What's your best dehydrated meal?

[Black_Fly]

I like good food while camping, even if I'm going light. I've experimented with a number of dishes to dehydrate, and learned some things not to do. Really, the only 2 dehydrated dishes (not soup) that I honestly look forward to while camping are lasagna and chili Mac. Fruits and jerky are good snacks, but not really meals. I've given up on dehydrated chicken and shrimp dishes, always tough chunks in an overcooked base. I'm not a big fan of rice based dishes either. What's your favorite one package dish? It might give me some inspiration.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Hi Kathleen here (PaddlingPitt's wife). My favourite meal is Shepard's pie. I dehydrate ground beef, frozen corn and tomato paste. I buy dried mashed potatoes for the topping and then I grate some cheese on top. Pretty simple and very filling.

 

[yknpdlr]

There are a couple of dehydrator books that everyone should own:
Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator ​​​​​​​Book is the definitive "Bible" of home dehydrating.

For camping food, I highly recommend Linda Yaffe's book. Some of the recipes may seem a little strange, but turn out surprisingly well. I use them as a starting point basis for making my own creations an variations. I can't say that I have a particular favorite, as Ihave my own list of staples. I have learned a lot about what works and have dehydrated hundreds of pounds over 30+ years for an annual guide training program and for personal use.

Backpack Gourmet: Good Hot Grub You Can Make at Home, Dehydrate, and Pack for Quick, Easy, and Healthy Eating on the Trail by Linda Frederick Yaffee

 

[stripperguy]

I make a breakfast of scrambled eggs, sharp cheese, grits and bits of ham.
It dries nicely at home, and rehydrates well at the campsite.
Gives lots of energy for a long day of paddling...I do add a touch of butter and sugar to the grits.

It's a favorite of mine (slightly biased, it's my own concoction, or at least I believe that!) and enjoyed by all that have tried it.

 

[Black_Fly]

I've got the Backpack Gourmet and a couple other books. I must have missed the good ones. The recipes I tried were all forgettable. Part of it is because I only want one package meals, not several things requiring seperate prep. Part of it is I'm a picky eater.

 

[yknpdlr]

I've got the Backpack Gourmet and a couple other books. I must have missed the good ones. The recipes I tried were all forgettable. Part of it is because I only want one package meals, not several things requiring seperate prep. Part of it is I'm a picky eater.

huh? most are one pot meals. Add hot water to a bag, put in a cozy to keep hot, wait a sufficient amount of time and you are done. And like I said, learn from it, create your own recipes.

 

[Odyssey]

Breakfast
If you start off each day right with breakfast and are a fussy 1 packet eater then I assume you make your own oatmeal recipes.
Combining at home a healthy mix of chia seeds, quick cook steel cut oats, oat bran, dry milk powder, a touch of salt and your choice of dried fruit with optional cinnamon and sweetener you're ready for the day. We make up different varieties. They all only require hot water added and to sit in a pot cozy to finish cooking. Simple. Nutritious. You can do the boil in the bag eating if you prefer, which we do when not in the mood for doing dishes. After eating we just zip up the empty bags and lick our spoons. Done.
Dinner
A favourite supper of ours is chili con carne. There are so many recipes meat or meatless to choose from. All the "work" is done at home if you don't mind scratch cooking and dehydrating. It all goes into the single bag awaiting added hot water in camp, and some time spent in a cozy. More spoon licking and done.

 

[yknpdlr]

Recipes to dehydrate and serve while backpacking or canoeing are limitless What do you like to eat at home? Most any kind of casserole dish will work. Just be sure all ingredients ( especially pieces of meat) are relatively small and of consistent size.

For breakfast just one of my favorites is to get frozen hash brown bricks from Walmart or Aldis, dehydrate them and then crunch them up and bag. It rehydrates in about 5 minutes and you don't need much. Separately prepare any brand of country gravy mix and maybe rehydrate some home dehydrated seasoned ground beef to throw in. Or, bake an egg and hash brown, onion and cheese casserole at home. Variations abound, try couscous instead of hash browns. Bake, then dehydrate at home and bag. This is very close to one of Yaffe's recipes. Turns out great. Low fat canned corned beef hash dehydrates and rehydrated perfectly as a breakfast side dish.

