[pct-l] Dried meats and Cheese on Trail

[Jennifer Zimmerman]

Thanks for the great info, Shroomer!  I was especially interested in your
meat alternatives to ground beef or chicken and the effective shelf life of
dried food.  As we gear up for our hike this year I've been debating
whether or not to freeze the meals I produce and based on your experience I
think I will.  Luckily with it being winter in the great white North our
porch is effectively a walk-in freezer.  I also appreciate your experience
on rehydrating without a stove - we use the boil-and-steep method now but
I've been curious about doing it without heat to save on fuel and cleanup.
I read your CDT journal with great interest this year and loved your idea
about making yogurt.  How did you culture your milk every morning?  Did you
just save a small amount from the previous day and use it as your starter?

One of my favorite meat options (assuming one is not opposed to processed
foods) is lean deli ham.  I would buy the pre-sliced blister packs, cut the
meat into wide strips and dry them until brittle.  If I had the time when
they were done I would wipe them with a paper towel to remove the small
amount of fat that came to the surface.  These were great both as a salty
snack and as a meal addition.  Crumbled ham in dried sweet potato leather
makes a tasty quick meal.


On Tue, Jan 8, 2013 at 12:49 AM, Scott Williams <baidarker at gmail.com> wrote:

> Great questions about food over the past few days, and I've finally got
> time to chime in.  I went stoveless this year on my CDT thru hike and dried
> and vacuum sealed almost all the meat and veggies I used.  The meals were
> the best I've ever had on trail as they were as big as I wanted, which
> store meals never are, and had a much higher percentage of protein and
> veggies than any I've ever bought, and much more than the mac and cheese
> and Lipton Sides I subsisted on several years ago when I hiked the PCT.
>  Why Not, who hiked the trail with me, also dried her meals and loved them.
>  We traded off sometimes for variety.
> ______________________
>