High Sierra Topix

I started out making gravel for my burritos and still use it for that. I have even rolled it up in a tortilla with mustard and ketchup for kind of a back country burger. It can be a little chewy because of some small pieces of gristle depending on the grind.

longri wrote:How about fish? Does anyone have success rehydrating dried fish or seafood?

I dehydrated some shrimp with okay results. I'm going to play around some more with it. Rehydrated, it was a bit chewy, but that may be because the meal needed a little more water.

I bought a bag of cooked, medium shrimp from Costco. Thawed some, then cut them into 4 pieces each. Dehydrated 6 hours @140. Check for doneness by cutting a piece to make sure there was no moisture.

Cajun Rice with shrimp and beans. (I stole this from MountainHouse)
2/3 cup Minute Rice
1/4 cup dried shrimp
1/4 cup Costco bacon bits
1/4 cup dried black beans
1T dried bell peppers
1T dried celery
2t dried onion
1/2 t garlic powder
1T Cajun spice
1T tomato powder
2T olive oil

Put everything but the oil in a quart freezer bag. Add 14 ounces boiling water. Seal and put in cozy for 15 minutes. Add oil and stir. If more heat needed, Tobasco works well!

robow8 wrote:

longri wrote:How about fish? Does anyone have success rehydrating dried fish or seafood?

I dehydrated some shrimp with okay results. I'm going to play around some more with it. Rehydrated, it was a bit chewy, but that may be because the meal needed a little more water.

Thanks. I'd forgotten about shrimp. I've had the same result as you. The amount of water and time doesn't seem to matter but the pieces are small enough that the chewiness isn't too off putting in some contexts. I usually include them in a wild rice meal I dehydrate. Since the wild rice is supposed to be chewy the shrimp texture isn't that distracting. That meal is a lot better with fresh shrimp.

What I'd really love is to be able to rehydrate salmon. I have a big bag of really good salmon I broke into tiny pieces and dehydrated that tastes wonderful straight out of the bag. But it will not rehydrate into anything beyond soggy jerky bits.

fishmonger wrote:Wow , thanks for all the feedback. Didn't expect that much response.

Zip lock bags it is then. I will probably still vacuum seal those meals that go into resupply buckets we need to send out weeks in advance, but then we can repack at the time we pick up.

I will have to try some of the bark recipes I found online, especially the pumpkin pie bark, which sounds like a yummie snack
http://www.backpackingchef.com/pumpkin-pie-bark.html

lots of great ideas on that web site, although some of it looks a little too complicated to assemble. I like one-bag meals

I'm really not sure what the point of ziplock bags is. I bring a titanium pot big enough to cook my meal if solo or to cook 2 portions if I'm with a partner. Maybe the pot weighs an extra oz since its slightly bigger. This way I can add things in two stages if necessary.

Downsides of a bag:
- possibility of chemicals leeching
- hard to scoop out all of the food. Messy on your hands, and wet food inside bag means carrying it out.
- chance of bag breaking while cooking/eating
- bag is hot to touch

I dehydrate all veggie components of meals, but buy bulk freeze dried chicken or beef online. Dehydrated meat = jerkey. It won't rehydrate well.

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The point of zip lock bags is: put the food into them for transport. I don't cook in them. Re-read the post, it is all about storage and transport, not cooking. I have never cooked anything in a zip lock bag. Ick.

You guys don't know what you are missing:

http://www.trailcooking.com/trail-cooki ... oking-101/

fishmonger wrote:The point of zip lock bags is: put the food into them for transport. I don't cook in them. Re-read the post, it is all about storage and transport, not cooking. I have never cooked anything in a zip lock bag. Ick.

Yes, but many many people suggested cooking in the bag in post after post. I was responding to the thread, not only your original question.

As far as storage and transport, what else would you put dehydrated meals in other than a ziplock bag? Why would that be a food safety concern?

I don't cook in them. I pour hot water in and rehydrate the food, and eat out of them. And then I don't have to do dishes in the wilderness, spreading bits of food around for the little critters to find.

To each his own. We all have our ICK factor.

Asolthane wrote:

fishmonger wrote:The point of zip lock bags is: put the food into them for transport. I don't cook in them. Re-read the post, it is all about storage and transport, not cooking. I have never cooked anything in a zip lock bag. Ick.

Yes, but many many people suggested cooking in the bag in post after post. I was responding to the thread, not only your original question.

As far as storage and transport, what else would you put dehydrated meals in other than a ziplock bag? Why would that be a food safety concern?

I usually pack my food in vacum sealed bags to make them last longer. I am cooking and drying right now for two trips this year. Food has to last at least through mid October. I will repack at pickup time into zip locks, as they are better for stuffing bear cans, but they don't seal out oxygen or moisture as well.

I also insist on a minimal amount of culture in the mountains, and that is to eat out of a solid vessel with a proper titanium spork

fishmonger wrote:

Asolthane wrote:

fishmonger wrote:The point of zip lock bags is: put the food into them for transport. I don't cook in them. Re-read the post, it is all about storage and transport, not cooking. I have never cooked anything in a zip lock bag. Ick.

Yes, but many many people suggested cooking in the bag in post after post. I was responding to the thread, not only your original question.

As far as storage and transport, what else would you put dehydrated meals in other than a ziplock bag? Why would that be a food safety concern?

I usually pack my food in vacum sealed bags to make them last longer. I am cooking and drying right now for two trips this year. Food has to last at least through mid October. I will repack at pickup time into zip locks, as they are better for stuffing bear cans, but they don't seal out oxygen or moisture as well.

I also insist on a minimal amount of culture in the mountains, and that is to eat out of a solid vessel with a proper titanium spork

Ah. I have mine in the freezer.

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