Freezer Bag Cooking

[jeastbur]

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.

[Don_P]

Cheesy Bacon Mashers was easily my kids favorite meal on our recent trip. We used dried monterey jack cheese. Very good and fast.

[Tom4s]

That's really a good job. You used the freezer bag to preserve the quality and the taste of the food. Why don't you prefer to use a mini-fridge?

[DonNewcomb]

There are baking bags that are specifically made for cooking in.

[Backpacker534]

I almost tried those Cheesy Bacon Mashers on my last trip but ended up taking something else. I'll have to try it next time. That Pudding Cocoa also sounds pretty tasty.

[jerry]

jeastbur,

Thanks for the trip report and pictures. Now I ready for another trip to ISRO. jerry

[brian1234]

Freezer bag cooking is one of the better alternative to keep the foods for long durations.It will help the tourist to keep their favorite foods for the distance journey and can enjoy the foods at those places.The homely food will have no health disorder in distance journey.

[LeftOvers]

Hey, jeastbur, thanks for the good tips and recipes (I'll be leaving soon to gt something to eat). You might want to restart this thead under Food and Cooking, though.

[bugger]

Way to use the more eco-friendly approach on this one! I know it's easy to have a mini fridge and just plug in and forget about it...this took some serious effort!! Cheers!

[ilovechicken]

Hey mate! This is totally awesome! cheers for your ingenuity. I would love to make such preparations for my next camping and add some few customizations to suit my requirements base on your tips.

Cheers