Dried food meal ideas?

ateallthepies

Native
Aug 11, 2011
1,558
0
hertfordshire
As I will be trying out my new dehydrator soon can the members recommend any meal ideas to try? I thought something along the line of mince beef/mixed frozen veg/gravy granules to start, maybe with a seperate pack of smash potato to make a sort of cottage pie deal?

Really looking for small meal ideas that can be dumped from a vacuum seal bag and cooked in a single pot?


Steve.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
Some people make a whole meal and dry it, spag bol, curry etc. I'd look at drying individual ingredients and making the meal on the trip. When you have dried things like minced beef, peppers, onions, peas, sweet corn, celery, sliced green beans etc you have the basis of many meals. In America you can buy tubs of tomato powder but talking to friends out there dried tomato soup does the same job as does cream of chicken and oxtail soup. Don't forget to include ready dried food like butter beans and lentils et al in your 'cupboard'.
 

ateallthepies

Native
Aug 11, 2011
1,558
0
hertfordshire
I tried my first dehydrated meal today and it was quite nice!

It consisted of a beef and tomato pot noodle base, golf ball size scoop each of dehydrated mince beef and mixed veg, pinch of dried bell peppers and a teaspoon or two of gravy granules. Also added some black pepper, mixed herbs and a pinch of Cayenne pepper.

Cooked it up and let it stand for five minutes then scoffed the lot! It could have done with a bit more water and probably let stand five or ten minutes more as some of the veg like the peas and corn were not quite soft all the way through.

The cost of ingredients was about £1.30. By the time you add a vacuum bag and electricity to dehydrate I reckon it will be about £1.50-60 per meal and should keep a year.

Weight of food, 5.6 ounces/158 grams.

Steve.
 

andythecelt

Nomad
May 11, 2009
261
2
Planet Earth
My favourite is savoury mince. I dry minced beef and some cubed boiled potatoes, then dry some tinned peas, sweetcorn and baby carrots that I've chopped up. Canned veg rehydrates more easily than frozen I've found because it's cooked in liquid in the can. After rehydrating it's firmer than tinned veg usually is, which is a good thing. I generally find it a bit soft straight from the can. I have an Excalibur machine so it's easy to do big batches. I can dry a whole 5 kilo bag of potatoes that have been boiled in one batch. I measure portions of the beef, spuds and veg into a baggie and add a bit of dried cabbage, herbs and anything else I fancy. When I need to eat I bung the lot in the pot and cover with water. I bring it to the boil and simmer for 5 mins, then add a package of decent instant gravy (the kinds that need a couple of minutes of simmering are usually better than the just add water kind) and simmer however long the gravy needs. I add some black pepper and bung it in a pot cosy for 15 minutes but you could just simmer it a bit longer. For a bit of variety I sometimes add a sachet of mustard or mint sauce. It really hits the spot every time.
I also dry baked beans in large batches. I put the lot on the hob and add brown sauce, balsamic vinegar, black pepper and heat it through until the beans have broken down a bit. This helps them rehydrate later. I throw a portion in the pot with some chopped up salami, or if it's the first day out I'll use bacon.
Both these recipes are fantastic with a chunk of bread or bannock and you can keep the last chunk for wiping the pot semi clean.
 

ateallthepies

Native
Aug 11, 2011
1,558
0
hertfordshire
Thanks for the ideas, I have been drying tins of chicken and beef curry and also some stag chili which went well. I added some uncle bens 10 minute rice into each bag and some broccoli I dehydrated.

One thing I noticed was that the hard particles of food were piercing my vacuum bags so I wrapped the food in foil first which seems to have done the trick.

Will try the beans thing as I love beans!

Steve.
 

PDA1

Settler
Feb 3, 2011
646
5
Framingham, MA USA
@Tartanferret - the simple answer is NO. It is difficult to dehydrate anything with a lot of fat content, including eggs.

+1 on the Babelfish5 videos. Very good.
 

Teepee

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jan 15, 2010
4,115
5
Northamptonshire
I spent last weekend drying broccoli, spinach leaves and mushrooms.

I then went to the chinese cash and carry and found them on the shelf for less per weight than I paid for fresh stuff. Not sure how nice they are though, the ones I dried taste better then fresh.
 

PDA1

Settler
Feb 3, 2011
646
5
Framingham, MA USA
@santaman2000 - correct, dried eggs and dairy products are readily available. They are professionally prepared in industrial grade dehydrators. Domestic dehydrators do not have this capability. I follow Mrbabelfish5's suggestion of using commercially produced dried eggs etc. rather than trying to do them oneself, where a recipe requires them. Most suggestions for home dehydrated meals advise that meats should be ground (minced) small and cooked to render fats then rinsed with hot water before making the dish. You can leave the fat in (which will probably enhance the flavour) but it will drastically reduce the shelf life of your meal because of the fat going rancid.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,120
68
Florida
@santaman2000 - correct, dried eggs and dairy products are readily available. They are professionally prepared in industrial grade dehydrators. Domestic dehydrators do not have this capability. I follow Mrbabelfish5's suggestion of using commercially produced dried eggs etc. rather than trying to do them oneself, where a recipe requires them. Most suggestions for home dehydrated meals advise that meats should be ground (minced) small and cooked to render fats then rinsed with hot water before making the dish. You can leave the fat in (which will probably enhance the flavour) but it will drastically reduce the shelf life of your meal because of the fat going rancid.

Fair enough. I misread your post & didn't realize you were differentiating between home & commercial sources. Sorry. BTW I believe the even comercial dried dairy (powdered milk) is only available in the fat free form; at least that's all I've ever seen on the shelves.
 

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