dehydrated hamburger

Posted by: SquareGlobe

dehydrated hamburger - 07/15/08 12:05 PM

Hi,
I dehydrated some hamburger, pasta, and spaghetti sauce for the trail and then ate some of it at home to see how it turned out. It was good, and I'd like to bring some for our trip but I was wondering how long I can keep dehydrated hamburger in my backpack. We will be hiking in August in the Idaho Sawtooth Wilderness and it could get pretty warm during the day. We might be out for 6 or 7 nights on one of the loops we want to do. Thanks. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: SquareGlobe

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 07/17/08 11:26 AM

Well, I looked around on other sites, and it looks like the hamburger should keep okay in the packs. I fully cooked it before dehydrating it. I'm still a little worried about it getting hot in the packs though.. It sure turned out good, I was surprised. I think I'll try chili next. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 07/17/08 12:35 PM

Hopefully Sarbar of Freezer Bag Cooking, our resident expert, will chime in here, but she's probably busy getting ready for her big presentation this Saturday at Trailsfest (if any of you are in the Seattle area this weekend, check the Washington Trails Association website for details).

My own experience is that if you removed all the fat you possibly could, the stuff will keep at room temperature for several weeks. You'll know if it didn't because the fat will become rancid. Long-term storage should be in the freezer. Leave a little bit at room temperature for the next week; if it tastes OK you will be fine.

You are smart to try out everything before you leave home! I didn't for my first trip with home-dehydrated foods (that was many years ago) and had several strange meals. The worst was the chicken casserole with peas--I cooked and cooked it until the chicken and rice were mush, but the peas were still like buckshot, hard enough to break a tooth.
Posted by: SquareGlobe

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 07/17/08 12:58 PM

Thanks OregonMouse,
Good Idea to take it out of the freezer for a week and see how it smells. I followed the instructions on Sarbar's website for dehydrating it. I really need to get her book too. We were all set to go to Yellowstone in a rental car but with gas prices what they are we decided to fly to Boise instead, and my dad offered to let us use his old pickup to drive to the Sawtooth Wilderness to hike. I'm lucky that both of my parents live near great hiking destinations!
Posted by: OregonMouse

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 07/17/08 02:20 PM

I remember; you were first going to go into the Wind Rivers and then decided on Yellowstone. I haven't been to the Sawtooths but always wanted to go there. It helps not to have to pay for a rental car that is sitting in the trailhead parking lot! Have a wonderful trip! I hope you'll file a trip report!

The gas prices are crimping a lot of us. I am doing (Lord willing, have to insert that caveat at my age) two back-to-back one-week trips, one in the N. Colorado Rockies and the other in the Wind Rivers, starting in 2 weeks. At least most of the drive (Portland to Rock Springs, WY) will be two trips for the price of one! Otherwise, nearly all my hiking is now in the Columbia River Gorge, within 20-30 minutes of home. Leadfoot Granny here is also trying hard to become Lightfoot Granny (on the gas pedal) instead!
Posted by: sarbar

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 07/17/08 03:47 PM

Another suggestion for long trips is to use hamburger flavored TVP. Yeah, I know it is TVP <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> but it works well - in small amounts if you are out say for a couple weeks in 90*+ weather.

Now...on the carrying - my buddy HD carries his home dried hamburger and hasn't had any issues, even on extended trips. One thought is if you have access to a food vac, use it. Seal portions (say 1/4 cup per meal for one person) into its own bag. Then, at meal time, cut open and add in to the meal. This keeps the meat fresher (less air contact). This on top of freezer storage till trail time will help.

On the other hand I have seen old trail cookbooks talk about drying the meat and storing in a mason jar on the shelf for 6 months. Kind of like jerky in a way.

Whatever you do get the highest quality meat and as low in fat as you can. This helps a lot. Avoid the mystery $1 a lb hamburger. That is not a place you want to go <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: SquareGlobe

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 07/18/08 08:20 AM

Thanks Sarbar, we used 93% lean hamburger and rinsed it out well with hot water after cooking it. I wish we did have a food vacume sealer but we don't. I'll just have to use freezer bags. I bet it will be okay though. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> We're going to send our dehydrated food and backpacking stove (not the fuel though) UPS to my dad's house so we don't have to carry that stuff on the plane, and I'll check the hamburger for spoilage before we hike.
I hope you have a great trip OregonMouse! I wish we had all of your experience to take with us on our trip, but we'll just have to wing it! I'll definately file a trip report and post some photos when we get back from Idaho. We want to hike the Grand Sawtooth loop if we can hang in there long enough. We've been walking with our packs on every day now. My hubby pulled his Achilles tendon though so he's seeing the doc this morning. I hope it has time to heal before we go.
Posted by: WildChild

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 08/05/08 08:53 PM

It should last 3 to 5 weeks provided it was dried thoroughly. Keep it in the freezer until you are ready to leave and make sure you have as much air out of the bag as possible. Double bag the meat in your pack. Air is the enemy as much as water as air has humidity.
Posted by: Amtrak

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 08/06/08 12:48 AM

For years I've made spaghetti sauce with ground beef, dehydrated it and used on thru-hikes.
I dump the browned grounded beef in boiling water, strain and rinse with hot water and add to tomato based sauce (has soy sauce, salt, garlic etc to help with preservation).
Once I kept some at room temp for 18 months. No problems when I ate it except a lot of the taste was gone.

Amtrak
Posted by: SquareGlobe

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 08/08/08 06:17 AM

Thank you everyone, It sounds like I won't have to worry about it as long as I keep it sealed good. I will double bag it in our packs, thanks WildChild. Not sure how far we'll be able to go now since my hubby pulled his achilles tendon. He says it's starting to feel better but I don't want him to re-injure it. Bummer that this happened so close to our trip date. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Posted by: WildChild

Re: dehydrated hamburger - 08/08/08 12:18 PM

Quote:
Thank you everyone, It sounds like I won't have to worry about it as long as I keep it sealed good. I will double bag it in our packs, thanks WildChild. Not sure how far we'll be able to go now since my hubby pulled his achilles tendon. He says it's starting to feel better but I don't want him to re-injure it. Bummer that this happened so close to our trip date. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />


you're welcome and I really hope he gets better soon... I pulled my Achilles about 10 years ago and it was a bit painful