[phaack]

im gonna be going out for a 3 day trip in the woods and have been thinking of backpacking food. gravy is a compact and lightweight food. you can eat it by its self and you can catch wild game and use it. just a thought i had and wanted to pass it on.

 

[W.Lynn]

Are you meaning those little packets of instant? They are nicely portable, but you still need some water. Some instant rice or something to have it with is also a good idea.

I'll just keep eating food I cook, nothing funny in it that I can't pronounce or spell.

 

[92bluexj]

I just bought the three day two person supply of mountain house food for our 3 day 30 mile backpacking trip i'll do here in a few weeks. I'll also bring some other food as well. I've never heard about gravy being a bait for animals. Ever used it like that?

 

[phaack]

never thought of using it as bait. my thought was using it as a condoment for wild game. i havnt looked at many gravy mixes yet but im want to find one that is thicky and creamy but only need water to make. i plan on using it with other food or by itself

 

[bltjr1951]

Don't forget the mashed potatoes.
Four cheese one is excellent by itself.

 

[azb]

I got a cheapo dehydrator ($40) and simply dehydrate leftovers from our normal dinners. After dehydration, I seal them in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer. In this state, they will last many years, and when taken out of the freezer, will be good up to a year. So I've got easy to prepare meals for emergencies, and if I go backpacking, I just take what I need out of the freezer and into the food bag. Cheap, light, nutritious, and no problems with storage. The complete meals even cook up in the freezer bag by adding the boiling water and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. You get the portion size you need with no waste, and if you eat right out of the bag, no pots to clean up. You can even toss the bags in the dishwasher when you get home and use them again. (Ziplock brand freezer bags have no BPA in them, so they are preferred for cooking. Cheaper bags may leach BPA into the food)

The only things I've tried that don't dehydrate well is fish and chicken. But you can always use those foil pouches of tuna or chicken meat and add to your freezer bag meal. Ground beef does reasonably well, get it as lean as you can and drain all the fat that you can. Larger chunks of beef don't work as well, use jerky instead. Instant or quick rice cooks very similarly to dehydrated food, just add boiling water to the bag and give it 10-15 minutes. For dishes with rice, I like to keep the rice in a seperate bag and give it a couple extra minutes to cook. Then add it to the main dish when both are done. Pasta is very similar to rice. No need to boil for 10 minutes and waste fuel, just let it sit in boiling water for about the same amount of time, or maybe a couple extra minutes. Works great.

Az

 

[bltjr1951]

Here's the site for single serve packets:
http://www.idahoan.com/idahoan_new_products_2009

Mmmm good!

 

[corndogggy]

you can catch wild game and use it.

Take a picture if you do this. Everybody seems to talk about catching wild game while backpacking... nobody seems to do it. Seems to be a macho fantasy of sorts. Just pack some easily cookable meals like everybody else.

 

[MikeK]

Take a picture if you do this. Everybody seems to talk about catching wild game while backpacking... nobody seems to do it. Seems to be a macho fantasy of sorts. Just pack some easily cookable meals like everybody else.

Or one of those "I'll do it when I need to" type things, like storing seeds but not knowing how to garden. Bad news for those folks. Things like that take practice and experience. If they're going to count on it "when they need to", they are probably not long for this world.