I agree with Odyssey that chili (any recipe) dehydrates and rehydrates very well. Spaghetti- start with your favorite home or commercial sauce, throw it and onions and peppers and a can of kidney beans (yes beans) into a blender. Blend to puree well. While still at home pour this mixture over cooked pasta (the thinner the better - e.g. angel hair). Dehydrate and double bag. At camp, rehydrate in the bag. Burritos- bring commercial tortillas, dehydrate low fat canned refried beans, dehydrate salsa, dehydrate seasoned ground beef, bring hard cheese to grate and a raw onion to chop. Sorry, this is a multi part meal, but well worth the work. Sauteé and dehydrate onions and your favorite small cutup mixed veggies. Sauteé and dehydrate seasoned ground beef. At camp, rehydrate veeggies and beef separately. Prepare a package of instant mashed potatoes. Combine all and top with a gravy mix and enjoy.

I have mentioned in other threads that for the first Yukon River 1000 mile canoe race in 2009 the rules required 20kg (44 pounds!) of food per paddler be carried from the beginning of the race. Since I had 7 people in my voyageur canoe, I home dehydrated all main meals for the race (that's a total of 140 kg after dehydrating dry weight). Most meals that I prepared came from the Yaffee book, either directly or modified with my own variations. No one in my canoe went hungry and no one lost weight after 1000 miles and 6 days of 18 hrs/day of continuous paddling. The outfitter owner paddler on the team asked for the leftover packages to use at his business at home (there was a lot left over).

 

[Mnoutdoorfunguy]

Our favorite is very simple:
dehydrated red pasta sauce (Newman’s Own is our favorite) and angel hair pasta.
We use two pots, but it can be made in one.
Add some fresh or packaged Parmesan cheese, pepperoni or rehydrated ground beef (if you like) and it is very satisfying and filling.
It cooks very quickly.
We always pack one extra of these meals and designate it as our emergency reserve meal.

 

[Holmes375]

Just poppin' into track this thread.

I'll be adding that shepherd's pie and Stripperguy's eggs 'n grits to my repertoire.

 

[Black_Fly]

Just poppin' into track this thread.

I'll be adding that shepherd's pie and Stripperguy's eggs 'n grits to my repertoire.

Yep, that's an easy add.

The Backpacker Gourmet recipes I've tried that use meats other than ground beef didn't work well (eg Spicy Chicken, Shrimp Capellini). Seems like chunks of chicken and shrimp need to be soaked separately to achieve etibility. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I haven't tried them all, and if there's some good ones I've overlooked, please suggest them. They taste great before dehydration, but usually disappointing after a long day of paddling and preparation. I probably need to test them more by reconstituting at home. Maybe a finer dice on the chicken and shrimp? Even shredded chicken doesn't seem to reconstitute well, especially white meat.

Like I said, soups seem to come out good (really liked the garlic bean and peanut soup), but who eats hot soup in the summer?

After reading some responses, I'm going to retry the Shrimp Capellini recipe with a finer chop on the shrimp. That one was particularly delicious when cooked, but disappointing in the field. Capellini is a fine pasta, taking little boil time to come back tender. The shrimp was the opposite. Get the shrimp good, and the pasta was mush, get the pasta right, and the shrimp was like jerky chunks. I'll make a small batch and take it outside to test prep with my Solo Stove. I've only been making my own dehydrated meals for a couple years so any tips are greatly appreciated.

We only eat hot breakfasts on layover days (never hot lunches). Getting out early is key to getting around safely on water, so breakfast bars and dried snacks are the majority of our breakfast meals. We did make some awesome omelets with powdered eggs, peppers, onions and diced ham (soaked separately). I haven't eaten powdered eggs in 43 years, since getting out of the army. Still not great, but good when mixed with tasty stuff.

