What makes a "GOOD" survival/base ration

[corvus]

Lots of good jerky discussion here.
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corvus

[icefest]

Consider freezing the meat beforehand to kill any parasites. An added benefit is the ease of subsequent cutting.

[corvus]

Consider freezing the meat beforehand to kill any parasites. An added benefit is the ease of subsequent cutting.

I guess you are commenting about "game meats" hate to think my prime roast cut would have "bugs"
corvus

[Onestepmore]

Venison makes good dried meat, being very lean, so I would presume roo meat would too. We often buy roo fillets from our local suburban IGA
Can anyone see a problem with freezing it first (as when we get venison it's usually some time until I have time to make stuff from it). As Icefest says this makes it easier to cut (always across the grain). So, freeze first, marinate and dehydrate, then vacuum pack and seal, then re freeze?

[icefest]

I guess you are commenting about "game meats" hate to think my prime roast cut would have "bugs"
corvus

It was mainly in response to stry's question about kangaroo.

I'd apply the same rules that you use for steak tartare - unless you are very sure where it came from don't eat it. Failing that, harm minimisation (eg freezing) is apt.

Pity we cannot get access to XR or gamma irradiation facilities as civilians... (I'd have a heavy pack but be able to eat steak all week)

[corvus]

Just sampled some jerky that I did many months ago (yes cannot remember) it was stored in a sealed container wrapt in kitchen paper in the fridge,it came out like Potato Chips only really much much crunchier , tastier and almost fat free.

Makes you wonder about Salt eh!


corvus

[Moondog55]

I never marinate meat for jerky or pemmican. it makes the end product too salty.

Personally I would avoid anything Gamma irradiated as I believe that if it doesn't rot or spout it isn't really fit for human consumption.

Maybe I should make a smoking frame for the back yard this year. icefest if you get the butcher to Cryovac your steaks and chill them right down before packing in a foam esky they should be good for a week

[stry]

I never marinate meat for jerky or pemmican. it makes the end product too salty.

Simply leave out, or reduce, the salt ???? Seems a shame to miss out on the taste benefits of a marinade.

[stry]

Venison makes good dried meat, being very lean, so I would presume roo meat would too. We often buy roo fillets from our local suburban IGA
Can anyone see a problem with freezing it first (as when we get venison it's usually some time until I have time to make stuff from it). As Icefest says this makes it easier to cut (always across the grain). So, freeze first, marinate and dehydrate, then vacuum pack and seal, then re freeze?

I personally have absolutely no problem with the freeze/refreeze aspect. I have eaten jerky made (by others) in exactly the sequence you describe, with no ill effects.

Oops - just noticed "(always across the grain)". Everything I have eaten and seen has been along the grain. Then hung in strips to dry. Grinding it up for pemmican would be easier if it was cut across the grain.

[Moondog55]

Stry It is just that if I am going to be using it as a main food and not as a snack I actually want it to be reasonably bland in taste. Snack jerky is a totally different product and that can be as spicy and salty as you like, especially in summer with an icy cold ale.
I'm thinking that if I was packing jerky for walking I would get it as drw as possible then double pack in brown paper and muslin and wax dip to totally exclude air and water

[stry]

If you are using it for main meals, I agree. I don't eat much meat, and if carrying jerky, I would probably have it for lunch, so a bit snacky would be OK for me, provided not too zingy in the taste.

How about vacuum sealing it ? Lighter and easier than the paper/muslin/wax, although somewhat lacking in tradition, and not as easy to dispose of.

Jerky shouldn't sweat in vacuum sealed packages.

[corvus]

If you are using it for main meals, I agree. I don't eat much meat, and if carrying jerky, I would probably have it for lunch, so a bit snacky would be OK for me, provided not too zingy in the taste.

How about vacuum sealing it ? Lighter and easier than the paper/muslin/wax, although somewhat lacking in tradition, and not as easy to dispose of.

Jerky shouldn't sweat in vacuum sealed packages.

I have vacuum sealed some of my Jerky for longer trips however I have found that I needed to wrap it in kitchen paper to prevent it perforating the bags.
corvus

[Onestepmore]

Thanks for the tip. I still need to purchase a vacuum sealer.

