A reader submitted recipe:
This recipe requires a little work at home, but is great for learning how to dehydrate food.
Shepherd’s Pie
2 lbs lean ground beef, bison or venison
8-ounces (half a bag) of frozen mixed veggies (use small cut)
2/3 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt or seasoned salt, pepper, and dried onion flakes to taste
You will also need:
2 pouches of “just add water” instant potatoes (I use Betty Crocker roasted garlic) (The Idahoan brand can be used as well)
Directions for the at home prep:
Brown ground meat, then drain any remaining fat. Mix in veggies, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings, then put into a casserole dish. Bake covered on 350° for about 25 minutes.
Spoon the “pie filling” onto dehydrator trays lined with parchment paper. It usually takes about 12 to 16 hrs to fully dehydrate (dry at your meat setting, usually 145* or higher). You’ll have to check it about halfway through, and maybe mix things around a little so they dry evenly.
Once the meat mixture is dried and cooled, separate into 1 cup servings and pack in quart freezer bags. This rehydrates at about a 1:1 ratio.
In a second quart freezer bag, add 1/2 cup of instant potatoes. (1 bag potatoes per bag of filling)
In camp:
Add 1 cup of near boiling water to the meat mixture. Seal tightly and let “cook” in a freezer bag cozy for about 15 minutes, or until meat is tender. Pour potato flakes over the meat mixture, then add an additional 1/2 cup of water (less if you have water left over that wasn’t absorbed by the meat). Stir and enjoy! (Or you can prepare the potatoes in the second bag and then top the sauce with them.)
Note: Don’t package the meat mixture and potatoes together! The potatoes will magically absorb most of the water and you’ll end up with soupy potatoes and crunchy meat…
Enjoy,
Diana (of the Dunes)
Thank you Diana! And of course this recipe can be prepared either FBC style, using an insulated mug or done in your pot.