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Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:10 pm
by Karl
Looking for some inspiration on the cooking front. I've got Stu's afterburner stove and an alpkit mytimug. So the question is what would/have cooked using a similar setup?

Looking for high calorific value, low weight and great taste if this is possible :-)

Answers on a postcard

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:22 pm
by Bearbonesnorm
Packet of this in a pour and store bag, additional little bag containing pre-cooked bacon, sausage, ham, grated cheese or all of the above. Hot water in bag, stir in the other bag and away you go ... it actually tastes really nice.

Image

Instant packet custard is another favourite as is powdered milk (with water obviously) with broken mars bars in ... warm it slowly (the joy of a simmering meths stove :-bd ) and keep stirring until the mars bars are all melted ... eat with a spoon or dip stuff in it.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:57 pm
by willwebby
I found this site the other day, it may be of some use to you.

http://www.trailcooking.com

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 10:57 pm
by dlovett
http://m.simplyhike.co.uk/manufacturers ... nture.aspx

Mx3 do some really good meals. Hugh cal per gram. I bought them from a French site much cheaper and a better range. I used them in the Bbff in jan.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 12:43 am
by Joshvegas
steak and a cast iron griddle witha folding handle.


It was a "bit" excessive perhaps but tasty!

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 4:51 pm
by Matt
Baked Camembert :-bd

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 7:53 pm
by Joshvegas
Oooh yeah thats a great one.

Make some bannocks to dip in it too.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:01 pm
by Karl
You guys know how to live it up. I was thinking along the lines of stu's suggestion but liking the idea of camembert and steak. Had a look at the dehydrated foods and calorie to weight value is very high so tempted down that route for events. I'll order some up and give it a try. Definitely trying stu's mash next week though.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:14 pm
by ianfitz
I dehydrate home cooked meals. Daal or a chilli/casserole made with ingredients chopped smaller than normal. I also add way more butter or anything else calorific that suits the recipe.

Cook it. Spread it thinly on oven trays. Weigh it. Put it in your oven at 50c for several hours. When it looks likes dust it's ready. Weigh it again - the weight loss is the amount of boiling water you'll need to add.

Portion it up in freezer bags then when you're ready to eat just add boiling water and let it sit in a pot cosy (or you pocket!) for 5-10 minutes.

Fancy, expensive dehydrators are available but a decent quality oven will work jus fine.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:35 pm
by rufus748
ianfitz wrote:I dehydrate home cooked meals. Daal or a chilli/casserole made with ingredients chopped smaller than normal. I also add way more butter or anything else calorific that suits the recipe.

Cook it. Spread it thinly on oven trays. Weigh it. Put it in your oven at 50c for several hours. When it looks likes dust it's ready. Weigh it again - the weight loss is the amount of boiling water you'll need to add.

Portion it up in freezer bags then when you're ready to eat just add boiling water and let it sit in a pot cosy (or you pocket!) for 5-10 minutes.

Fancy, expensive dehydrators are available but a decent quality oven will work jus fine.
I tried this the other day with some left over chilli having been disillusioned with dehydrate packet meals. Simple, cheap and much tastier !

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:00 pm
by ianfitz
rufus748 wrote:
ianfitz wrote:I dehydrate home cooked meals. Daal or a chilli/casserole made with ingredients chopped smaller than normal. I also add way more butter or anything else calorific that suits the recipe.

Cook it. Spread it thinly on oven trays. Weigh it. Put it in your oven at 50c for several hours. When it looks likes dust it's ready. Weigh it again - the weight loss is the amount of boiling water you'll need to add.

Portion it up in freezer bags then when you're ready to eat just add boiling water and let it sit in a pot cosy (or you pocket!) for 5-10 minutes.

Fancy, expensive dehydrators are available but a decent quality oven will work jus fine.
I tried this the other day with some left over chilli having been disillusioned with dehydrate packet meals. Simple, cheap and much tastier !
it sure it. given that those hi-tech meals cost a fiver a pop too!

the only thing I would add is that although dehydrated food should be safe to keep for ages I do freeze any that I'm not planning on using soon. there's no harm in being safe where food hygiene is concerned.

i have a batch of slow cooked pulled pork casserole in the freezer for my next outing...

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 9:58 pm
by Joshvegas
Just be sure to bring an appropriate drink to match.

Wee bottles of red normally find their way into a more relaxed adventure pack list.

I have also used hookah charcoal on my hive stove for barbequing.

I tend to eat better adventuring than i do at home.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:41 pm
by whitestone
Very slight side-track: are the boil-in-the-bag bags a very specific item or will any of the supermarket freezer/food type bags do? I'd imagine that the supermarkets source things like this from only a handful of manufacturers.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:45 pm
by ianfitz
whitestone wrote:Very slight side-track: are the boil-in-the-bag bags a very specific item or will any of the supermarket freezer/food type bags do? I'd imagine that the supermarkets source things like this from only a handful of manufacturers.
boil in the bags (like rice) are perforate so you drop them in the pan whereas the bags that I use are freezer bags which I add the water too once it has boiled. they seem to tolerate having boiling water added to them but I'm not sure if there are unseen toxins mixed into myfood as a result! not thought of it until now...

