Testing Randy's vacuum seal meals today. Whats your favorite meal in a bag?
- Thread starter Bukwild3
- Start date
I freeze the meal I prepared in containers first, then pop the frozen meal out of the container the next day and drop it in the vacuum bag, then seal using the normal process. No mess, super easy.
LopeHunter
Well-known member
Parboil spaghetti then add sauce and browned meat. Seal. Freeze. Reheat in camp at end of long day such as when packed out an elk.
Seal a 16 ounce sirloin steak cut about 1 1/2' thick. Freeze. Thaw then cook on grate over wood coals. I do the same with 6 ounce patty hamburgers. No need to thaw before cook.
I make homemade chili using three or four meats. Nice and spicy but not salty. Seal. Freeze. Reheat.
Homemade chicken, noodle and veggie soup. Not too salty. Seal. Freeze. Reheat.
Homemade beef minestrone soup. Not too salty. Seal. Freeze. Reheat.
The meals help reduce the space needed for ice since the meals are frozen as the trip begins. Not much prep needed at camp so is fast and fewer things to wash post-meal. Can make a quick salad from fresh lettuce so get some greenery. I like eating meals at camp which I make ahead of time since can control the salt and the taste is so much more comforting than grocery store pre-cooked meatloaf, etc.
As for how to get a good seal liquids, start by using a sealer machine that allows you to control the vacuum time so can hit the "seal" button at the right moment as air is sucked out. Seal while top of bag is sill dry. I double seal with the second seal being 3/8" closer to the open end than the first seal. Just in case. I weigh what I put in the bags, label for contents and date. I lay so are flat in freezer so once are frozen are easy to load into cooler for the hunt. I also freeze some jugs of water then drink the water in camp as thaws.
Seal a 16 ounce sirloin steak cut about 1 1/2' thick. Freeze. Thaw then cook on grate over wood coals. I do the same with 6 ounce patty hamburgers. No need to thaw before cook.
I make homemade chili using three or four meats. Nice and spicy but not salty. Seal. Freeze. Reheat.
Homemade chicken, noodle and veggie soup. Not too salty. Seal. Freeze. Reheat.
Homemade beef minestrone soup. Not too salty. Seal. Freeze. Reheat.
The meals help reduce the space needed for ice since the meals are frozen as the trip begins. Not much prep needed at camp so is fast and fewer things to wash post-meal. Can make a quick salad from fresh lettuce so get some greenery. I like eating meals at camp which I make ahead of time since can control the salt and the taste is so much more comforting than grocery store pre-cooked meatloaf, etc.
As for how to get a good seal liquids, start by using a sealer machine that allows you to control the vacuum time so can hit the "seal" button at the right moment as air is sucked out. Seal while top of bag is sill dry. I double seal with the second seal being 3/8" closer to the open end than the first seal. Just in case. I weigh what I put in the bags, label for contents and date. I lay so are flat in freezer so once are frozen are easy to load into cooler for the hunt. I also freeze some jugs of water then drink the water in camp as thaws.
Jorgy
Well-known member
Best one that i haven't seen mentioned yet is I like to make a chili relleno casserole and portion it out to 2 piece the size that fit onto a flour tortilla. heat those bad boys up, char a tortilla on the burner and eat away.
We have done the same thing with what we call mountain man, it's a hashbrown, veggie, sausage held together by egg and cheese, basically the insides of a breakfast burrito, heat up and put on a tortilla.
I have tried fajitas a few times like that also, not bad but my onion/peppers are always on the mushy side. still eats good in the hills though.
We have done the same thing with what we call mountain man, it's a hashbrown, veggie, sausage held together by egg and cheese, basically the insides of a breakfast burrito, heat up and put on a tortilla.
I have tried fajitas a few times like that also, not bad but my onion/peppers are always on the mushy side. still eats good in the hills though.
Brad Daniel
Member
This sounds like a great way to get a meal when you come back to camp dogazz tired and not wanting to cook. Thank You for sharing.
Bukwild3
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Testing fully frozen burritos tonight.
Bulldog0156
Well-known member
Looking forward to this video! I've become a fan of frozen pre-made breakfast burritos for mornings, but the evening meals have usually ended up messy using the plastic containers.
shootbrownelk
Well-known member
I do the exact same thing. Works great, been doing it forever it seems. Pre-freezing, gets all the air out and NO liquid mess.
When my brother first started making these meals in a bag about 10 yrs. ago I thought he was nuts (boiled meals) really? I finally reluctantly came around, and no dirty dishes so it's all we make now. You can make anything, burgers (no buns), sweet potato fries, pulled pork, red beans and rice, smoked hamhocks and beans, chicken or stake fajitas, spaghetti, meatloaf, pork chops, soups, chili, sloppy joes, and my all time favorite courtesy of Emeril Lagasse - Jambalaya!
Bukwild3
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If you like jambalaya, you should try pastalya. Freezes very well.
rlmmatt
Active member
im going to have to start doing this instead of all the cooking in camp further more im going to start doing this for my elderly father who hates to cook anymore and in stead lives of leftovers from others or hotdogs
thanks everyone
thanks everyone
I gave this a test run this weekend. My wife made up an extra batch of meatballs and potatoes...I vacuum sealed them in individual servings (meatballs plus potatoes in one bag). I boiled water and put the bag in for 15 minutes. When I took it out, the outside was perfect and a block of ice on the inside of the package. How do I fix this? Should I have put the meatballs only in one bag and then an individual bag of potatoes? Or do you guys unthaw before boiling? I'll keep testing this out and give reports on various stuff. My wife is a master chef (unofficial title) and I can't wait to bring out her recipes to the field.
MThuntr
Well-known member
I've never done this before, I'd suggest smaller meatballs. Also after a day or 2 even frozen things in the cooler aren't as frozen as they are straight from the freezer. Maybe try a simmer for longer time versus a boil.
Bukwild3
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I had this with the Lasagna. My next test I was going to go 25min. I figured from freezer to plate on a hunt I would have a partially thawed pack, so the 10-15min should be the norm.
Our camp "cook" has been doing his version of this for years. Everything is pre-made and frozen in large zip locks. They come out of the bag to be warmed in the dutch oven. Yes, it means a pot to clean but he's doing the cooking and set in his ways. He's also good so I'm not complaining. As others have said at the beginning of the trip when things are hard frozen meals come out in the afternoon to thaw a bit before cooking.
Bukwild3
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So, some asked about gravy. I did a little test with red beans and rice yesterday with some left overs. I mixed the 2, placed in a Tupperware and froze. This morning I removed them from the Tupperware and vacuume sealed. I did add more gravy than I might put normally but that's was to help add a smooth outer for the bag to seal around. And I'm sure too much gravy can't be a bad thing! Hope this helps.
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A quick video of how we do this and how we prepare it in the field.
[video=youtube_share;d74uWTs1rbc]https://youtu.be/d74uWTs1rbc[/video]
[video=youtube_share;d74uWTs1rbc]https://youtu.be/d74uWTs1rbc[/video]
Bukwild3
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Thanks!
