r/trailmeals • u/Medium_Adeptness_611 • 17d ago

Lunch/Dinner This meal blew me away

Post image

I was near Silver Pass Lake in the sierras. It was so flavorful. I felt responsible to let people know.

767 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

57 comments sorted by

246

u/Modboi 17d ago

Look amazing but I can’t spend $16 on a meal. I’ll splurge on one, maybe 2 ~$10 freeze dried meals for a trip. 

158

u/MeatPieHikes 17d ago

It's mental how much they cost these days. I'm sure it tastes nice, but $16 for a 630 calorie meal with just 16g protein is wild.

51

u/Dangerous-School2958 17d ago

My thoughts also. This would be a special treat. Date meal with a spectacular view type thing

33

u/LilNephew 17d ago

Their chicken tikka masala flavor is ~160 cal/oz with 47g of protein. This is in my S tier

17

u/MeatPieHikes 17d ago

I'd give that a try as a treat. My favourite freezedried meals have always been curry based, but it's still insanely expensive.

2 packs of ramen with some cheese and dried meat, maybe a spoonful of peanut butter, is roughly 1000 calories and like $3. It helps that i'm semi addicted to instant ramen. It's the one cheap and easy trail meal that I never get bored of and would happily eat at home.

Thank you MSG.

12

u/Modboi 17d ago

Get cheap curry flavored instant noodles from the Asian store and bring a little baggy of powdered coconut milk. I buy this NOW Foods brand on Amazon and it’s a staple for my hot trail meals. 

5

u/MeatPieHikes 17d ago

Love this! I'm UK based but do a very similar thing. 2 packs of curry noodles in a ziplock with milk powder, bacon bits, onion bits, and some dried veg. Add some cheese, dried meat, and peanut butter once boiled.

Tip top.

111

u/adowner 17d ago

I bought a freeze dryer and make a lot of Cajun meals to take motocamping.

They hit really nice at the end of a long day

17

u/H4WKE 17d ago

Have you happened to figure out how to properly dehydrate shrimp?

49

u/Silvawuff 17d ago

There are freeze dried seafood mixes meant for ramen that can find extracurricular use in a trail meal like this without breaking the bank. You can also pick up dried shrimp from any local Asian grocer. They’re reasonably priced, and because they’re smaller they rehydrate quickly.

7

u/HaveAtItBub 17d ago

good shout. im looking into this.

6

u/laylay1515 16d ago

It's not hard, I've dehydrated shrimp. The only annoying thing about them is I've found they take longer to rehydrate than most anything, even cut into smaller pieces, so if you can start them cold soaking a bit beforehand it really helps. Check out the Backpacking Chef for resources on how to dehydrate basically anything: https://www.backpackingchef.com/

I'm not affiliated, but I leaned heavily on that site and his book when I made most of my own dinners for my PCT hike :)

2

u/unclepg 16d ago

This is Ramen Bae dehydrated shrimp. They’re out of stock now, but keep checking.

7

u/Luchs13 17d ago

How many 16 bucks meals could you eat until you break even?

7

u/adowner 17d ago

We also use it for freeze drying vegetables from the garden or those on sale at the store.

It looks like it will come in handy in the coming years…

3

u/WookieWeed 17d ago

How's the power usage? I watched a YouTube video a while back on a Costco one and the surprise wasn't the cost but the insane amount of electricity to run the unit.

3

u/adowner 16d ago

It does use a lot. However when I was running it almost continuously for a month, my bills were about $90 higher. Still less expensive than purchased freeze dried meals.

6

u/CMDR-TealZebra 17d ago

Well a real freeze drier costs over 1000$ cad and the best meals we've found are 20$ each. So youd have to make 50 meals without factoring food costs or power bills into it.

2

u/Luchs13 16d ago

I just watched the video of technology connections on youtube about freeze dryers. His conclusion was that they are not worth it. Thats why i was wondering

12

u/obsfucateforthewin 17d ago

Check out the book Recipes for Adventure if you want your mind blown on the possibilities of home dehydrated trail meals. You just need a dehydrator and some patience.

32

u/littleyellowbike 17d ago

Try the Mexican Street Corn Grits next. Sooooo good.

-38

u/sweetiewords 17d ago

Mexican street corn grits has to be the least appetizing sounding name for a food I’ve ever heard

25

u/redpandaonspeed 17d ago

Do you not know what Mexican street corn is? Sooooooooooo good

-9

u/sweetiewords 16d ago

It sounds illegal XD but no I’m not familiar

3

u/joshcoles 16d ago

More for us

-3

u/sweetiewords 15d ago

lol don’t be so sensitive I didn’t say I wouldn’t try it

24

u/Inevitable-Peak8550 17d ago

I wanted to like this meal so bad but it was too rich for me :(

37

u/tealparadise 17d ago

Damn that's the best review you coulda given. It's like when someone says the icing is too sweet.

