5 Favorite foods in the backcountry?

WCS

Lil-Rokslider
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Yukon
First night in the backcountry I usually bring along a cold-smoked steak and weave it into some willow branches to grill over an open fire.
 

jmcd22

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Dec 4, 2017
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Idaho
Depends on if we are backpack hunting or truck camping but I always bring Justin's Hazelnut Butter and spread it on a Honey Stinger...either honey or strawberry. Can't be beat!

If we are truck camping, we bring along whatever meat we have from the prior year. Delicious and motivating!
 

20DYNAMITE07

Lil-Rokslider
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Oct 13, 2017
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154
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Portland, OR
Backpacker's Pantry Granola with Bananas, Almonds & Milk is awesome for breakfast. It's delicious and 620 cal/serving and there are 2 servings per pouch.

Mountain House Lasagna
Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy
Mountain House Chicken and Dumplings
Mountain House Beef Stew
Idahoan Potato's with spam or tuna mixed in
 

Usi05

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Jan 7, 2019
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Michigan
Some great ideas here.
Planning first trip next fall and this was helpful.
I work for a company that makes about every granola bar in this thread so I will certainly have a pack full of my favorites while searching for elk
 

Mike 338

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Dec 28, 2012
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Idaho
Mountain House Sweet & Sour Stir Fry is a favorite. Also, investing in a dehydrator can be a great way to get some serious home cooking in the field. My favorite is chili. I'll dehydrate some lean burger first. Then make a giant pot of chili, seasoned just the way I like it and dehydrate that. Don't plan on adding water and having dinner in 20 minutes though. I re-hydrate the next days food the night before, as I'm making this nights dinner. That way it's totally re-hydrated and tastes great.

Considering buying powdered eggs. They need to be cooked but I hear they taste great.
 

yogr

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Mar 24, 2018
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Mountain House Sweet & Sour Stir Fry is a favorite. Also, investing in a dehydrator can be a great way to get some serious home cooking in the field. My favorite is chili. I'll dehydrate some lean burger first. Then make a giant pot of chili, seasoned just the way I like it and dehydrate that. Don't plan on adding water and having dinner in 20 minutes though. I re-hydrate the next days food the night before, as I'm making this nights dinner. That way it's totally re-hydrated and tastes great.

Considering buying powdered eggs. They need to be cooked but I hear they taste great.
So when you're making the chili do you make it without meat?

Do you combine the chili and meat together when you rehydrate, or rehydrate them separately?

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BKhunter

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Oct 13, 2016
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New York
Got my 3000 cal/day meal bags packaged up over the weekend. I have mine set up so that everything burns (nothing to haul out) and only a hot meal for dinner so I don't pack the stove everyday. The trade for that convienece is that I'm not eating a bunch of fancy meals, but honestly I can't wait to tear into some of these bags! There are a number of foods sprinkled in that I don't allow myself to eat on a regular basis, so I'm looking forward to some guilt free indulgence! Pop tarts, kit Kat bars, dark chocolate almonds...

48b4da6e6e5c7d827beca47916b72583.jpg
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looks like a lot of plastic you burn all that?
 

FlyGuy

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The Woodlands, TX
looks like a lot of plastic you burn all that?
Yes, in the cylinder stove. (I usually dont mess with a campfire.) All those foil wrappers and ziplocks make really good tinder/fire starters. The mtn house bags burn especially HOT and help a lot if the wood is damp. Everything burns completely inside that stove body. Any residual paper/plastic has been extremely rare and its only occurred if I didn't really get the fire going good before zonking out, but anything left gets consumed in the next fire regardless.

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Mike 338

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So when you're making the chili do you make it without meat?

Do you combine the chili and meat together when you rehydrate, or rehydrate them separately?

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Because ground beef can be used in so many things, I cook, drain and dehydrate it by itself and just keep it in it's own big container. When I portion up packages of chili for the trip, I add the beef in with the chili so yes, I re-hydrate them together.

Here's another thing you can do. For some real stick to your ribs chili, cook off some cubed steak instead of ground beef to add to the chili. I like to buy steak, cube, mix with lots of onions and slow cook on the stovetop until very tender. Onions should be cooked down to almost nothing. It's sort'a expensive chili but it'll bring tears to your eyes when you dig in.

For chili, I use Cattle Drive mixed with cans of black beans (2 cans chili to one can black beans). I like mine with a touch of sweetness so I mix in molasis, a bit of brown sugar and BBQ sauce that has a touch of smokey flavor. Of course seasoning like granulated garlic, basil, pepper, (no salt), Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, bay leaf (removed later), pinch of rosemary and a touch of hot sauce. I don't mix in much hot sauce because for me, I like to take some with and add it on top for a blast of heat. Because the chili itself is basically just opening up cans of beans, seasoning, simmering and then dehydrating, it's pretty easy. Like I mentioned earlier, you'll want to re-hydrate it 10 or 12 hours (or more) in advance so just dump some water into tomorrow nights chili as your cooking tonights food and it'll be perfect tomorrow. Re-heat is a slow simmer.

A note on re-hydrating... because your dry food is now wet, be very sure you zipped up the baggie all the way. It's not a bad idea to put it in a extra baggie just to be sure there's lo leakage.
 
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Mitten32

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Mar 30, 2018
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Michigan
1. The chili cheese flavored Fritos.. fairly high in calories for their weight.
2. Almond butter packets
3. Homemade jerky
4. Honey stinger waffle Carmel or vanilla
5. Nuun wild berry tablets.. nice change up from water

I’ll be switching up my lunches a bit more. I don’t think I can eat another Butthole sandwhich
 

Jordan Budd

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Aug 8, 2012
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NW Nebraska
Clif filled peanut butter bars
Sour patch kids
ProBar meal bar
MTN house biscuits and gravy
Peak Refuel chicken Alfredo


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SLDMTN

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Palmer, AK
Pistachios mixed with dried blueberries.
Lenny & Larry Complete Cookies
Fit Crunch Protein Bars
Heather's Choice Packaroons - if you like macaroons, these are money
The guilty go to breakfast===> Precooked Bacon and Hostess Powdered Donettes - so many calories

I have tried a bunch of stuff over the years and I think I finally dialed in my kit. There are so many good choices now beyond the original Clif Bars. I still have flashbacks of forcing myself to eat another one cause it's all I packed for snacks. However, I do LOVE the filled Nut Butter/Yogurt Clif Bars.
 

Silver

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Feb 1, 2018
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Northern BC
For those dehydrating your own meals, I’ve had great luck rehydrating on the fly using an old MH bag. Just add your dehydrated meal and pour in boiling water, same as a freeze dried meal. It takes probably 50% longer than a regular MH, but better than simmering (too much fuel) or soaking overnight...I’ve done all three!
 

CJF

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Jun 11, 2018
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Location
CO
Heard Snyder talk about making Butthole sandwiches on a podcast once...bagel,peanut butter, honey, bacon

I pack one for every day. Little more weight than a pack of oatmeal for breakfast but it sticks with you longer
 

Juice

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Mar 25, 2014
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Knoxville, IA
My own Heather's Choice Pasghetti. Great way to use up some spaghetti squash from the garden. Also a baggie of Mike & Ikes for emergencies only!
 
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