Are DIY Dehydrated Meals Worth it?

[Brendan]

Do you do anything different when making the chili for dehydration than you do if you’re just making it from home? I’ve been wanting to try this next.

Drain out fat from the meat, as fat doesn't keep well and can spoil. Then, I mixed in some breadcrumbs With the meat to help rehydration.

Other than that - tomatoes and peppers, spices are great. Also tried throwing a bunch of brown rice in a chili at the end to absorb a bunch of water, let it cook and absorb all the flavor before dehydrating.

By no means an expert, but that worked great for me.

 

[GunsAreFun]

Drain out fat from the meat, as fat doesn't keep well and can spoil. Then, I mixed in some breadcrumbs With the meat to help rehydration.

Other than that - tomatoes and peppers, spices are great. Also tried throwing a bunch of brown rice in a chili at the end to absorb a bunch of water, let it cook and absorb all the flavor before dehydrating.

By no means an expert, but that worked great for me.

I was thinking about steaming it because that gets virtually all the fat out.

 

[Goatie]

For some people it’s probably great to make their own freeze dried meals. For me I live in the Midwest and get out far enough west twice a year to justify that dehydrated meals be a necessity. I absolutely love Mountain house for those occassions. 14 days a year my body can handle a little bit of sodium and I don’t suffer. Sounds like I’m in the minority though.

 

[Brendan]

Another tip is to cut stuff small. Dice it, no large pieces. Then when it comes out of the dehydrator - put it in a large stainless bowl and break up any large pieces that stuck together in the drying, almost a little bit mortar & pestle style. The smaller stuff is, the easier it rehydrates.

Breakfast this year I did homemade oatmeal of sorts: buckwheat, shredded coconut, chia seeds, dehydrated strawberries / blueberries, spoon of brown sugar.

For dinners I think I made two large chilis in the crockpot and was good for 10-12 days this year.

 

[gadrahthaar]

If you like cooking for yourself at home (or prefer your spouses meals to restaurant) i think its a no brainer. I run lots of chili/curry/ thick stew type meals and have been very pleased. I use a $55 dehydrator and vacuum seal the foil bag pictured.

There is no extra fuel burn vs storebought freeze dry, but I find that mine take about 2x time to rehydrate. Cutting meat and vegis extra small helps dehydrate and rehydrate faster, i think.

I need a cozy as mentioned several times in this chain, does anyone have a rec for brand or source?

 

[gadrahthaar]

What kind of heat reflective stand up vacuum bags do you get? I don't think I've ever seen those.

I was happy with these. they are sold out but should give you a starting point for size and material and such. I was able to vacuum seal above the zipper, and cook and eat from the bag.

Amazon.com: GooGou Resealable Kraft Paper Stand up Zipper Pouch Bags Food Storage Aluminum Foil Bags Smell Proof Pouches 50pcs (5.9x8.2in): Kitchen & Dining

Shop GooGou at the Amazon Storage & Organization store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%.

www.amazon.com

 

[WI in the west]

I just started messing with this a couple months ago and made some for a shed hunt trip. I gotta say its a bit of a game changer. Also 100% recoment using the cozy method. I used just on of those bags you get in the male with the bubble wrap lining as a cheap/free way. I just slip the vacumm seal bag inside it when I pour the water in then clip it shup with a small binder clip then glass 10 minutes or so and everythings been very hot and ready to eat. and the bag fits inside the cup of my stove so it takes up no space. its definatly worth trying now espeacially being turkey season you can test out some foods for lunch.

 

[SteveCNJ]

It sounds like you guys have this down to a science. I'm a pretty good cook without follow5any recipes but have never dehydrated food. Is it just that easy, cook food, dehydrate it and vacuum seal it?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[gadrahthaar]

I just started messing with this a couple months ago and made some for a shed hunt trip. I gotta say its a bit of a game changer. Also 100% recoment using the cozy method. I used just on of those bags you get in the male with the bubble wrap lining as a cheap/free way. I just slip the vacumm seal bag inside it when I pour the water in then clip it shup with a small binder clip then glass 10 minutes or so and everythings been very hot and ready to eat. and the bag fits inside the cup of my stove so it takes up no space. its definatly worth trying now espeacially being turkey season you can test out some foods for lunch.