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:55 pm
by dlovett
These are the guys I got the mx3 from, they sell lots of others.

http://en.lyophilise.fr/CT-152-savoury- ... spx?FC=252

d

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:34 pm
by ScotRoutes
whitestone wrote:Very slight side-track: are the boil-in-the-bag bags a very specific item or will any of the supermarket freezer/food type bags do? I'd imagine that the supermarkets source things like this from only a handful of manufacturers.
I got a load of "pour and store" bags from Aldi a couple of years back. They are available in standard supermarkets. They are more robust than normal freezer bags and can be opened out at the bottom so that they stand up. I pour hot water into them, mix, then put in in a pot cosy to re-hydrate.

They are re-sealable and can be re-used too.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 11:54 pm
by Scattamah
My favourite for 2-3 night food is penne (carb replenish), tomato/onion/garlic sauce (or cheat and get a bolognaise sauce - flavour), pesto (extra flavour), diced chillies (heat on a cold night - get my core temp back up) and cheese (fats). Drop it all in a ziplock and it's ready to eat hot or cold. I eat it cold pasta-salad stylee. The only issue I have with it is weight as it's already wet. I make around 1 kilo for 2 good sized meals or 3 reasonable sized meals.

Dessert is SIS strawberry recovery powder - in milk if I'm near a shop and not carrying it for more than an hour (or 2 if it's cold out) or in water if I'm further out. 3-4 scoops for a couple of days dropped in a ziplock. Finish off with chocolate and almond fudge Clif Bar.

Greetz

S.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 12:00 am
by Dave42w
I'm interested in this.

However, I'm cycling to WRT via Bristol and Cardiff. Leaving home on 17th April so will be needing to resupply multiple times. Means I'm going to be limited to what I can find locally - doubt that will include much in the way of fancy stuff ;-)

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 12:08 am
by AlasdairMc
Can't help on the food front, but the double zipper Ziploc bags from Amazon are great for reheating meals, porridge bags, and as a substitute for a dry bag for your phone and wallet.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 7:58 am
by whitestone
ianfitz wrote:
whitestone wrote:Very slight side-track: are the boil-in-the-bag bags a very specific item or will any of the supermarket freezer/food type bags do? I'd imagine that the supermarkets source things like this from only a handful of manufacturers.
boil in the bags (like rice) are perforate so you drop them in the pan whereas the bags that I use are freezer bags which I add the water too once it has boiled. they seem to tolerate having boiling water added to them but I'm not sure if there are unseen toxins mixed into myfood as a result! not thought of it until now...
It wasn't so much the leaching of chemicals (I'm beyond worrying about that!) but whether the standard freezer bags would stand up to boiling water. I've not seen "Pour and Store" bags in Asda, Safeways or Morrisons but might not have been looking in the right place/aisle.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:43 am
by Bearbonesnorm
It wasn't so much the leaching of chemicals (I'm beyond worrying about that!) but whether the standard freezer bags would stand up to boiling water. I've not seen "Pour and Store" bags in Asda, Safeways or Morrisons but might not have been looking in the right place/aisle.
They will cope with boiling water, although they do go a bit 'floppy'. I made a stand / cosy for them a while back ... sort of like a fold out envelope, I'll see if I can find a picture.

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 10:20 am
by Bearbonesnorm
Here we go, Keeps the contents of your freezer bag a bit warmer and stops you trying to juggle what feels like a balloon filled with boiling water :-bd

Image

Image

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 11:28 am
by whitestone
I'm sure somewhere an astronaut is thinking: "My bum's cold"! :lol:

I'll have to have a look in our nearest Tesco for Pour and Store and compare them to ziplock freezer bags

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 11:52 am
by benp1
Pour and Store bags, they're brilliant. Really robust, I usually pack my rubbish out in the them afterwards

If you want to save the weight of the cosy then you can stick it in your sleeping bag to cook (with it firmly closed clearly!)



My usual 2 night approach is a cous cous meal for one night, and a super noodle meal for the other. Both done in pour and store bags, with extra stuff added like a packet of soup mix, seeds, chili etc

Dessert is usually cake/muffin and custard, and hot angel delight

Breakfast is flapjack/snack bars or porridge

Lunch is usually skipped, I snack all the way through the day. If I stop for a rest at lunchtime then I usually just eat lots of snacks in one go. I used to go for cheese, pate and oatcakes. Primula and oatcakes is a nice easy option, especially with mini elk salamis from ikea

Re: Multiday Bikepacking Menus

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 2:14 pm
by u02sgb
If the bags have a decent seal I always close the top, put them inside my hat and pop it zipped inside my jacket while they rehydrate.

Like a wee hot water bottle. Been lucky enough to not be covered in dinner so far...