Meat- how to pack & store

[sbank03]

Hi All,
I'm a vegetarian who will be leading a trail work crew consisting of mostly non-vegetarians who definitely do not want to go veggie for the week. I need to plan the menu. How do I pack & store meat? Cans? Vacuum packed? Dehydrated? We will have a base camp where we will store food in bear boxes. Thanks for help!

[Hikes in Rain]

One of the best ways is the foil pouch, located in the canned meat section of your local grocer. Salmon, chicken, sometimes crab and shrimp, several varieties of tuna, all vacuum packed and needing no refridgeration.

[sofaking]

when i did trail crew we brought pepperoni sticks, canned chix and ham, though they do have the new foil pouched stuff now too, ditto tuna, salmon...unless you guys are bringing coolers that'd be about it. sneak them some veggie chili and tell them to s.t.f.u if they whine about it. what crew are you leading?

[paxtelprop]

Salted meats such as bacon should be able to last a few days without refrigeration. Eggs should also last a few days without refrigeration. In other poorer countries, meat is not refrigerated. (of course, it spoils sooner.) I would serve the fresher meat first then save the canned stuff for later in the week.

[sbank03]

I'll be leading 3 trips this summer for American Hiking Society. This first one is in Big South Fork, TN.

[Farr Away]

You could also freeze some meat solid and plan to use it the first night or the first morning.

[sbank03]

This is EXACTLY the info I need. keep the suggestions coming!

[jesse]

How far from the road will your base camp be? Would it be practical to keep a cooler in a vehicle and make a run to the cooler each day?

[sbank03]

We will not be able to keep a cooler in vehicles. We can keep things a day or 2 in the creek, as long as it gets thorgoughly heated afterwards & as long as the raccoons don't steal it. Kinda defeats the bear boxes tho.

[bigcranky]

Fresh or frozen meat will keep in a cooler for several days, if you have plenty of ice to start.

Otherwise, be prepared to use foil packets of chicken and tuna, salmon, that sort of thing. You can chop up summer sausage and add it to many noodle and casserole dishes. Dry Italian sausage keeps well, too. Canned chili might be good for one night later in the week (get big cans.)

You don't have to serve tofu to make good meatless food for a bunch of omnivores from a camp kitchen. Spaghetti and tomato sauce is good, mac and cheese (okay, maybe with tuna), that sort of thing. We aren't vegetarians, but we happily eat many meatless meals.

[budforester]

Hi All,
I'm a vegetarian who will be leading a trail work crew consisting of mostly non-vegetarians who definitely do not want to go veggie for the week. I need to plan the menu. How do I pack & store meat? Cans? Vacuum packed? Dehydrated? We will have a base camp where we will store food in bear boxes. Thanks for help!

Summer sausage and cheeses are convenient. Dehydrated hamburger and jerky are pretty good, too. Cans? If you can drive to basecamp, take an ice chest full of steaks.

[sarbar]

Sneak in flavored TVP...lol! Ok, that would just be cruel hours later as their stomaches were killing them. But still funny!

Head to the pouch and can section - there are so many types now. Also, look for shelf stable bacon.

But it isn't like they'd die without meat - make some good vegetarian meals once in awhile for them, but don't tell them!

[4eyedbuzzard]

It's been probably ten years since I last did this but I used to keep meat(steaks, pork chops, chicken breasts) frozen/cold for several days by putting frozen meat(wrapped/bagged) in between two pieces of 3/4" thick styrofoam(the thicker the better) and filling in the sides with smaller foam pieces - then tape it and ziplock it to prevent any leakage as it very slowly thaws. Kind of makes a form fitting cooler. The colder the meat starts at(home freezers are usually about 0, commercial grocery store ones -20) the better. The bigger the mass the longer it takes to thaw as well. Keep it out of the sun and further insulate by burying it deep in a pack, even inside a stuffed sleeping bag during the day. Depends upon the weather how long it lasts. Most food safety guidelines are that meat must be kept below 40F, but I've had no problems basically just going by using it up before the day it actually all finally thaws.

[sofaking]

We will not be able to keep a cooler in vehicles. We can keep things a day or 2 in the creek, as long as it gets thorgoughly heated afterwards & as long as the raccoons don't steal it. Kinda defeats the bear boxes tho.

no meat in the creek. unless it's your feet.

[budforester]

It's been probably ten years since I last did this but I used to keep meat(steaks, pork chops, chicken breasts) frozen/cold for several days by putting frozen meat(wrapped/bagged) in between two pieces of 3/4" thick styrofoam(the thicker the better) and filling in the sides with smaller foam pieces - then tape it and ziplock it to prevent any leakage as it very slowly thaws. Kind of makes a form fitting cooler. The colder the meat starts at(home freezers are usually about 0, commercial grocery store ones -20) the better. The bigger the mass the longer it takes to thaw as well. Keep it out of the sun and further insulate by burying it deep in a pack, even inside a stuffed sleeping bag during the day. Depends upon the weather how long it lasts. Most food safety guidelines are that meat must be kept below 40F, but I've had no problems basically just going by using it up before the day it actually all finally thaws.

Oh, yeah, I usedto do domething like that: rolled it up in my Ensolite pad. I double- wrapped to avoid leakage... didn't want my pad to sell like bear bait.

[CBSSTony]

Seems like I seen some where that they make sheets of material you could cut to size and that you could freeze and reuse.

[sarbar]

Btw, when I worked for the Thai importer we would get our fresh Kaffir lime leaves shipped into us in summer with Reflectix as the outside wrap, then with ice packs inside. It worked well.

[budforester]

Btw, when I worked for the Thai importer we would get our fresh Kaffir lime leaves shipped into us in summer with Reflectix as the outside wrap, then with ice packs inside. It worked well.

How well does a Sarbar- cozy work for cold storage? And maybe need a bag over it to contain any condensate?

[Chance09]

they have precooked bacon that doesn't need to be refrigerated until opening, and even then i would imagine it would still last a say or 2. they come in packs of about 15 slices and are pretty tasty. Real fast to cook too.

[envirodiver]

I agree that the pre-cooked bacon is very tasty and should last all week until you open it and then maybe only a few days. The frozen meat thing is very good, used it a bunch. Summer sausage is an excellent choice. Canned hams are fine you can get the chopped ham in the tuna sized can or a bigger ham, then heat slices over a fire or skillet. Country ham is great, keeps well and heated over an open fire is very good.

Don't know how many people you have, but I fix a dish with a package of red beans and rice (I like the Virgio), saute some fresh peppers (chili, bell and jalapeno), onion, garlic and summer sausage. Let those cook and when almost done dump a drained can of shrimp in.

That be good a Gaurantee it!

Just curious...where are there bear boxes in the BSF? Bandy Creek Campground?