Good to know. I'm going to try this "Alpine (H) EAT Insulation Pouch". Sold at REI, whenever they reopen.

 

[SteveCNJ]

If you like cooking for yourself at home (or prefer your spouses meals to restaurant) i think its a no brainer. I run lots of chili/curry/ thick stew type meals and have been very pleased. I use a $55 dehydrator and vacuum seal the foil bag pictured.

There is no extra fuel burn vs storebought freeze dry, but I find that mine take about 2x time to rehydrate. Cutting meat and vegis extra small helps dehydrate and rehydrate faster, i think. View attachment 170482

I need a cozy as mentioned several times in this chain, does anyone have a rec for brand or source?

Is there a ball park of how much water to add per 6oz or 8oz of dehydrated food?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Brendan]

Pretty much is as easy as cook, dehydrate with a couple things to remember.

Fat is bad. Use low fat cuts, drain out fat, some places even recommend doing a quick wash of ground meat in a colander. (Fat doesn't keep well and can spoil). You can always bring single serve packets of olive oil and add back in. Dehydrated food won't last as long as freeze-dried, but *should* be good for a year, never tested...

Cut everything small.

Add some bread crumbs to ground meat, helps rehydrating.

You don't want to try to dehydrate something really, really watery or soupy. I took a chili in the crock pot and added a cup of dry / uncooked brown rice and let it sit for the last hour / two to absorb all the water before dehydrating.

I probably over-filled the bags I used below, and ended up eating well.

For adding water, test it beforehand at home so you know how much dry and water so you're not carrying extra.

I used these:

Amazon.com: Pleasant Grove Farm 7 Mil Zip Lock Mylar Bags Stand Up Gusseted Pouch in Multiple Sizes (50, 5 GALLON 18 x 25 inch): Kitchen & Dining

Shop Pleasant Grove Farm at the Amazon Storage & Organization store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%.

smile.amazon.com

and these (probably not needed)

Amazon.com: FreshUS 300cc Oxygen Absorber (5 Individual Packs of 10 Packet, Total 50 Packets) - Long Term Food Storage (50, 300 CC): Kitchen & Dining

Shop FreshUs at the Amazon Storage & Organization store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%.

smile.amazon.com

I then took an old iron and sealed the mylar bags with the O2 absorber inside so they wouldn't leak

I only tried 3 different recipes last year, need to expand and try more this year.

 

[gadrahthaar]

Is there a ball park of how much water to add per 6oz or 8oz of dehydrated food?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

In my experience it can vary based on the type of food and how thoroughly you dehydrate it. But, since you are dehydrating it yourself you can work backwards into this. You just need to keep track of how much water you take out and add the same amount back. You can track how much you remove by volume or weight and then mark your jetboil, food bag, nalgene etc to help you refill the right amount. For example, if i make a pot of chili I pull out 16 fl oz at a time, put that on one dehydrator tray, then into one bag - and I know basically on this brand of bags where I need to fill with boiling water at camp. I solved for the volume of chili that the bag could hold with room for shaking, stirring, not spilling. But it would make more sense to solve for the amount you'd like to eat.

 

[Apollo117]

My wife and I experimented quite a bit with dehydrating a lot of our food for the through hike we "had" planned to do this year. We ended up dehydrating the equivalent of 104 dinners, and 104 breakfasts per person. We learned a lot in this process.

I'll reiterate a few points that have been mentioned already.

Lipids (fat, oil, butter, etc) will make dehydrated food spoil more quickly. The same goes for dairy. It's not difficult to adjust a recipe to exclude lipids. Also, powdered cheese, powdered milk, and powdered butter are available online. You can also pack in olive oil or Ghee.

We avoided dehydrating meats entirely. We weren't confident that we could get all the fat out of the meat. It's pretty easy to add a foil packet of tuna, shredded chicken, or pepperonis in the field. Also, certain legumes like soy beans or chick peas have a lot of protein and are decent meat substitutes.

