Freezer Bag Cooking
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:02 pm
Excerpted from my trip report.
For my recent trip to Isle Royale, I decided to make most of my own food and use the freezer bag cooking technique. Overall, I was pleased with the results. For recipes, I used:
http://www.trailcooking.com
http://www.onepanwonders.com
Some may question the safety of using freezer bags for cooking and whether chemicals may leach into the food, but you certainly can't beat the cleanup. The only thing I had to clean after eating was my spoon and my mug if I had coffee or cocoa. All of my trash from 5 days fit into a 1-qt ziplock bag. For my next trip, I am going to ditch the mess kit and only bring my camp utensils and a mug/measuring cup.
I made my own freezer bag cozy using a thermal bubble mailer from Uline:
http://www.uline.com/Product/ProductDet ... el=S-11358
which I cut down a bit and added adhesive velcro dots to make it reusable.
Breakfasts
I put 2 packets of flavored oatmeal in a freezer bag along with powdered milk and raisins. On the trail, I just added hot water to the bag to enjoy creamy oatmeal and plump raisins.
Dinners
Pizza in a Pot (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/pizza-pot)
5/10
Quite tasty and filling, however, since my packet of pepperoni was labeled as "refrigerate after opening," I added more than half a packet of pepperoni to this meal. Indigestion followed.
Thai Peanut Noodles (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/tha ... ut-noodles)
9/10
My favorite meal on the trail. I added a foil packet of chicken that I heated up along with the noodles. I then drained the chicken/noodles and dumped them into the separate freezer bag that had the peanut sauce.
Alpine Aire Sierra Chicken (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009W7CZK)
7/10
I bought this one instead of making a fourth meal. It was certainly lighter since all of the ingredients were dehydrated, but the flavor wasn't as bold as some of the meals I made myself.
Cheesy Bacon Mashers (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/che ... on-mashers)
6/10
I followed this recipe and also added some powdered cheese from a mac 'n cheese box. Filling and pretty good flavor. Again, I used an already-cooked package of bacon that was labeled "refrigerate after opening." I shared some of my bacon with the others and still ate more bacon in one sitting than I think I ever had before.
Desserts
Apple Pie Pudding (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/apple-pie-pudding)
8/10
This was pretty tasty and a good dessert to share.
Rice Pudding (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/rice-pudding)
4/10
The flavor was very good, but unfortunately, the rice I used didn't cook all the way after sitting in the cozy for 15 minutes. If I make this again, I'll pre-cook and dehydrate the rice first.
Drinks
Pudding Cocoa (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/pudding-cocoa)
6/10
Others in my group didn't think this was as good as regular cocoa in a packet, but I didn't think it was bad--definitely sweeter than regular cocoa.
For my recent trip to Isle Royale, I decided to make most of my own food and use the freezer bag cooking technique. Overall, I was pleased with the results. For recipes, I used:
http://www.trailcooking.com
http://www.onepanwonders.com
Some may question the safety of using freezer bags for cooking and whether chemicals may leach into the food, but you certainly can't beat the cleanup. The only thing I had to clean after eating was my spoon and my mug if I had coffee or cocoa. All of my trash from 5 days fit into a 1-qt ziplock bag. For my next trip, I am going to ditch the mess kit and only bring my camp utensils and a mug/measuring cup.
I made my own freezer bag cozy using a thermal bubble mailer from Uline:
http://www.uline.com/Product/ProductDet ... el=S-11358
which I cut down a bit and added adhesive velcro dots to make it reusable.
Breakfasts
I put 2 packets of flavored oatmeal in a freezer bag along with powdered milk and raisins. On the trail, I just added hot water to the bag to enjoy creamy oatmeal and plump raisins.
Dinners
Pizza in a Pot (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/pizza-pot)
5/10
Quite tasty and filling, however, since my packet of pepperoni was labeled as "refrigerate after opening," I added more than half a packet of pepperoni to this meal. Indigestion followed.
Thai Peanut Noodles (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/tha ... ut-noodles)
9/10
My favorite meal on the trail. I added a foil packet of chicken that I heated up along with the noodles. I then drained the chicken/noodles and dumped them into the separate freezer bag that had the peanut sauce.
Alpine Aire Sierra Chicken (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009W7CZK)
7/10
I bought this one instead of making a fourth meal. It was certainly lighter since all of the ingredients were dehydrated, but the flavor wasn't as bold as some of the meals I made myself.
Cheesy Bacon Mashers (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/che ... on-mashers)
6/10
I followed this recipe and also added some powdered cheese from a mac 'n cheese box. Filling and pretty good flavor. Again, I used an already-cooked package of bacon that was labeled "refrigerate after opening." I shared some of my bacon with the others and still ate more bacon in one sitting than I think I ever had before.
Desserts
Apple Pie Pudding (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/apple-pie-pudding)
8/10
This was pretty tasty and a good dessert to share.
Rice Pudding (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/rice-pudding)
4/10
The flavor was very good, but unfortunately, the rice I used didn't cook all the way after sitting in the cozy for 15 minutes. If I make this again, I'll pre-cook and dehydrate the rice first.
Drinks
Pudding Cocoa (http://www.trailcooking.com/recipes/pudding-cocoa)
6/10
Others in my group didn't think this was as good as regular cocoa in a packet, but I didn't think it was bad--definitely sweeter than regular cocoa.