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Date/Time: 03/28/2024 02:29PM
Keeping the food cold

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Previous Messages:
Author Message Text
A1t2o 01/11/2018 03:08PM
I've done the frozen steak before. Best steak I've ever had. Had to let it thaw before tossing on the grate but it was perfect for the first night. I would do it the second night too if I had plans for the first. Wrapping it in newspaper is a great insulator and works for a fire starter too.


Bacon for sure, its cured and intended to last a long time, and that was before there was electricity to refrigerate it. Freeze it and it will be good for near a week.


If you want to bring a cooler, then make it a soft sided cooler for space and weight. Keep the cooler in the food bag and the food bag in a cool spot.


Overall, I've learned that we just need to be practical about how long food will last. Most things will be fine for a day or two, especially if we are cooking them before we eat it. Most of the guidelines about tossing food revolves around the concept of putting it back in the fridge for a couple days and/or not fully cooking it before eating. Like leftovers being left out for 4+ hours then put in the fridge for 2 days and not getting heated enough to kill bacteria before being consumed. In most cases it doesn't matter if you cook it.
Bannock 01/06/2018 09:21PM
I don't take a cooler.
Eggs last for me over a week (store bought).
Foil pack chicken.
Hamburger is easily dehydrated in a household oven. Use and/or foil pack chicken for countless recipes.
Bacon lasts a few days without refrigeration. Longer if you par cook it. Either way, start off with it frozen. I personally don't care for the precooked/microwave stuff.
Cheese lasts along time unrefrigerated. Buy it vacuum sealed. If mold dose form, cut the mold off.
Steaks, frozen solid before you start, lasts a day or two. In fact, if I have it the first night, it is usually still frozen.
Packaged salad mix will be good for you first dinner.
ockycamper 01/06/2018 05:32PM
We bring Polar Bear soft sided backpack coolers. Meats, cheese, and whatever needs to be kept cold is frozen before we leave to drive up and packed solid in the two backpack coolers, arranged with the items to be used first on top. We have had things still be frozen 4 days in if they are on the bottom. We never bring ice, just freeze everything and pack tight in the Polar coolers.


WE also go in mid to late September. That helps a lot.
schweady 01/06/2018 11:55AM
Details on our no-name soft-sided cooler are near the end of
this thread from a few years back
WHendrix 01/05/2018 06:42PM
Go now.
Thwarted 01/05/2018 04:42PM
I do a combination of cold/dried. I dry my own ingredients. Ex.. Sausage, sauce, mushrooms, black olives for pizza night. I usually bring cold with a frozen gallon of Arnold Palmer that we drink on the third day. Always a hit! Asparagas, zucchini, cole slaw travel well for veggies. Muscle meats like steak, pork loin travel well. We bring small cheese blocks (Kraft) and store in zip-locks after opening. I have kept US eggs for a week with no problem and precook my own bacon. Nobody sick yet.
ozarkpaddler 01/05/2018 11:34AM
I used to never bring a cooler, but I now take a small soft AO Cooler. It will keep food cool for up to 3-4 days. I freeze first night stuff and throw a couple frozen drinks in there for my ice. It keeps the cheese cool a few more days and the sausage. But I get sausage that is low fat content from a butcher shop and use harder cheeses that we pick up in Wisconsin.

The pre-fried bacon is great stuff. MUCH better than the old Danish canned bacon in the '70's and '80's. It may be better now but back then.....
HoosierPaddler 01/05/2018 10:34AM
Ghee (clarified butter) doesn’t need to be kept cold - I use Ancient Organics. Powdered eggs work great in omelettes & in other made-ahead-of-time powdered fry mixes (corn bread, fried brownies, etc.) - I use Hoosier Hill Farm whole powdered eggs. I dehydrate most all my meats (fry first, drain off fat, rinse w/hot water, then drain again, then dehydrate over paper towel to absorb more fats - meant for short term storage only in vacuum sealed bags, freeze until you leave for trip) ...crumbled hamburger & sausage, diced smoked sausage, sliced fajita meat. Buy prefried bacon; and pepperoni doesn’t need to be kept cold - just need to use it all once pkg. is opened. You can also buy powdered cheese; and I have dehydrated my own shredded cheese (put paper towel beneath to absorb moisture; & a fresh paper towel inside vacuum sealed bag as well after dehydrated - again short term storage). Powdered milk works great made-ahead-of-time mixed with Bisquick (biscuits on a stick) and with the corn bread mix aforementioned. My husband & I forego the pleasures of eating fresh steak/chops and opt for light weight, as we usually go on canoe-camp expeditions lasting several days over several miles and several portage’s...and HOPE to catch a lot of fresh fish.
shock 08/21/2017 12:39PM
my groups are always willing to pack a little heavier to eat good. i've been bringing in this 16quart tag along cooler with straps and locking lid for years , fits nicely up front or in the back of a canoe or under a seat , pack all the frozen meat at the bottom of the cooler and it stays cold for many days and the straps make it easy on portages. many of these listed on ebay.
mapsguy1955 08/21/2017 10:36AM
You didn't mention whether you are going into Quetico or the BWCA... If Canada, just buy eggs and they are fine without refrigeration.
PointMe2Polaris 08/20/2017 03:10PM
One little trick I like to do is freeze quart sized bags of precooked chili and also chicken alfreda pasta sauce. I precook the chili and the pasta sauce at home and then bag them into zip locks. two servings per bag. I then vacuum seal the bags before freezing them. When we leave on the trip, I put them in a soft side cooler and then bury the cooler in the middle of the backpack to create more insulation for the cold. The first two nights in, we have chili and then chicken alfredo pasta (of course you bring noodles to boil as well). The best part about the 2 serving bags is you just boil the bags in hot water to heat up the sauce and you make "0" mess. Very slick. We have also froze steaks in place of one of these choices as well and eat those the first night. Hopefully the 3rd or 4th night, we are catching fish to eat.


