Anyone who is packing into the backcountry, whether on horseback or under a backpack, appreciates quick meals that are quick, compact and light. Not only are you cutting down on weight and bulk, but it increases the amount of time you can spend looking for game, hiking, riding or fishing. The commercial freeze dried foods available through outdoor retailers has certainly fit the bill for many people. For those of us who like to “do-it-ourselves” there is a home version….The Dehydrator!

No longer is it resigned to solely jerky, and fruit. Now with the help of the folks at www.freezerbagcooking.com, we can create unique meals ourselves without shelling out big bucks for prepackaged portions. Important for those of us taking kids out (man they eat a lot!).

The heart of many of these DIY meals is in our pantries and freezers as we speak…Lean Hamburger, and Pasta.

I found the methods below at http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/dehydrating.htm

Pasta:

Dry at 135* for 8-12 hours till brittle hard. Smaller types of pasta dry fastest and recook in bags at a faster rate. Rehydration is equal amounts of water to pasta. As a tip, under cook your pasta by one to two minutes, as it will finish cooking while being rehydrated. In camp use boiling water, and let sit in a cozy for 5-15 minutes.

Hamburger Dehydrating

Dry at 155*

This is a very easy one to do. Buy the leanest hamburger you can get. Cook it 100% done, breaking it up as much as you can , you want it tiny. When done, pour off as much grease as you can. Then rinse the meat in a strainer with hot water. Drain well, blotting with paper towels.
At this point put it on your dehydrator and dry till rock hard. Figure 3-6 hours. Stir every 30 minutes or so.

You want to make sure there is no moisture left. Store in freezer bags. Store this in your freezer till you go backpacking. In camp add equal amounts of boiling water (or cover) and let sit 10 minutes or so, then add to your meals. You can also add the meat directly to your meal-adding the water for the meat at that time. How much will you need? Figure 8 ounces of hamburger per meal before you dehydrate is a good start. This will be around 1/2 cup dried. That will work well for two people, for one person, 1/4 cup is a good amount of dried hamburger.

Next time we will get some recipes from a hard-core backpacking bowhunter using our new found dehydrating skills.