Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: BWCA Food and Recipes :: Freezer bag meal prep
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walleyevision |
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muddyfeet |
Here is a thread to add your Freezer bag recipes. |
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HammerII |
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butthead |
I went with ziplocks and twist tie bags for many years. Finally bought a sealer and bag supply. After experiments and use the sealer does not get a lot of use anymore. I tend to pack for trips longer than 2 or 3 days by using the NOLS pantry system. Separate ingredients combined at camp to make main courses, just like cooking at home. One time use sealed bags did not work well. I have very good results with "dehydrated ingredients in a ziplock and squeeze the air out", even gone to the point of using a straw to suck out air (poor man's vac-sealer). The Vacuum sealer I have gets regular use yet. More for home than camping ( beer cooler cooking). Backpacking meals for overnite to 3 days, toilet paper, emergency supplies, still get vac-sealed. Storage life depends more on your methods and limits, but I'm comfortable with 6 mounths of ziplock frozen, dried beef/pork sausage stored results. butthead |
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muddyfeet |
quote butthead: "Reusable bags vs sealed bags????????? Yep, our sealer is mostly used for sous vide cooking also. Mmmmm! I disagree on the TP, though. Not sure how you could get better function than TP in a re sealable ziplock. Toss the hand sanitizer right in there with it. |
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butthead |
butthead |
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KevinL |
quote butthead: "TP strictly for small packing, pull core and vacuum seal with ziplock for use. I reserve 1/3 rolls specifically for packing. +1 Full roll. |
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hooky |
quote CityFisher74: "So it appears that these bags are not reusable, is that correct? I have never done freeze dried meals before because I usually go to BWCA for a long weekend, but this year I am doing a full week for the first time ever and am struggling to think of meals on days 4-8." I struggled a little bit to go beyond a few days at first too. Then it kind of dawned on me that I wasn't thinking much beyond tomato sauce and pasta. Just think about what you normally eat, break it down and go from there. An example is beef stroganoff. I'll brown & dehydrate hamburger for the beef part. Then I'll make the sauce per the recipe and hold out the dairy components. Add in instant rice (or cook & dehydrate egg noodles) after the fact with a portion of the dehydrated hamburger and powdered dairy. The key here is that you can't dehydrate fats like oil or sour cream, so you have to find ways to add them in on the trail or just go without. If you include them and try to dehydrate, you run the very real risk of your meal spoiling. Another easy solution is in the 2 weeks before your trip, make extra of whatever meals you're eating and dehydrate the leftovers. Lots of meal ideas in this thread. I personally will do everything I can to avoid a freeze dried meal now that I've gotten fairly adequate at making my own dehydrated meals. Shepherds pie is another easy one. I tried it at home after reading about in the thread I linked to above. Dehydrated hamburger or ground turkey, dehydrated mixed veggies (I like corn, peas, onions and carrots), a pack of instant gravy and a packet of instant cheddar mashed potatoes. Combine the meat and veggies ahead of the trip in a freezer bag. Add water to get them rehydrating. When they're done, pour off any excess water into your mug so you know how much is there. Add the gravy packet to the rehydrated veggies. Use that water in the mug and any additional you need to get the right amount for the gravy packet you've added to the bag. If you've still got water left over, use it in your mashed (which you're making separately in it's own pouch) and put them on top. You can do it all in the freezer bag and eat it out of that or pour it into a pot/bowl and eat it out of that. You'll be thinking about this one day and the light bulb will just go off. At least that was my experience anyway. |
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unshavenman |
You can pick up a vacuum sealer cheap from eBay. |
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KevinL |
One thing if you are going to vacuum seal, make sure to get some paper towel in as the "gravel" from hamburger and noodles can and do puncture the bags. By vacuum sealing, it can also make foods stick together and takes longer to hydrate. Pizza sauce, powdered eggs, and the like. I'm thinking about giving these a try this year. Cook - in - Bags |
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hooky |
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OBX2Kayak |
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OldFingers57 |
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boonie |
quote KevinL: " I'm thinking about giving these a try this year. Cook - in - Bags " I have used them and they are considerably more "robust" than freezer bags - about 5-mil I think. I found the small ones a little small and the medium size better. |
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KevinL |
quote boonie: "quote KevinL: " I'm thinking about giving these a try this year. Cook - in - Bags " Thanks Boonie, I'm going to order some and give them a try. |
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CityFisher74 |
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inspector13 |
quote CityFisher74: "So it appears that these bags are not reusable, is that correct?" Which bags? None will be reusable if you vacuum seal them. If you are considering the ones in the link, they have to say that if they haven’t been tested for multiple use. |