One more off the topic tip: bring pancake batter to cook fish with. Worst case scenario is if you don't catch fish, you can still have pancakes.


Darin
OldFingers57 08/19/2017 02:16PM
quote Jaywalker: "quote DeanL: " I cut some rings out of pink Styrofoam insulation and glued them in my 30l barrel. I get a chunk of dry ice just before we leave and have had great results. I usually use about 1 lb a day when we go in June.




Spaghetti and tacos are 2 of our favorite meals. It works great to brown and season the burger at home. We then put it in a vacuum bag and freeze it. We've never had a problem with the burger thawing out until the 5th or 6th day."

I don't typically bring any type of foods that need to keep cold beyond a night 1 steak, but I have to say I am very impressed by this clever display of craftsmanship!
"



Someone on here had plans on how to cut a sheet of reflectex to insulate the sides of the barrel
OldFingers57 08/19/2017 02:16PM
quote Jaywalker: "quote DeanL: " I cut some rings out of pink Styrofoam insulation and glued them in my 30l barrel. I get a chunk of dry ice just before we leave and have had great results. I usually use about 1 lb a day when we go in June.




Spaghetti and tacos are 2 of our favorite meals. It works great to brown and season the burger at home. We then put it in a vacuum bag and freeze it. We've never had a problem with the burger thawing out until the 5th or 6th day."

I don't typically bring any type of foods that need to keep cold beyond a night 1 steak, but I have to say I am very impressed by this clever display of craftsmanship!
"



Someone on here had plans on how to cut a sheet of reflectex to insulate the sides of the barrel
Jaywalker 08/19/2017 08:41AM
quote DeanL: " I cut some rings out of pink Styrofoam insulation and glued them in my 30l barrel. I get a chunk of dry ice just before we leave and have had great results. I usually use about 1 lb a day when we go in June.



Spaghetti and tacos are 2 of our favorite meals. It works great to brown and season the burger at home. We then put it in a vacuum bag and freeze it. We've never had a problem with the burger thawing out until the 5th or 6th day."

I don't typically bring any type of foods that need to keep cold beyond a night 1 steak, but I have to say I am very impressed by this clever display of craftsmanship!
TominMpls 08/18/2017 09:00AM
quote IceColdGold: "
- Eggs - farm fresh and unwashed are best because they have a natural sealer, but even store bought are safe for several days. I also just heard you can buy a sealer to seal them like the natural unwashed eggs"



I want to second this point. In the US we have to refrigerate eggs because the natural protective oils are intentionally washed off. This removes any salmonella that may be on the outside of the egg, but it also removes the natural protective coating from the egg, which is then the reason we have to refrigerate eggs.


If you get fresh unwashed eggs from a farm (or anybody who has them) then you absolutely do not need to refrigerate them - in Europe they leave eggs unwashed, and they can sit out unrefrigerated for weeks. Just remember that there may be salmonella on the outside of the shell, and behave accordingly.


Grocery store eggs are a risk as soon as they're unrefrigerated, but as long as you keep them separate and clean they should be okay for a few days. I used to take grocery store eggs in and figured I had about three days to use them without worrying much, but if I still had any after that I'd just be sure to cook them thoroughly (which isn't my preference).


Once I discovered Ova Easy I decided I'd stop wasting space and effort on fresh eggs - while I prefer my eggs over easy, I'm perfectly fine living with scrambled eggs in the woods for the massive space savings.
mirth 08/17/2017 04:36PM
quote Greeny10: "Last time we went we just had pasta sides and snacks. This time we'd like to plan meals and eat a little better. We'd things like cheese, meats and eggs. For those of you who eat well in the wilderness, how do you do it? Bring a cooler with dry ice? What equipment or planning needs to go in?
"



You can go to the effort of an insulated pack with frozen gallons of water or dry ice to provide a lasting cool. Lots of threads here on that... One important factor is to limit the volume of space that requires cooling..... make a lid or cozie or whatever out of reflectix or pink/blue core foam insulation to put above your cold stuff. Minimize opening it as the air exchange is what's going to drastically shorten your usable life.


