422417
    jimmy b
    BPL Member

    @jimmyb

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

    #3422420
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    “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…

    #3422526
    Kief H
    BPL Member

    @kief

    Locale: Eastside Sierra, Downeast Maine

    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.

    #3422536
    Bob Moulder
    BPL Member

    @bobmny10562

    Locale: Westchester County, NY

    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.

    #3422559
    Kief H
    BPL Member

    @kief

    Locale: Eastside Sierra, Downeast Maine

    Bob,

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

    #3422626
    MJ H
    BPL Member

    @mjh

    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’?

    #3422629
    Franco Darioli
    Spectator

    @franco

    Locale: Gauche, CU.

    Boeing water.

    Boils faster than running water.

    #3422630
    Peter H
    BPL Member

    @stickler64

    Locale: Sacramento

    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.

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