View Full Version : Canned Chicken
Just got a copy of Sabar's FBC book, lots of tasty stuff I want to try. Many of the recipes call for canned chicken. Easy to get but a tad on the heavy side. Does anyone know how long the meat will last if you take it out of the can and put it in a ziplock?
Just got a copy of Sabar's FBC book, lots of tasty stuff I want to try. Many of the recipes call for canned chicken. Easy to get but a tad on the heavy side. Does anyone know how long the meat will last if you take it out of the can and put it in a ziplock?
Probably not more than an a few hours to be on the safe side.
I imagine a can of chicken would equal about a third of a cup scoop of dehydrated or freeze dried.
Get the chicken in the foil pouch. It's usually available in the canned meat section of your local grocery store, mega-mart, etc.
Cabin Fever
05-10-2009, 07:43
Get the chicken in the foil pouch. It's usually available in the canned meat section of your local grocery store, mega-mart, etc.
I concur. I can only ever find the Tyson Brand and only at Walmart. Tastes wonderful when thrown in with a pouch of rice.
Will look for the foil pouch Thanks for the advice
Pedaling Fool
05-10-2009, 08:21
I dehydrate chicken and I've had it last as long as a year, I don't refrigerate, I also don't specially pack it, just use simple ziplocks.
I throw it in my water that I boil for rice, no problem with rehydration.
Chaco Taco
05-10-2009, 08:36
The foil packs of chicken are tough to find on trail. Just thought you should know that.:sun
Here are some options (and why did I call for canned? Easy to find!):
Canned chicken dries very well. Drain, flake and dry.
Use freeze dried chicken - a 1/4 cup is plenty. Just remember to add in that much more water though if using FD or dried.
Pouch chicken can be swapped in as well. 7-ounce is standard though one can sometimes find a 3-ounce pouch.
As for weights, shockingly I found that many empty cans weighed the same as an empty pouch. They have gotten the cans thinner over the years. When empty, flatten with your heel and toss in your garbage bag. If one wants they can pick it out and wash it after the hike to recycle. Pouches while preferred are not as easy to fin and are not recyclable.
The Weasel
05-10-2009, 12:23
If you carry the can, make a mouse drop for shelters from it.
TW
bigcranky
05-10-2009, 12:45
Less than an hour before it's unsafe to eat.
You can dehydrate it, though, which works well.
saimyoji
05-10-2009, 16:48
i recommend you hold the chicken.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElNpwX_8YpQ
Food is one thing I don't skimp on when it comes to pack weight...I carry cans of chicken or roast beef. Its worth it...you need the protein.
atraildreamer
05-12-2009, 23:10
Target has foil-packed chicken.
take-a-knee
05-12-2009, 23:21
I dehydrate chicken and I've had it last as long as a year, I don't refrigerate, I also don't specially pack it, just use simple ziplocks.
I throw it in my water that I boil for rice, no problem with rehydration.
Sooner or later, that'll bite you in the a$$. Dehydrated meat needs to be stored in the freezer and, ideally vacuum packed. When you pull it out of the freezer it'll likely be safe for weeks. Botulinum toxin is more of a problem with a wet packed food product but, since it is the deadliest substance known to man, a little goes a long way.
Canned chicken has a ton of salt so you will get a little more time out of it, but yes, you should store home dried meats in the freezer till trip time. And use them up in 6 months. Meat has fat, it can go rancid - and yes, that as well can lead to bad food poisoning, especially if the meat has extra moisture left in it.
Wise Old Owl
05-16-2009, 22:54
Sooner or later, that'll bite you in the a$$. Dehydrated meat needs to be stored in the freezer and, ideally vacuum packed. When you pull it out of the freezer it'll likely be safe for weeks. Botulinum toxin is more of a problem with a wet packed food product but, since it is the deadliest substance known to man, a little goes a long way.
I don't think anyone can argue with that, but drying meat properly can be safe for six months and the trail is three to four months. I don't keep my jerky in the freezer and its gone in three months. I have a vacume sealer and I don't use it for the jerky, but I can; the sealer makes good sense up to a point.
try bringing a live chicken with you.. :D
Panzer
The poison caused by botulism breaks down under heat...even if the meat were tainted the poison would be destroyed after boiling for 10 minutes. Of course we all know that a 10 minute boil is not the way hikers normally cook their food.