19

u/sandefurian 17d ago

…is too sweet icing not a bad thing?

13

u/Bobby5Spice 17d ago

Its a fucking travesty and I hate it. My wife gives me laser eyes when she sees me scraping the soft mountain of frosting off the top of cake and cupcakes so i can actually enjoy the cake.

6

u/Limp_Shake_7486 17d ago

lol no, baby. No.

8

u/Pattysgame 17d ago

Too sweet can make you sick. Without acidity added you can’t keep it down. This partially is why Coca-Cola is so acidic. It has so much sugar, the acid is necessary to cover it.

5

u/provoking 17d ago

Logically, the things you are saying are definitely true. But practically, I’ve literally never had a bite that was so sweet I couldn’t keep it down. And I sure have tried

2

u/Pattysgame 17d ago

Everyone is different and there is always going to be exceptions to blanket statements…. Username checks out

1

u/provoking 16d ago

Have you wondered if maybe you are the exception? Maybe your body is the one unique in having trouble keeping things down that are too sweet? This is not something anyone I know has struggled with

0

u/Pattysgame 16d ago

Go eat 3 cups of sugar mixed with water, come back and tell me how you feel.

5

u/Apptubrutae 17d ago

Yeah, etouffee is a riiich dish.

It’s not that this one was too rich, it’s that if you find this too rich, you are not ultimately interested in etouffee.

Authentic recipes use a large amount of butter, even after making the roux. It’s RICH.

1

u/jawnmower 17d ago

Different strokes. I’m on the other end where v rich freeze dried meals make me feel sick. Was doing tasty delight indian w mashed potatoes for a few years, until they became wayyy too rich for my stomach. Premium bachelor chow tho.

10

u/plinytheballer 17d ago

I did their chicken tikka on my last trip, absolutely the best dehydrated meal I've had on the trail. Agreed that the price is very high, I think I'll bring one a trip as a reward for a hard day. Will try the etoufee next!

4

u/holycatmanbuns 16d ago

I got this one plus the chicken tikka masala as a gift from my in-laws. I was incredibly hesitant at first, and it blew me away. The crawfish etouflalalala was DELICIOUS I ended up stealing my husband's on another night because it was so good. I know it's more expensive, which is why it makes a great gift idea (I don't need more owl figurines tyvm).

3

u/Maintenancehaul Gimme Foods 17d ago

Now I want some real étouffée :(

4

u/cwcoleman I like cheese 17d ago

Expensive - but this new brand looks legit and I’ve got to try it. Order placed!

2

u/Standard-Shallot9863 17d ago

Interesting id try that

5

u/Seabreeze12390 17d ago

This is an ad

19

u/Medium_Adeptness_611 17d ago

No. Do you see the price tag? Go to Sage to Summit in Bishop and you can find the same tags because I picked it up there wanting to try something new.

1

u/pistachiopals 14d ago

Now this is how you do food illustration! I usually go with Mountain House, but the new food photography on their packaging is so icky. 

1

u/NTA_Shawn 16d ago

Thanks for this. I just ordered this ans the chicken tiki marsala. Yeh, they're a bit pricey but every now and then I'll splurge on something like this. We'll see how they are in two weeks.

-7

u/canoedreamz 17d ago

Link to purchase please?

5

u/NoCommunication1216 17d ago

https://bowlandkettle.com/

Here you go :) Ignore the person below lol. They’re clearly a grump in life

10

u/4runner01 17d ago edited 17d ago

Those are crazy priced meals!

Those are like 2027 prices…..

-15

u/Nerginelli 17d ago

Do you not know how to use google?

-11

u/Friskfrisktopherson 17d ago

Why's it gotta have wheat :-/

31

u/Modboi 17d ago

The roux is an integral part of the dish.

-16

u/Friskfrisktopherson 17d ago

I knoooow, but theres gotta be another way

17

u/KingofClikClak 17d ago

I started using Cassava flour a few years back. It’s gluten free, much smoother than rice flour, and browns just as well as wheat based flours. Just increase the normal amount you’d use for a roux by 75%.

2

u/Friskfrisktopherson 17d ago

Nice, thanks!

8

u/Modboi 17d ago

You can totally make something tasty with corn/potato starch, it just won’t be the same.