I've only brought a cooler once, this summer, when I took the wife & kids base camping. Previous trips with friends or the Boy Scouts involved frozen first night's steaks that were thawed but still cold by the time we hit camp. We also had summer sausage for later in the week, dehydrated precooked taco meat, pepperoni, individually wrapped string cheese sticks, shredded cheese, lettuce and eggs.
All of these items do not require refrigeration for a week in August, even the cheese. Keep your food pack or container out of direct sunlight as much as possible. A cardboard carton of eggs can be duct taped to the bottom of your seat for traveling. They'll stay perfectly safe there. The lettuce was a romaine variety which I prewashed the leaves & packed them dampened in a ziploc w/paper towels to help regulate the moisture. Even the shredded cheese held up ok until the 5th night when we made pizzas.
Cheeses tend to get oily, the shredded kinda clumped together but we managed to separate it. String cheese will get a little 'moist' and maybe taste a little sharp after its been out of the fridge close to a week, but still edible.
OldFingers57 08/17/2017 02:18PM
quote boonie: "I don't take food that needs refrigerated, but some people do. The food itself will be heavy and the ice to keep it cool. You certainly do not want to try carrying a cooler over long difficult portages. I believe you can buy (don't know about renting) insulated food packs."


Piragis has the insulated food packs for rent. In fact I have thought about buying one of their used ones as they are in great shape. They use CCS ones.
boonie 08/17/2017 12:53PM
I don't take food that needs refrigerated, but some people do. The food itself will be heavy and the ice to keep it cool. You certainly do not want to try carrying a cooler over long difficult portages. I believe you can buy (don't know about renting) insulated food packs.
IceColdGold 08/17/2017 12:39PM
We do not bring a cooler.


For protein:
- Precooked bacon
- Summer sausage - 1 lb stick shrink wrapped which is safe for up to six or so days (ask your local butcher), or dehydrated
- Eggs - farm fresh and unwashed are best because they have a natural sealer, but even store bought are safe for several days. I also just heard you can buy a sealer to seal them like the natural unwashed eggs
- as mentioned, foil wrapped tuna, ...


Cheese: It will get soft and oily, but will not spoil. I bring individual shrink wrapped string cheese, shrink wrapped small block (open it and eat the whole block for one meal), or wrap the block in cheese cloth. Cheese cloth is how they used to store cheese in the old days. It will absorb any oil, and keep the cheese dry


Condiments: Mayo, ketchup, mustard, tater sauce do not need to be refrigerated. They all have enough acid in them. Otherwise just go to the local fast food restaurant and they will give you some packets if you ask.
pswith5 08/16/2017 10:27PM
I almost always have steak the first night. Frozen solid when I shove off (in good sealed bag) good to go at dinner time. Eggs the first morning. If you get fresh farm eggs you don't have to worry about refrigeration. Precooked bacon. Num.! Then if I remember to get a quality cheese that is a slightly dryer cheese that should keep until lunch that second day. Again well sealed. Maybe a nice cryovaced cheese. After lunch I move on to my less perishable choices. Those foil containers of tuna are good. The old stand by Mac-n-cheese. Usually have some home made jerkey for protein. Let's just say I don't go hungry. Good luck
Good food 08/16/2017 09:14PM
+1
SouthernExposure 08/16/2017 08:08PM
I use a dehydrator to prepare fresh fruits, vegetables and some meats like ground beef to use in the meals that I plan. I also use foil packed chicken and tuna for meats. I have used the plastic fresh egg case with great results. On the first night in, we usually have steaks which have been deep frozen and wrapped in several layers of newspaper and foam insulation. By the time we make camp, they are thawed and still cold. We hope for a few meals of fish, but carry freeze dried meals in case that doesn't work out. Check out the Camping Recipe section on here for some great meal ideas.


Good luck.
DeanL 08/16/2017 08:02PM
I cut some rings out of pink Styrofoam insulation and glued them in my 30l barrel. I get a chunk of dry ice just before we leave and have had great results. I usually use about 1 lb a day when we go in June.


Spaghetti and tacos are 2 of our favorite meals. It works great to brown and season the burger at home. We then put it in a vacuum bag and freeze it. We've never had a problem with the burger thawing out until the 5th or 6th day.
Greeny10 08/16/2017 06:50PM
Last time we went we just had pasta sides and snacks. This time we'd like to plan meals and eat a little better. We'd things like cheese, meats and eggs. For those of you who eat well in the wilderness, how do you do it? Bring a cooler with dry ice? What equipment or planning needs to go in?