LaurieAnn
05-17-2009, 10:02
Sooner or later, that'll bite you in the a$$. Dehydrated meat needs to be stored in the freezer and, ideally vacuum packed. When you pull it out of the freezer it'll likely be safe for weeks. Botulinum toxin is more of a problem with a wet packed food product but, since it is the deadliest substance known to man, a little goes a long way.
I won't use chicken that has been dried and stored outside of the freezer after 4 to 6 weeks and that really depends on conditions. If any moisture gets into it at all you are putting yourself and your campmates at risk. That goes for seafood and other meats as well. Stored in the freezer you have about 8 months for optimum taste except for dishes containing sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes start to lose a lot of flavor after 2 or 3 months even when stored in the freezer.
BitBucket
05-17-2009, 11:33
Target has the foil pouches of chicken/tuna at 10 for $10...they also have foil pouches of salmon...and Walmart has SPAM in the foil pouch....
Wise Old Owl
05-17-2009, 11:39
keep in mind the first hikers of the AT used canned almost exclusively.
Sir William Edward Parry made two arctic expeditions to the Northwest Passage in the 1820's and took canned provisions on his journeys. One four-pound tin of roasted veal, carried on both trips but never opened, was kept as an artifact of the expedition in a museum until it was opened in 1938. The contents, then over one hundred years old, were chemically analyzed and found to have kept most of their nutrients and to be in fairly perfect condition. The veal was fed to a cat, who had no complaints whatsoever.
Did you think the guy that opened it forgot his lunch for work that day ? ;)
Wise Old Owl
05-17-2009, 12:34
Maybe he was tired of the food in the Commissary! (Lunch room)
Toolshed
05-17-2009, 18:02
LOL. This reminds me of an Outing club Backpacking trip I was on many years ago. We had some beginners and did a pre-trip workshop around what to bring and what not to. One of the items was food and avoiding canned goods.
Our first night was car camping at a SP close to the trailhead. the next morning I was assisting 2 young women beginners pack their gear and they had 1/2 dozen tupperware containers loaded with, tuna fish (still in water), pork n' beans and chicken noodle soup, which they poured out of the can and into the tupperware.
when I increduloulsy asked them why they were packing that, they both loooked at me with a "Duh" look and one said "Everyone knows the cans are too heavy to backpack - You even mentioned it in the pre-trip..."....
Oh well.....
Critterman
05-21-2009, 15:34
I ate a lot of canned chicken on the trail and Swanson tastes the best to me. They make a three pack of small cans as well as larger can. Foil packets are too big a serving for me.
Snowleopard
05-21-2009, 15:44
The poison caused by botulism breaks down under heat...even if the meat were tainted the poison would be destroyed after boiling for 10 minutes. Of course we all know that a 10 minute boil is not the way hikers normally cook their food.
Theoretically true, BUT any error would really spoil your day.
"It is the most acutely toxic substance known, with a median lethal dose of about 1 ng/kg." ng=nanogram= 1 billionth of a gram, not very much at all.
I have dried canned chicken. It works alright, but it was kind of chewey after being reconstituted (the Sarbar chicken and stuffing recipe). I added a good dollop of olive oil. if that matters
It might be a good idea to presoak the chicken in a baggie for an hour or two. The dressing is bulky and doesn't need much water, so the heat input is small.
I have dried canned chicken. It works alright, but it was kind of chewey after being reconstituted (the Sarbar chicken and stuffing recipe). I added a good dollop of olive oil. if that matters
It might be a good idea to presoak the chicken in a baggie for an hour or two. The dressing is bulky and doesn't need much water, so the heat input is small.
Yes, presoaking works well with dried meat :) You can pack it in a small snack size zip top bag. Even 30 minutes really helps and you can use cool water!
Btw, I got in a ton of these today from Minimus: http://www.minimus.biz/detail.aspx?ID=8798
They are the hard to find 3-ounce pouches of chicken. Ford is going to be so happy with these this summer. Kid loves his meat :-P
Snowleopard
05-21-2009, 20:05
Just weighed the foil package from a 2.6 oz tuna package -- 7 grams = 0.25 oz.