[EazyW1nd]

Recently I have been interested in dehydrating meats to add to my dry food pre-made meal bags.

I usually only eat meat on the trail or in the woods when it's either
A) A rabbit or turkey I caught
B) When I go to town sometimes I get summer sausage or meat I am going to cook that day (or the next day if there's a river to place it in to keep it good).

So from experience what are the best meats or methods?
Or what are some good recipes for these dried foods?

I've been using the same 5 recipes for a while.

I typically put beans, rice, dried veg, potatoes, and seasonings in little bags and throw them in my JetBoil Flash when I'm ready to eat. Definitely ready to add meat but I've been skeptical and instead used tofu.

 

[Jelsey]

Jerky (dried meat) is ridiculously easy to make/store/transport.

 

[GhostHunter]

The only downside of dehydrated meat we find is the texture. You have to cut it in very small pieces for it to be "right" lol It's great for jerky. Eating as is. If you're wanting to add meat to dehydrated items to reconstitute, freeze dried meat is another alternative.

Fish, rabbit, beef, deer, moose, elk, bear, buffalo...all make great jerky. There's a mixed consensus on dehydrating poultry and pork. We've stayed away from it concerned that the heat wouldn't be enough to kill bacteria or parasites in the meat.

We use the Hi-Mountain seasoning for a lot of our jerky. Comes in a LOT of flavors and really easy to use. There's also some great recipes on www.allrecipes.com.

 

[EazyW1nd]

If you're wanting to add meat to dehydrated items to reconstitute, freeze dried meat is another alternative.

Yes, freeze dried is what Im aiming for.

To be able to have small cuts of meat that I can add to my beans and rice.
I already carry lots of jerky but its not much good for adding to a dish although I have.

How does reconstituted meat taste?

 

[GhostHunter]

the jerky we've reconstituted is ok flavor wise..just texture is a little...chewy. I have never eaten the freeze dried meat as it is a little pricey for a family of five. We use beans, dehydrated eggs, jerky for protein. We also have can our meat for non-refrigerated storage. It's fully cooked. You can eat it out the jar and no heating is required. But certainly can reheat it. As far as I know of, and I could be very wrong on this, you can make your own freeze dried food by putting small pieces of it on a tray in a freezer for several days without any type of wrapping. When the meat defrosts" and doesn't go "bad" then it's ready. It's basically removing all the water from the food. The other method I've read about is layering the food you want to freeze dry in a styrofoam ice chest between layers of dry ice. You put holes in the roof of the ice chest. When all the dry ice has evaporated, your food should be freeze dried. Again... only things I've read about. Haven't tried them. I know there are several places you can order commercially freeze dried foods. And from what I understand from folks who've eaten it, it's not much different than fresh. I can say we did try some prepackacked "survival" chicken fettucine from a well known survival food company...wasn't really impressed. I much rather do my own canning and dehydrating.

 

[Lobo Wolf]

Fish is also very good dried. I dry more and more fish every year.

Lobo