Tomato Leather
Cover tray with fruit leather sheet (or plastic wrap - do not let product
touch metal trays - the acid interacts with the metal). Spread a 6 oz. can of
tomato paste about 1/4 inch thick. Dry 6 - 8 hours. The lower the temperature
the better. After 4 hours, peel up tomato leather and turn over ( this speeds
the drying process). Store in ziplock bag in freezer.
Tomato Powder
Take a Tomato Leather (above), tear into pieces and put into blender.
Pulverize into powder. Store in ziplock bag in freezer. This will
reconstitute much faster than a Leather. I have seen this available from mail
order and in our local CoOp, but it is expensive! On the order of 20 times
more!! If you don't mind a few more minutes for rehydrating, go with this
do-it-yourself, cheaper version.
Homedried Ground Meat
1# of Ground Meat (beef, venison, turkey).
Brown in frying pan or cook in microwave till all redness is gone. Drain off
all fat. "Flash off" meat (Add 1/2 cup water to cooked meat, bring to a boil,
drain off all fluids. This process is to reduce fat to as little as
possible.). Repeat flashing off process two or three times. Spread crumbled,
cooked ground meat on tray. Dry in dehydrator for up to eight hours or
overnight turning meat occasionally to ensure even drying (this can be done
in an oven as long as the temperature is under 150 degrees and door is opened
a bit to vent moisture). The stuff looks and feels like large pieces of
ground coffee. To store, divide in half and double bag. The first shoud be a
Baggies sandwich bag. Squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible and it
tie shut with a simple knot (don't use a twistie -- it can puncture the bag.
Besides they can easily be "lost" which is not wilderness-friendly). The
second bag should be a ziplock freezer bag. Duct tape the seal as insurance
against moisture spoilage resulting from a broken seal during rugged handling
associated with camping activity. Label contents, place in a larger freezer
bag, and store in freezer until you are ready to make up actual meals. This
gives you two packages of the dried equivalent of 1/2 pound of ground meat.
Each packet is about the right amount for two portions of most casseroles..
Thaw at room temperature before packing for trip to avoid water condensation.
The packets of dehydrated ground meat should last a week on the trail, maybe
more. KEEP SEALED! Meat can take on moisture from the air and spoil quickly.
Keep stored separately for this reason. If meat does go bad on the trail
before use, simply make a meatless version of your casserole or substitute
something like pepperoni, sausage, or dried (chipped) beef.
TO RECONSTITUTE DEHYDRATED ITEMS: Guesstimate how much water to add. Warm water works fastest. Start with just enough to cover dried ingredients and add more water as needed. Cook noodles, spaghetti, etc. separately according to package directions.
Camp Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Two generous servings.
Into a quart size Ziplock bag put: 6 oz. dry spaghetti
broken in half; a little salt; a smaller bag containing tomato powder made
from a 6 oz. can of Italian-style tomato paste, dried mushrooms, dried green
pepper, dried minced onion, and extra seasonings; a separate bag of dried
ground meat (or pepperoni, or summer sausage). This is truly two generous
servings! Don't increase or you'll have left-overs.
For six servings (like a canoe trip).
1# (16 oz) spaghetti (no more!). I like
to package the spaghetti in the cardboard core left from paper towels -- duct
tape the ends shut. This really protects the spaghetti. Tomato powder made
from three 6 oz cans of Italian-style tomato paste (no more! In fact cut it
back a little if you can), dried mushrooms, dried green pepper, dried minced
onion, and a spaghetti sauce seasoning packet; 3 separate bags of dried
ground meat (equivalent of 1&1/2 lbs. or use pepperoni which is my
preference). In camp: Rehydrate the sauce mix -- guestimate the amount of
water needed. Hot water works best. Heat sauce adding water to reach the
correct consistency (make the sauce thinner than what you would at home to
prevent scorching). Cook spaghetti according to directions -OR- To save fuel.
Boil spaghetti for two minutes, cover, set aside for 10 - 14 minutes with the
pot wrapped in insulation (like a sweater, jacket, etc.). Bring along a
little Parmesan Cheese for addition "Class" points. AND you have to have some
kind of bread with this!
Copyright © 1998, 1999 tahoe's BWCAW Pages.
From Charlotte's Pacific Crest Trail Pages:
Tomato Leather:
Cover tray with solid plastic (I cut up plastic bags and taped over the tray)
Lightly grease Spread about one large jar of tomato sauce evenly over the
tray Dry about twelve hours at 135 degrees. Leather should be brittle, with
no moisture.