Freeze Dryed Meal Ideas

[Kansas Hunter]

I have a harvest right freeze dryer and make my own back country meals. Chili, spaghetti, stroganoff, fettuccine, and chili Mac. Oh and B&G. Looking for other options as well as snack options made in the freeze dryer.

 

[Gone4Days]

Biscuits and gravy for breakfast, pad thai, chicken and rice…..

 

[Harvey_NW]

Buffalo chicken mac & cheese, yakisoba or stir fry, cajun chicken parmesan alfredo, broccoli chicken parm alfredo.

 

[Kansas Hunter]

Those all sound delicious will give them a try. Thanks

 

[bard]

I would be making some bbq ribs, steaks and bbq chicken. sweet and sour meatballs. Loaded mashed potatoes. Full turkey dinner with stuffing. mmmm the possibilities are endless. I need to get one of these things.

 

[Dirtscoots]

on a week long back country hunt what are you craving when you get out the woods? I’d start there! I want to do legit burger patties. Tacos have been a staple for us. I freeze dry home made salsa , guacamole, beans, then steak or ground beef. Also cheese, sour cream every that sounds good wrapped in a shell!

 

[strousek]

I would be making some bbq ribs, steaks and bbq chicken. sweet and sour meatballs. Loaded mashed potatoes. Full turkey dinner with stuffing. mmmm the possibilities are endless. I need to get one of these things.

Possibilities are vast but not endless. Freeze drying removes all the moisture from the food but not any oil or fat. Any food with decent amounts of fat will spoil quickly after freeze drying. So unfortunately items like ribs and meatballs are not easy. Also sugar is very hard to control in the freeze drying process. BBQ sauces are not impossible but they are tough with the large amounts of sugar.


Jambalaya and Calabacitas are great on a cool night in the back country.

Hands down best is making yogurt parfaits. Freeze dry your favorite greek yogurt and fruits. Add them to the package with store bought granola. Come up with your own ratio. You can eat them cold or hot for any meal.

Another great meal is freeze dried banana (powdered), PBFit peanut butter powder, chocolate protein powder, powdered milk. Package these dry and mix in Nalgene with water. This will fill you up all day!

 

[Gone4Days]

I made this (without the oil & butter) and it was delicious. Freeze dried really well. I have a 5 tray medium and I needed to make this 3x to fill up my trays.

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice (VIDEO)

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is creamy and cheesy with tender chicken. You'll love our secret ingredient! Watch the easy Chicken and Rice Instant Pot video.

natashaskitchen.com

 

[PFERN]

Are the freeze dryers loud and would recommend the specifc brand you have or a different one?

 

[Dirtscoots]

Mine is a harvest right. It isn’t terribly loud but I wouldn’t want it anyways near my bedroom. Mine is in my shop and doesn’t bother me when it’s running. It’s just a consistent noise about like having the dish washer run for 20 hours.

 

[StinkyPete]

Keeping this thread going. I’ve had great luck with this recipe:

Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros) - Tastes Better from Scratch

The BEST Mexican Charro Beans you can make using dried or canned pinto beans, with cooking adaptations for the stove, Instant Pot, or slow cooker!

tastesbetterfromscratch.com

I could eat that recipe on every cold night of a hunt.

 

[Dirtscoots]

Keeping this thread going. I’ve had great luck with this recipe:

Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros) - Tastes Better from Scratch

The BEST Mexican Charro Beans you can make using dried or canned pinto beans, with cooking adaptations for the stove, Instant Pot, or slow cooker!

tastesbetterfromscratch.com

I could eat that recipe on every cold night of a hunt.

You have good luck freeze drying with bacon and chorizo?

 

[jables]

adding several of these to the plan!

 

[StinkyPete]

You have good luck freeze drying with bacon and chorizo?

Never had any issues, and I have certainly done fattier stuff. Also, the bacon is diced pretty fine, and the chorizo is scrambled up in there.

With that said, I am a little obsessive about weighing everything, which I think helps. I weigh it all to the gram before the food goes in for a staring weight/to calculate rehydration later, then weigh it all again once the freeze dryer says it's done. Next, I put the food immediately back in the freeze dryer for three additional hours of drying. After that, I weigh the food again. I keep repeating the 3 hour additional dry/weigh everything until the total weight doesn't change. I don't screw around with doing it by feel or by moisture meters. Between doing that and knocking out the air in the mylar bags with what are likely oversized 02 absorbers, I haven't had any issues.

Though he's not the most exciting to watch, this Youtube channel has some great information. He has an episode where he talks about freeze drying higher fat foods: https://www.youtube.com/@SchoolReports

 

[Dirtscoots]

Great info! Thank you!!! I just did bacon figuring for this hunt it will be fine. Weighing it then back in the dryer is a great idea!

 

[StinkyPete]

Great info! Thank you!!! I just did bacon figuring for this hunt it will be fine. Weighing it then back in the dryer is a great idea!

Good luck. The freeze dryer has been one of those things I felt like I was crazy for buying, but once I started using it regularly, it’s become something I’m not sure how I went without.

We use ours for meals for road trips so we don’t have to stop for lunch, dinners for kids where they all want different stuff, we make candy stuff like milk duds and ice cream for school bake sales, make camping food, use it to clear space in the freezer, etc etc.

Paired with one of the 28 oz hydro flask food containers, you can just empty a freeze meal in the hydro flask when you leave early in the am to go hunt, then either add hot water at home when you make coffee or grab some from a gas station, and then you have a hot meal ready to go whenever you feel like eating later on. It’s been glorious.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

I’d do a spicy rice and sausage. Think Cajun based.

I just ordered a couple meals from a chef in Georgia. They are seafood based with a couple spicy enchilada dishes.

https://mamooscampkitchen.com/

I don’t have the slightest idea if they are good. But, if I had a freeze drier I could make them good. So, I assuming a chef is upto it. But, more than anything, I bought the idea they were good. Maybe his style will inspire something.

 

[SPE]

fajitas seem like they would be fun to freeze dry. Cook, separate, then add back with water later on a skillet

 

[6xSquatch]

use the hell outta our HR! Basically make a 2x or 3x dinner portion 1-2 nights of the week when the HR is free.

One thing I haven’t seen is pizza!

Papa Murphy’s delite (thin crust) cut into smaller squares or just break up regular slices once dried. So dang good as is, it reconstituted.

 

[bpurtz]

I have a harvest right freeze dryer and make my own back country meals. Chili, spaghetti, stroganoff, fettuccine, and chili Mac. Oh and B&G. Looking for other options as well as snack options made in the freeze dryer.

Stew, Chowder (my favorite is Salmon, clam, crab with bacon), Breakfast Skillet would all be good meals to consider. So far, I haven't found any meal that has been a problem with freeze drying. I did a big batch of pulled pork barbacoa (lot of fat) that is delicious - I packed some corn tortilla, salsa, and freeze dried guacamole - I think some of the street taco carts would be jealous of my meal!

For breakfast, I'm a big fan of granola, berries, and yogurt - I freeze dry all of the ingredients separately then blend them together along with a couple tablespoons of powdered milk.

Don't forget desert - freeze dry your favorite cookie recipe and add a couple tablespoons of powdered milk - add a quarter cup of water to the packet and you have crunchy cookies and cream...