I am trying to find any kind of meats that don't need refrigerated.

I know about the basic stuff like summer sausage, jerky and that, but would like to find some kind of chicken or something like that.

You can find the chicken in a pouch, just like the tuna, and now Jack Links has hamburger in a pouch that does not need refrigeration. You can find them all at your local Wal-Mart.
Bruce

If your Walmart does not have it (seems like only Walmart Supercenters have the bagged meats) and you have a Target Superstore near you, they have the chicken in the bag-have not seen the hamburger there yet though.

Another option is Tuna in a bag and they now have flavored versions. Great lunch with some crackers.

Another thing you might want to try is drying your own ground beef (or other meat, I wouldn't suggest ground pork... too fatty). It takes a little while to rehydrate but add's an extra kick to a meal.

Take lean ground meat and cook in a fry pan while breaking it up into fine crumbs.

When cooked through, drain off any solution (water and fat). You want to remove as much fat as possible because that is what will spoil first. The more moisture you remove here the quicker it is to dry.

Place cooked ground meat even layered on a cookie sheet in the oven at the lowest setting (mine's 200f) make sure you prop the oven door open to allow moisture to escape.

Check after a few hours (depends on fatcontent and how small the crumbs are) When meat is dry, store in ziplocks in freezer till ready to pack.

Hex

I dehydrate my own hamburger for meals-Works great and then you can bring spaghetti with meat sauce, hamburger helper type meals, tacos on tortillas etc. Rehydrating takes some time and talent, but not that tough. Put in water for half an hour or so before you need it and viola-fresh hamburger.

I rinse mine with water after it is cooked and before putting in the dehydrator to get out as much fat and grease as possible. Works great.

I have shopped at a couple of Walmart super stores and found that they have ground beef, chicken, and ham in foil packages that do not need referigeration. Also, most gocery stores now carry precooked bacon which is packaged and on the shelf. I like the pre-packaged beef snack sticks which don't need the fridge either.

Joe

i've noticed that most of the meats discussed were ground meat, i would like to know what you would suggest if someone were to bring steaks in to the BW, would you dehydrate them or just keep them in tightly sealed bags?, any advice would be appreciated. thanks

Hey Cyberia34,

I have had great steaks on our first evening meal menu...they were frozen and thawed during the first day's travel...just right for the fire that night.
DON'T DEHYDRATE THEM!!

This year I will try freezing steak and maybe chicken breasts and vacu-packing them and packing them with 2 gallon ice jugs

Check out the procedure on Boundary Waters Journal Magazine article at.... http://www.boundarywatersjournal.com/ "REAL FOOD FOR THE SOUL" they seem to have the right idea for eating in the bdub... fresh meat with dehydrated food as a last resort.

Woodpecker

I have had steaks in the BWCA but only the first night.

Tried the Jack Links hamburger in the foil pouch last fall. I think it was the Italian style. I guess if you were starving to death it would be wonderful, but we thought it kind of gross and won't buy it again.

The hamburger in a package is much better if you use it in something like hamburger helper... we used it for several meals in the Cheesy Enchilada, and Oriental Rice and it was very good... of course we did used the plain flavor... not the Italian.

Bruce

i finally tried the jack links mexican flavor vaccum packed ground beef. i think that i probably would not do it again as everyone had some serious gastrointestinal side effects. :-) anyway, it wasn't all that bad tasting though.

I've had great luck with vacuum-packed, smoked meats (you know, the little foil and plastic pouches), for example, smoked sausage links. They'll keep up to a week or 10 days. Once the seal on the pack has been opened, you've got to eat them all though (what a shame :^). Also, vacuum-packed Canadian bacon makes a great breakfast treat a few days into the trip, and weighs almost nothing.

You can also rehydrate home-made jerky and add it to stews or grill it and make fajitas. It takes a long time to rehydrate the jerky... normally I put it in a water bottle when we leave in the morning and let it slosh around in the pack all day. When we set up camp, not only is the jerky rehydrated, but you've got broth that can be used in the soup/stew.

i have used the jack links hamburger before, not to bad in sauces and soups. also tried drying hamberger like some of the previous replies. thios how ever caused some of the guys in my group some very nasty gastro problems that they still not let me forget. also cache lake foods in minnesota sells vacuum packed chiken breasts that are very good. you can buy them on line. dont remember the address but im sure if you google cache lake you can find it. they also make some excellent mixes for frying pan breads and soups

Just got back on Saturday.

We packed to following meats in a soft-sided cooler:
Brats & hot dogs (1st night meal)
Pork chops (2nd night meal)
Beef tenderloin - whole (3rd night meal)
Slab bacon - 3 pounds (4th day supper)

Kept cooler in the shade, and always had a wet towel over cooler. I was surprised how well everything kept.

WindLaker