[corvus]

Thanks for the tip. I still need to purchase a vacuum sealer.

I use an unbranded version of this and it suits my needs
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/deni-compac ... 1306132327
corvus

[Bushman_Craig]

Reviving an old thread...

As a base "emergency ration" I have made WWII-recipe dehydrated Meat and Veg blocks. I haven't tried to calculate the nutrition or energy values, but they contain a small amount of carb, some fats, salt and are mostly protein.

Here's the ingredients - adjust and modify to suit.

- Cooked minced lamb
- grated raw carrot
- cooked mashed potato
- cooked cabbage
- pepper
- salt
- Copha

The components, apart from the pepper, salt, copha and potato (if you're using deb flakes), are cooked if required and then dehydrated.

Each component you dehydrated is then ground in a coffee grinder until the consistency of raw sugar.

Everything is then thoroughly mixed together and placed into a mould. An egg ring makes a suitable mould.

Heat some copha and apply to the meat and veg mixture. Use enough so that it begins to soak in a little. Remove the mould/s to the fridge and set the M&V blocks like chocolate crackles. I usually vac seal these in a mylar pouch or (for authenticity) heat seal in cellophane.

In temperate weather the blocks stay completely solid. In hot weather the copha can begin to run.

The blocks are pre-cooked and so may be eaten as is, as long as you have sufficient water to digest them. They can be crumbled into a cup or bowl of hot water to make a stew. They can be moistened with water and fried - the copha content means they brown up on the sides like a little burger or rissole.

As per the recipe above, these things tend to smell like dog biscuits, but they aren't too bad at all and are very filling. For extra taste, I have made them with the following modifications:

- Curry - just add the equivalent of a teaspoon of curry powder to each block
- Mexican - add chilli flakes and commercial burrito seasoning
- Italian - add italian hebs, powdered dehydrated tomato paste

It doesn't matter if you use lamb, beef, pork or even chicken or turkey mince.
If you're non-omnivorous, use TVP in place of the minced meat.

The astute reader will notice that these blocks are a form of pemmican. When they were originally developed in 1941, the Australian army tried to use traditional pemmican but the troops didn't like it. By mid 1942 they had come up with the lamb-based meat and veg instead and it was far better received, and looks nothing like the pemmican which inspired it.

[Moondog55]

Interesting; because in all my reading I had not come across this one.

[taipan821]

For S.E.S. searches/day hikes I carry a few protein bars as back up food. 2 bars for me is enough to have a filling meal and gives a fair bit of energy for the weight.
I also find ClIF bars to be filling, one CLIF bar is good for 3 hours hiking.

I've also tried the survival ration bars....stay away from those, very dry normally

[Moondog55]

The old standby of the Tararua biscuit is now too hard for my teeth to crack, otherwise they still make a decent ration base except not enough protein; although I 'spose adding milk powder could fix that, but they would then not keep as well.
One thing tho I just remembered.
I opened an old pack of my own pemmican a while ago to find it riddled with tiny holes and channels; the dried currants I used in it were obviously the home of some insect eggs and the grubs hatched out and ate their way though to the outside to die inside the sealed tin can the wrapped bars were stored inside of. So if you make and eat your own pemmican make a fresh batch each season

[andrewa]

Haha. What about your own body as a survival ration?...

Unless you are on the very lean side, which I reckon few are, I think most of us carry enough spare "rations" in body fat to survive for a while....and sometimes many days! You might get hungry, but you probably won't die.

A

[Moondog55]

Haha. What about your own body as a survival ration?...

Unless you are on the very lean side, which I reckon few are, I think most of us carry enough spare "rations" in body fat to survive for a while....and sometimes many days! You might get hungry, but you probably won't die.

A

Survival yes but as a base ration not such a good idea over a longer time.

Lots of searching and mainstay lifeboat rations are probably the best if the most expensive with fruit and nut chocolate a poor second.
Home made will probably fail due to poor packaging in a long term situation unless you have access to oxygen free packaging and packaging equipment