No-cook meals have long been a staple for the outdoors, especially in the warmer months. When I was doing long mile days, not having to stop and cook was one of the (many) ways I made my days easier. While I never went stoveless as some long-distance hikers do (I like a hot latte in the morning), I could carry far less fuel if I planned half my meals to be no cook.
The problem is that many who do no-cook tend to be heavy on carbs and low on protein. It used to be a thing with thru-hikers to prep their meals in an empty peanut butter jar, which, yes, does work. Things like ramen bricks and couscous can be cold-soaked (they are both pre-cooked). While being wheat-based, they do have some protein. But if you are pulling hard miles, you need protein to fuel your muscles. Those empty PB jars only held so much food, however.
Then you’d meet the true lovers of No-Cook who ate dry bricks of ramen. I hiked with one of those for a hot minute on the PCT one summer (that is Mt. Adams in the distance, in Oregon, looking North.)
He had a pack filled with ramen and munched away happily. He’d break the brick up into his PB jar, sprinkle on the flavor packet, and it was salty chips for dinner—every single meal, actually.
I tried convincing him to soak it and coat it with dressing. But no thank you, he said. He felt he wasn’t tied down at all and could just keep at the miles while crunching away. For many who do not, that is a reason they choose to try the method out. You can start soaking a lunch as you break camp in the morning, and start dinner a few hours before the next campsite. Or, you hike till you find somewhere to call camp and start your dinner to soak while you do your camp chores. Another reason is hiking in Grizzly Country. If you soak your meal while hiking, you can stop and have dinner along the trail, then continue hiking another hour or two and not have the scent of dinner cooking in camp.
I Got Into No-Cook Thanks To Kirk:
Even though I had been backpacking for years before I met Kirk and was already making recipes that would become FBC (Freezer Bag Cooking), I hadn’t sat down to a no-cook until Kirk pulled out his go-to, a couscous dish made with cream of spinach soup mix and tuna. He liked having no-cook meals so he could keep going. It wasn’t what I was into at that point, but I never forgot about it and later would pick it up. I ate it that first time since I was hungry and he was “cooking.” And I saw the merit of it.
Let’s Talk About Adding Protein To No-Cook:
Only a few years ago, it was much harder to source freeze-dried meat easily. Amazon changed that, making it very accessible to buy #10 cans of freeze-dried meat. While dehydrating meat was a thing for decades, the quality and time it takes to rehydrate make it not worth your time. Some people would finely chop up jerky and soak it, but rarely was it soft, even after hours of soaking. Dehydrated canned chicken might have well been jerky, as it barely rehydrates, even with hot water.
While freeze-dried meat can be expensive to invest in, a #10 can contain quite a few servings.
With how many choices there are now, if you eat meat, it’s worth having along.
Types Of Meat And Soaking Times:
To do this tutorial, I measured out all the meats and bagged them up. To rehydrate, I started with 1 to ½ ratio. For ½ cup meat, use ¼ cup water. Add the water to the bag, seal it, pushing out the air. Then, let it sit on its side. Turn the bag over periodically. Check at 15 minutes. Add a bit more water if the water is absorbed, but the meat needs longer. Shredded meat rehydrates the fastest. Diced beef and hamburger took the longest. All though, rehydrated fine with cool water.
Buy the highest quality you can afford. I fully understand though: food is so expensive right now. But you are worth it. Saving 2-5 dollars buying a low-end brand, you might find it’s not great on the trail, when you have no other options. And beware of look-alike products, that look like meat but is really flavored TVP. Nutri-Store and Mountain House are good choices, and there are a couple of other brands I would recommend. I don’t like to bad-mouth brands, but if you have concerns, reach out to me, and we can talk in private.
Bagged up.
Chicken (chopped or chunks):
The serving size is ½ cups, and the cost is $3.25 per serving. It has 110 calories and 21 grams of protein, while Grilled Chicken is $2.34 per serving. Only needs 15 minutes rehydration time.
The serving size is ½ cup. $3.50 per serving. 250 calories and 20 grams of protein.Needs 20 to 25 minutes rehydration time.
The serving size is ½ cup. $3.20 a serving. 130 calories and 16 grams of protein. Diced beef takes time to rehydrate, it will need 25 to 30 minutes.
The serving size is ½ cup. $2.66 a serving. 130 calories and 16 grams of protein. Pulled pork rehydrates in 15 minutes. If there are big pieces, you might want to gently break them apart first for even rehydration.
The serving size is ½ cup.$3.33 per serving. 240 calories/13 grams protein. Sausage needs 20 to 25 minutes, as it is a dense meat.
Al 5 meats rehydrated. Starting at top, at Noon, going clockwise: Chicken, hamburger, diced beef, pulled pork and sausage crumbles.
Examples In Using:
Chicken Salad is a great example of using freeze-dried meat in a no-cook recipe.
After rehydration is done, all the meats can be tossed with sauces and dressings (a tub of dipping sauce from a deli or fast food place works perfectly) and then eaten as is, or spread on tortillas for extra calories. Or spread on crackers for a crunchy carb.
BBQ sauce, ranch, sweet and sour sauce, and Thai sweet chili pepper sauce are great starts.
And if you love meat, it’s honestly a great snack on its own.
~Sarah
Thank you for posting this! This started when I tried to cold soak a Wild Zora quinoa meal that had chicken in it and noted that the chicken rehydrated quite well – which is what started me down this path with you! No more long days without enough protein for recovery – this is a game changer for me! Yee ha!