Pre-cooking/freezing food before heading bush

[DX grunt]

Some might call it lazy, others might call it a smart, space saving initiative.

I don't have a CT and rely totally on my 95lt Evakool fridge/freezer when I head bush.

Do you pre-cook/freeze any/some/all of your food before you head bush?
Do you live on canned food or liquid food (lol)?

I think I need a 2nd fridge/freezer for bait/fish. The smell of bait in my dinner doesn't turn me on. PML.

Give me something to work with, please?

Rossco

[Drewboyaus]

I often pre-cook and freeze meals when heading away. I can feed the family (wife and 3 kids) from a 47lt ARB fridge for 4-5 days with some careful planning. Also requires some careful grog rotation through the fridge.
When I'm on my own or just me an my eldest daughter I tend to cook on the go.....
Generally, I'd rather spend time enjoying a fire with a beer rather than cooking.
Just picked up a new 60l ARB jobbie yesterday......same amount of food, more beer! LOL...


Tip tip tip......tap tap tap....

[Maxhead]

Do you have a cryovac machine? If not invest in one mate, they are great. The will keep your food fresh and smell free for lot longer in the fridge.

[DX grunt]

I often pre-cook and freeze meals when heading away. I can feed the family (wife and 3 kids) from a 47lt ARB fridge for 4-5 days with some careful planning. Also requires some careful grog rotation through the fridge.
When I'm on my own or just me an my eldest daughter I tend to cook on the go.....
Generally, I'd rather spend time enjoying a fire with a beer rather than cooking.
Just picked up a new 60l ARB jobbie yesterday......same amount of food, more beer! LOL...


Tip tip tip......tap tap tap....

Thanks. There's only a certain amount of snags in a bun, that a man can eat!

I like to eat healthy on the road, and just wondering what people eat and the techniques they use.

Summer time is a challenge with all the campfire bans around the place.

[DX grunt]

Do you have a cryovac machine? If not invest in one mate, they are great. The will keep your food fresh and smell free for lot longer in the fridge.

I do. I'm still trying to work it out. Sometimes it doesn't seal properly, but I suspect it's 'Operator Error'. lol

[pearcey]

G`day Rossco
On long remote travel I use an 18lt Waco as a freezer which we stack with criovacted meat and other goods that need freezing.
We use a 40lt Waco as a normal fridge for drinks and things Like milk, butter, leftovers,bread and anything that needs to be kept cold.
We use canned vegies and things like spuds and onions will travel quite happy in a place which is dark and dry. Eggs do not need refrigeration but need careful packing,we only use the original container that they come in as I figger they were transported to the shop with little or no breakages so they should be OK and so far we have only lost a couple in all our travels.For the storage of all those fish I fillet then place in ziplock bags with a little salt water and freeze. Bait now there's a problem will watch this post for any suggestions.

[Cuppa]

Wife & I were discussing this yesterday.

If going away for a period of time that you can carry all your food for we reckon pre-prepared stuff to cover the period is a no brainer.
A bit harder when going away for longer or indefinite periods. If the latter it can still help considerably to carry a stock of long lasting/space saving/weight saving foods.

Frozen meals, when cooking at home make extra, freeze & it's there ready to take. Stuff that can be readily heated in whatever cooking facilities your Patrol has. Have to think ahead to ensure tonight's meal is thawed.

Buy meat from a butcher who will vacuum pack it for you. Lasts much longer in the freezer or fridge. (or get your own vacuum sealer for home use).

A lot of things can be dried at home if you have a dehydrator & reconstituted at camp, including complete meals. We've tried it succesfully with chilli con carne (without rice), but it takes a bit of practice reconstituting it.
Drying some things increases their flavour intensity. e.g. mushrooms

A good selection of plastic containers to fit in the freezer is essential. Plastic bags are ok, but containers are nicer & less likely to leach smells between other things (like bait).

Fixed rule - no glass on board, no exceptions. It's heavy & bulky. Decant anything bought in glass into your own plastic or other lightweight bottles.

Reduce packaging - less rubbish to deal with at camp & saves on space. When we do a shop (when we were on the road) at a supermarket, we didn't leave the carpark until we had transferred everything into our own containers & put all the packaging into the supermarket's rubbish bin. Amazing how much there is.

Keep canned food to a bare minimum, it's heavy. A couple of 'emergency tins of tun & baked beans.

We tried a few packs of the dried hiking meals, bought them in Perth, & used them when we needed to save space when riding bikes into the Bungles. Never again, they were disgusting & really expensive too.

Some fresh veggies last better than others, take a selection & keep the carrots, spuds, onions & capsicums until later.

Good supplies of all the dried stuff like pasta, rice, noodles, flour, etc plus herbs/spices/jam/golden syrup etc to make plain tasting stuff into a treat.

If on an extended trip cooking is part of the enjoyment, not a chore if you are in no rush. Short trips have different priorities

Dunno if this helps, just a few thoughts


What's a CT?

Cuppa

[Drew]

Camper Trailer


“The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.” - Albert Einstein

[DX grunt]

But I like drinking out of glass and not ally cans! lol

[Cuppa]

But I like drinking out of glass and not ally cans! lol

Easy solution to this for me - I don't carry any beer! LOL
If MrsTea insists on having some wine, a small 'chateau cardboard suffices', removed from the cardboard at the supermarket of course. We are still trying to find an acceptable non glass wine 'glass'. Not all plastics are equal.
But I do make one small exception, stuffed if I'll drink my tea & coffee out of plastic mugs - yuk. However the 'Corelle' stuff works ok for this.