Are DIY Dehydrated Meals Worth it?

[87TT]

I can say for sure that I have never had a moldy dehydrated meal that I made. Mold needs moisture. I have premade and stored meals like spaghetti for over a year and it was fine. The only problem I ever had was some packaged pasta mixes that I cooked and dehydrated. They had butter in them and they started to taste a bit for lack of a better word, stale or spoiled. But that was after storing them for more than a week in a baggy not refrigerated. If I store them in the fridge they were fine for a few days after I took them out. Now I just skip the butter.

 

[87TT]

Some of the water sources scare me more.

 

[RJC]

Couple of tid-bits from my experiences making homemade dehydrated meals. Last year was the first year my friends and I tried it out and it was a great success with no food related illnesses to report.

When cooking your ground (deer or other game meat is best because it's lean) make sure you break it up super fine and uniformly while it's cooking. This will take some time but will reduce chewy pebbles when re-hydrated. Once it's been cooked you need to rinse the meat in a colander with HOT water to remove as much fat/oils as possible prior to dehydrating.

If you're going to dehydrate chicken you need to use canned chicken- again make sure it's broken up very well and rinsed before dehydrating. You can also mix in a little hot sauce prior to dehydrating to give your chicken a little kick. One of my favorites is dehydrated pasta, dehydrated chicken, dehydrated kale (crushed up) and a cheese packet from a velveeta type mac & cheese. It's heavy but hits the spot after a long hike. Works well with dehydrated broccoli instead of the Kale too.

Dehydrate all ingredients separately- everything takes different times to dehydrate. Helps to cut all your fruits/veg in small uniform sizes.

Couple that became staples for myself and my friends last year...
Shepard's Pie- Pick your favorite Idahoan Mashed potato flavor, brown gravy powder, dehydrated peas and carrots, dehy venison.

Rice and Beans with meat- pretty self explanatory- just use instant rice and a sazon or yellow rice packet it to make the rice more tasty.

Chicken Fajita Bowls- dehy chicken, dehy onions and green peppers (or japs) fajita seasoning, rice, dehy salsa

 

[journeyman713]

I can say for sure that I have never had a moldy dehydrated meal that I made.

Sounds like you know how to follow a recipe.
Wish I could say the same. I tweak as I go, always comes out different, not a bad thing taste wise. Had some venison jerky unexpectedly go south on me in the bag, and it was refrigerated. Must have needed a dash more of...

 

[bikinitoboots]

Anyone got some good recipes they’d like to share in that case?

You should check out backpackingchef.com. It’s a good place to start for recipes and tips. I’ve done some trial and error with dehydrated meals. They are definitely different than freeze dried. They use about the same amount of water, but if you’re use to Mountain House where you boil water, dump it in and let it sit, you might be waiting a while for your meal. We just tested three new dehydrated meals I made on a day trip yesterday. I found that simmering the meals while rehydrating sped up the time for the meal to be ready. So in this case, yes it does use more fuel. I personally think it’s worth the extra fuel to have a hot meal that tastes good, isn’t full of sodium, and actually is fueling my body. I always feel sluggish after Mountain House.

 

[Jstolte]

Just saw this thread and it is freaking awesome! I am looking at dehydrators now and am going to pull the trigger on the Excalibur.

I have a serious botulism phobia, it took me a long time to eat the food that I pressure can without worrying for several days that I was going to be on a ventilator. If I dehydrate meals and then seal them in vacuum seal bags, is it possible for the food to develop botulism as the environment is oxygen-free?

 

[Dos Perros]

OP, yes it's worth it.

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but I just boil and pour the water into a mylar bag that holds the food, very much like a Mountain House, just takes longer to rehydrate. I usually throw my puffy or sleeping bag over top if I'm trying to keep it warm. Often it'll still burn my mouth 20 minutes later.

 

[Apollo117]

If I dehydrate meals and then seal them in vacuum seal bags, is it possible for the food to develop botulism as the environment is oxygen-free?

If you seal it well and use oxygen absorbers, then no I really doubt it has a chance to develop botulism. Heck, use two oxygen absorbers if you're worried. They're cheap.

 

[Jstolte]

If you seal it well and use oxygen absorbers, then no I really doubt it has a chance to develop botulism. Heck, use two oxygen absorbers if you're worried. They're cheap.

Thanks. Might use three with how much botulism freaks me out haha

 

[Apollo117]

@Jstolte, make sure you quickly reseal your oxygen absorbers when you're done using them. There's a finite amount of oxygen an absorber can absorb. You don't want to waste it by letting them sit on your kitchen counter. Or so I've heard.

 

[Jstolte]

@Jstolte, make sure you quickly reseal your oxygen absorbers when you're done using them. There's a finite amount of oxygen an absorber can absorb. You don't want to waste it by letting them sit on your kitchen counter. Or so I've heard.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Avalanche123]

If I have the time I will dehydrate my own meals however when I guide, it's all Mountain House...My concern is the high sodium content in those meals.....

 

[Elkslayer67]

Just saw this thread and it is freaking awesome! I am looking at dehydrators now and am going to pull the trigger on the Excalibur.

I have a serious botulism phobia, it took me a long time to eat the food that I pressure can without worrying for several days that I was going to be on a ventilator. If I dehydrate meals and then seal them in vacuum seal bags, is it possible for the food to develop botulism as the environment is oxygen-free?

 

[Jstolte]

What’s the consensus on shelf life and where to store meals (freezer/pantry)?

 

[Apollo117]

What’s the consensus on shelf life and where to store meals (freezer/pantry)?

For shelf life, it depends. Dehydrated grains last longer than dehydrated apples. There isn't one answer.

Now, my mylar bags are all labeled, but if they weren't and I picked one at random I would trust the dehydrated meal in it for up to six months. I trust my grain based (brown rice, couscous, oatmeal, etc.) for longer. Maybe two years even. I consider that playing safe too. YMMV. I highly recommend researching the topic of storing DIY dehydrated meals for long periods. You'll probably come up with different numbers than me.

I picked up a small chest freezer on Craigslist to store all my dehydrated meals. I think a dark, dry pantry is fine, but a freezer seemed better to me.

 

[GunsAreFun]

Has anyone figured how to keep the vacuum bags from getting punctured by the dehydrated foods? Seems to happen every other time.

 

[John pettimore]

I have trouble quoting on here... regarding holes in the bags from vac sealing;

I havent tried it but I saw a Video where the guy lined the inside of his bag with a paper towel before putting the food in. Said it prevented the holes. Of coarse, it is more trash to deal with but I guess having a napkin with dinner wouldn’t be terrible.

 

[canyonhunter47]

Hope I’m not derailing the convo but has anyone tried a “Harvest Right” home freeze dryer? I’m not sure it would 100% pencil out in purely financial terms very soon as they are pretty pricey (starting at over $2k), but you would have complete control over ingredients

 

[Newtosavage]

I don't go hunting in the mountains for a culinary experience. I'm there to hunt. Half the time I forget to eat, so to me, no. MH is more than adequate and I'm on my way...

 

[turley]

I buy prepackaged freeze dried meals like Hawk Vittles, Trail Gormet, or Mary Jane Foods.....will use MH occasionally but find them incredibly high in sodium which I've been trying to minimize.