Mylar bags are way better IMO than any brand of vacuum seal bag. We initially tried to vacuum seal the food we dehydrated, but even using paper towels and double sealing did not prevent 50% of the bags from failing and introducing oxygen. We bought several hundred quart sized bags instead of fooling around with vacuum sealed bags. It's also very easy to use and seal mylar bags. It's not necessary to vacuum seal mylar bags. If you use a 100cc oxygen absorber in each bag, the absorber will do it's job and remove the oxygen. To seal the bags I used a $10 hair straightener.

Someone previously suggested buying an Excalibur dehydrator, which are great, but expensive. We bought a $50 Nesco dehydrator from Amazon. Be sure to get the model that is temperature adjustable. Depending on the quantity of food you are dehydrating, you may want to buy another pair of the solid dehydrating sheets as well as another pair of the mesh dehydrating sheets.

Someone mentioned cutting the food into smaller pieces. This is crucial to getting the food to dehydrate consistently and quickly. Invest in a mandolin or something else that helps you cut food to a consistent size.

We added a starch to most of our meals to increase the calorie count. We tried to always make the meals at least 850 calories. Things like instant rice, couscous, or dehydrated pasta are easy to add.

Vegetables are really easy to dehydrate and rehydrate. Carrots, peppers, corn, peas, etc make a meal much better.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

Here's an off the top of my head list of recipes we made:

Bean Chili
Taco soup
Taco Couscous
Shepherd's pie
Minestrone soup
Chicken noodle soup
Veggie Helper
Pad Thai
Creamy Veggie chowder
Veggie and potato hash
Spaghetti
15 bean soup
Curry and rice
DIY Chili Mac

 

[mardal2]

Call me crazy but I don’t think some of them are that bad I understand how a lot of guys say they are crap but when I’m miles in I actually think they are pretty good haha

True

 

[Steve O]

Great tips in here. Loved Mountain House for many years, now just typing the name makes me want to hurl. Home made meals dehydrated are 10x better. Only thing I can add is freezer zip lock bags work great for storing and rehydrating.

 

[Patton]

I’m wanting to make my own meals this year and curious if this strategy would work:
Could I take a cooked meal, weigh out my serving portion and then dehydrate. Afterwards, weigh the dehydrated serving and then I’d have an exact weight of the water that is missing. Would adding that amount of water be the perfect amount?

Is that what you are describing @gadrahthaar ?

 

[Steve O]

I’m wanting to make my own meals this year and curious if this strategy would work:
Could I take a cooked meal, weigh out my serving portion and then dehydrate. Afterwards, weigh the dehydrated serving and then I’d have an exact weight of the water that is missing. Would adding that amount of water be the perfect amount?

Is that what you are describing @gadrahthaar ?

That’s the way to do it. I always add more water; I don’t mind any ring a little “soupy” and I don’t think I ever get enough water in the backcountry.

I also realized that dehydrated pot roast dinner is an AWESOME snack without water

 

[Middleofnowhere]

Fats don’t dehydrate or freeze dry well, so carry some olive/avocado oil to add fat to your meal when you rehydrate. Those little are pretty easy, but I started carrying a small plastic bottle because less trash and cheaper.

 

[Patton]

That’s the way to do it. I always add more water; I don’t mind any ring a little “soupy” and I don’t think I ever get enough water in the backcountry.

I also realized that dehydrated pot roast dinner is an AWESOME snack without water

Awesome, thanks for the reply. I'm going to do some experimenting between now and the fall and was hoping that would be a good method to start with.

 

[journeyman713]

I can go 30 miles in for 10 days, living only off what I carried in my backpack and water that I find.

But counting on homemade dehydrated food that won't make me sick... I ain't That Brave! LOL

I'll put my trust in the Pros such as Mountain House and the like for that. And really, I think that stuff is not too bad, and even better in the woods! I went a in for couple years before discovering the MH Blueberry cheese cake!!!