Favorite Dehydrated Meals (with recipes!)
I wrote this a couple of years ago as an email to a friend that was interested in how I picked out meals for dehydrating. I will tack on more of the meal ideas and recipes that I have used on the end. Enjoy!
Hi Mike!
Here’s a quick list of recipes, plus the dehydrator I use. I hope you guys get a chance to take P. on a long camping trip soon!
This is the dehydrator I have. I really like it.
Dehydrator: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Z915M4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
These are the recipes that I am doing this time. We’ve done others in the past, but I like to mix it up a bit.
Recipes:
Venison Chili: https://honest-food.net/venison-chili-recipe/
- from Hank Shaw - I have a couple of his cookbooks too (highly recommended!) - this recipe and a few of the following recipes are from his “Buck, Buck, Moose” book, but he has most of his recipes online too. This is one of our favorites.
Venison Bolognese Sauce: http://gardenandgun.com/recipe/venison-bolognese-sauce/
- Also from Hank Shaw. Trying this one for the first time. :) (Worked really well - one of the all time favorites)
Albondigas Al Chipotle - Basically Mexican Venison Meatballs: https://honest-food.net/albondigas-recipe-chipotle-venison/
- Hank Shaw. Super good. Spicy.
Sizzling Beef with Black Bean Sauce: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/sizzling-beef-with-spring-onions-and-black-bean-sauce/
- Jamie Oliver. So good out in the woods. Lots of flavor. I use venison round instead of beef.
Pork and Cider Stew: https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=677894
- Jamie Oliver. I like to bring some soups or stews with us. We tend to camp in some pretty cold places. I’ve brought split pea soup before too.
Stir Fried Minced Beef with Chilies and Basil: http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipes/recipe-search/chefs-recipes/2009/11/david-thompson-stir-fried-minced-beef-with-chillies-and-holy-basil-neua-pat-bai-grapao/
-This is one of my kids’ favorite meals, often requested for birthday dinners too. I’ve never tried dehydrating it before, but I think it will work out just fine. (It did!) I got the recipe from a Thai Street Food class. I always use venison instead of beef.
Pot Roast Meatloaf: https://www.cookstr.com/Beef-Recipes/Pot-Roast-Meat-Loaf
-Jamie Oliver again. I skip the bacon and use a 1:1 ratio of ground pork and venison. Another favorite of our family. It dehydrated surprisingly well. The chickpeas don’t rehydrate as well as I would like, but none of us mind a bit of crunch at that point. :)
Blackberry Hoisin Ginger Pork Tenderloin: http://carlsbadcravings.com/blackberry-hoisin-ginger-pork-tenderloin/
- Dehydrate rice separately.
Salmon Fish Cakes: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fish-recipes/salmon-fishcakes/
- Jamie Oliver. After a lot of pork and venison, some fish tastes really good. These worked out okay. My family wasn’t crazy about them. I think that they need the searing of pan frying to really bring out the flavor. But then I would have to wash a pan. :)
Salmon Mac and Cheese: I usually buy the Annie’s Mac and Cheese and dehydrate the noodles and salmon separately. I just bring the powder along - no need to hydrate and dehydrate this again. These are always favorites too.
Venison Jerky: https://honest-food.net/venison-jerky-recipe-chipotle/
- Hank Shaw - our absolute favorite jerky recipe.
These are all dinner recipes; when we’re in the Boundary Waters I usually make enough of these kind of recipes for lunch too. When we’re car camping I just bring sandwich fixings. For breakfast in the Boundary Waters I dehydrate some smoothies, and we’ll also have oatmeal and granola bars. When we’re car camping I buy bagels and cream cheese - we toast them over the stove when we’re done cooking our coffee, english muffin, pancakes, yogurt, granola and fruit. I’m not a huge fan of oatmeal…but I will eat it if I need to. The rest of my family likes it.
Thanks!
L.
So, that is the major download, but here are some more things that I do on a regular basis when we camp.
A couple weeks before we go camping (if I have that much warning!) I do my meal planning accordingly. I double the meals and then dehydrate half. It makes it so much easier. Otherwise I do a huge cooking frenzy that is exhausting.
This is what I made for a recent camping trip this fall - besides some of the recipes mentioned above:
Chili con Carne: https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/good-old-chilli-con-carne/
Chile Verde Pork: https://honest-food.net/wild-boar-chile-verde-recipe/
- Hank Shaw - so good. So, so good. I packed tortilla shells and sour cream (squeeze bottles are important when camping - minimizes mess and dishes). That makes a nice change from eating out of a bag.
Shrimp and Green Bean Thai Curry: https://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipe/green-beans-and-shrimp
- I actually use a recipe from a book I have called Easy Thai Recipes.
Chilindron: https://honest-food.net/spanish-chilindron-stew/
- This stew is good and spicy.
Tikka Masala: https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/chicken-tikka-masala/
-Jamie Oliver - You MUST use canned chicken for this. If you try to dehydrate regular chicken it will turn out like rocks. This was pretty good. We love this curry at our house. It is better at home than dehydrated, but that is true of most of the meals. I actually usually cheat with this one and use a canned sauce.
We also bring a lot of snacks when we’re on a camping trip. My family likes their snacks. Plus they are handy as trail food, car food or on-the-go breakfast or lunch.