 

[Odyssey]

Black Fly, we've found that it's best to be thorough with the chicken prep to ensure easier rehydration. After a roast chicken meal I take the leftovers and remove the meat from bone (and skin) and pull it like you do pulled pork. Pulling apart the flesh is easier while it's still hot. Making the meat stringy eliminates the hard to hydrate chunkiness. I chop it too to better fill the final storage bag. We've found that we can combine dehydrated chicken into sauces and stews this way rather than keeping it separate for hydration.
Bland and boring is a result of unseasoned unimaginative recipes, not necessarily dehydrated trail meals. We don't take anything we wouldn't eat at home. In fact a good amount of it is actually leftovers, already cooked and tasted. If I'm planning on doing this I make sure to omit any oils and fats in the cooking such as no olive oil in the pasta sauce and no coconut oil in the Thai etc. Little kitchen kit bottles of oils in camp fixes this. A small shaker of different spices and seasonings is also tiny enough to pack yet packs a lot of additional flavour. No bland and boring in our kitchen. I understand your desire to keep things simple in camp with one packet one pot meals.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

We also have not had success with dehydrating chicken. W don't even try anymore. But ground turkey dehydrates very well. Turkey/cabbage soup is one of our mainstays.

 

[yellowcanoe]

We also have not had success with dehydrating chicken. W don't even try anymore. But ground turkey dehydrates very well. Turkey/cabbage soup is one of our mainstays.

now that you put it out there what is your recipe?

 

[PaddlingPitt]

I am sitting in front of the fire, sipping tea. Kathleen is still in bed. Only she knows the recipe. I only enjoy the soup. I'll get back to you.

 

[yknpdlr]

Hydrating chicken can be a problem. Shredding may help. Be sure you give it ample time and keep it warm in a cozy (I use a fleece bag). Yaffee's time guidelines may be a little short for full hydration. i often take along foil pouch chicken for recipes that I create separately.

Some of the best recipes I have found, whether it is just for home or for backpacking, is to go with vegetarian meal recipes, which tend to make up for lack of meat flavor by making them more tasty. When I prepare them, I just throw in a meat of my choice to make it even better.

Another thing I sometimes make is one of the heartier commercial dehydrated soup mixes and toss in a handful of couscous to make it thicker and heartier.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

Beans & Rice with Cheddar & Fritos

I ran across this on the interweb somewhere and tried it. It's actually pretty good.

 

[frozentripper]

Ramen has to be one of the most flavorful options relative to prep time... rather than the cheap noodle packs, a higher-quality noodle can be used and the broth made with whatever's wanted using chicken or beef broth powder. Seaweed, beans, dried mushrooms or whatever added in once the noodles and broth are done.

Bushido... this is not wilderness camping but tradition and ceremony can add the appropriate gravitas to the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WrkdTrrwew

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Here's a picture of the dehydrated turkey/cabbage soup. I am off to walk the dog now. After her cup of tea, Kathleen will put in the recipe.


This is a standard cookbook recipe which I adapt for drying. It makes 4 servings.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 cups coarsely chopped green cabbage
6 cups chicken stock
1 (796ml) can stewed tomatoes
1/2 orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
grated parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

I cook the turkey (without the olive oil) and then drain, pat dry and dehydrate.
I dehydrate the stewed tomatoes
I do not cook the cabbage, just chop and dehydrate
I use dried minced onion, garlic powder, dried basil and powdered soup base.
I package the turkey in a ziplock bag. And package the tomatoes and cabbage in a ziplock bag. I put the dried spices and soup base in a bag with the orzo.
In the morning I put the cabbage, turkey and tomatoes together and add water to rehydrate through the day.

This recipe was taken from the book Six O'Clock Solutions from the Vancouver Sun.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

Here's the rehydrated turkey/cabbage soup.