Never been a fan of imitation crab meat but this makes me want to try trail crab cakes.Originally Posted by Wheezy
I don't normally eat it either, but tastes great after 14-15 miles!
I've had bad results with real crab, horrible smell & taste so I'd look to make sure the imitation crab is all imitation and not a mix including real crab.
Check out Trail Chef! I've got the app and the book! So much to choose from. As for the dehydration station. Got mine at Walmart and it's perfect. Think I spent $70 on it. If you get one of your own, get a dehydrator that has a digital temperature gauge and a timer! It will make life easier.
Best scenario for two weeks is 28 lbs. of food. For me, even if pinching, it would be more like 32lbs. On my more indulgent trips I do more like 2.5 lbs. a day. Admittedly, I am a former four star chef and seriously into food, but the point is still valid.
That is one pile of weight, plus equipment, plus water. I would think about resupply mid-trip. If there is a decent grocery store, get the dried, sealed Italian sausages like D'Abruzzi and the like. For the first few days, regular hard salami is good. Let's face it though, all these choices are mostly fat calories. If you are only eating meat four times on the trip, how about just getting packets of freeze dried chicken or beef?
I have done jerky in the past, but plan this winter to seriously get into my food dehydrator.
Try a site called: http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-food.html
The food they make sure looks good, I am anxious to try drying chili.
Oh...how about textured vegetable protein?
Let me know if you need a hiking partner. Lol!!!
Any time and I'll bring the food. Your job will be to keep me walking.
I remember a period in my life when I stopped as early as 4 p.m. to indulge a desire for multi-course gustation. For what it is worth, I now tend to one pot meals with a hot drink.
Am I getting wiser or just older?
An old early 19th century thing aboard ships was to oil the outside of the raw egg. It greatly extended the life of the egg, generally weeks or more. I presume that you could do the same thing with HB eggs, could you not? It seems logical: reduce the oxygen permeability of the shell to reduce oxidation.
I'd say you're getting efficient.
You can carry eggs for days without any issue, even longer if they are fresh and not store bought.
In temps below 80* eggs have a shelf life of weeks without any treatment, as long as they aren't washed. Washing the shell removes the bloom, a natural protectant laid down as the egg is laid. Eggs from the store have been washed, so you are forced to refrigerate them or they will go bad. We keep chickens and the fresh eggs can be lightly rinsed (not scrubbed) and left out for weeks with no ill effect, although we do rinse and refrigerate them. Pioneer families would keep a bowl of eggs on the table for daily use and often the eggs near the bottom would go a LONG time before they were finally used.
“He is richest who is content with the least, for content is the wealth of nature.” –Socrates
This guy has some really good looking homemade backpacking food: https://www.youtube.com/user/MrBabelfish5/videos
"I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list." - S. Sontag
I have made most of his meals:
BBQ Spaghetti, Chili-Mac, Red Beans and Rice, Ghoulash, and Creamy Stroganoff are top notch delicious!
I wasn't a fan of the Chicken and Rice with Vegetables or the Aztec Chicken Stew
I have good luck dehydrating/re-hydrating the following meats:
Ground beef, chicken, turkey and imitation crab.
Started by using my oven on lowest baking temp and propping the door open with a wooden spoon. Used the meat to supplement other freeze dried meals and ramen noodles. Eventually I purchased a cheap dehydrator from Bass Pro Shop. Now I'm dehydrating whole meals (spaghetti, jambalaya, chili, shepherds pie...) and vacuum sealing for long term storage. Its fun, I'm saving money over freeze dried meals, I think it tastes better than Mountain House and I always have meals on hand for short notice trips.
Tried dehydrating scrambled eggs with polenta/grits (all good days begin with eggs). The polenta is suppose to help them re-hydrate. I did not care for the results and now leave eggs to the commercial freeze drying experts.
I have read of people using a Thermos jar (they used to make a fairly light all plastic one that held like 12 oz.). They put the food in followed by boiling water and the food is either cooked or nearly so by lunch time. I have looked around and cannot find a insulated container that is not absurdly heavy.
"I know I can get the nutritional value of meat elsewhere but I like the taste."
Do you know where the "taste" in meats comes from? Research it. It can put your "taste" into a different perspective.
Every eat Kosher meats? Very different "taste", some say very bland tasting, because the blood isn't left in abundance in the meat. Now research what's commonly found in the blood that gives it "taste."
Never had Kosher meat. Interesting... never thought about it that way. Will look it up.
Thank you. I feel better.
What's the texture like of dehydrated imitation crab meat which is primarily pollock that I have on off occasion with the version I buy that has only four ingredients with pollock by the far as the main ingredient.
Dave and I hiked John Muir Trail in 2014. We were little hesitant to rely on Mountain House and them alike to cater to our dietary needs for a variety of reasons and decided to experiment with dehydrating our own meals. We loved it. When it comes to meat, the most hassle was dehydrating ground beef as the meat has to be cooked and rinsed before dehydrating to ensure the oil is washed away; otherwise, the meat could spoil. Rehydrating was not a problem. Poured hot water in the package and let it sit for 15 - 20 minutes.
Ground turkey is also a possibility, it's leaner than beef so you do not need to rinse as carefully as beef after it gets cooked, but it did not rehydrate as well and remained little crunchy.
Canned or pouched chicken, on the other hand, was very easy to prepare, just opened the package, spread its content on dehydrator's tray and let it do its job. It was also easy to portion. One can or pouch fit on one tray and that's what we used for one final serving. It rehydrated very well on the trail.
Hard sausage or salami is also a good source of protein. It has a good shelve life and you can add it to many meals, including pasta, mashed potatoes, and soups.
For your first day out of town, you can get fresh sausages. We cooked ours on fire and it was delicious. They are too heavy and on hot summer days could spoil easily if carried longer but the taste of real meat is worth it.
Hope this helps.
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