Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

This is an idea I saw another Scout do leader on a winter camp-out. He was a chef, sp I thought he was "cheating" . He prepared meals for his scouters ahead of time , like spahetti and meatballs, and put them im "boil in bags" then he would those large 50 cup coffe urns filled with water plug em in and heat the food....no fuss no muss easy clean up to boot.....Me I like my food burnt on the fire or cooked on the spot ...just an idea though if your in a hurry

Check out this thread.... alot of people had other recipes/ideas about cooking in a bag...

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... sc&start=0

BTW... I have a foodsaver vac system and it sealing some things and then just boiling them in the bag would work well for camping... things like Manwich or taco meat.

Don't know if just boiling water in a deep cast iron pot would qualify me as a Dutch Oven chef!! haha a

oklahomajewel wrote:Don't know if just boiling water in a deep cast iron pot would qualify me as a Dutch Oven chef!! haha a

...only if you don't burn it ...........................................

oklahomajewel wrote:Check out this thread.... alot of people had other recipes/ideas about cooking in a bag...

http://tnttt.com/viewto ... sc&start=0

BTW... I have a foodsaver vac system and it sealing some things and then just boiling them in the bag would work well for camping... things like Manwich or taco meat.

Don't know if just boiling water in a deep cast iron pot would qualify me as a Dutch Oven chef!! haha a

I have to Second the Foodsaver, I use it all the time. I make up big batches of stew/soup and seal it in indiv servings, throw them a pot of water for a min or two and you got a quick meal.

The vac sealer is great for keeping stuff dry, we vac a few small packs of meat and cheese, then you don't have to worry about them in the cooler.

Foodsaver is the best solution I have found for preserving BBQ flavors. I smoke about 50-60 lbs of pork butt (Boston butt or shoulder meat) at a time and even my family can't put that much away in one sitting. Pulled pork dries out faster than anything so I vacuum seal it as soon as it gets to room temp. and freeze it. When I want some, I just boil the whole, sealed butt until it gets to temp in the middle, pull it out and open 'er up. It tastes like it just came off the smoker.

GB

Nytewyng wrote:This is an idea I saw another Scout do leader on a winter camp-out. He was a chef, sp I thought he was "cheating" . He prepared meals for his scouters ahead of time , like spahetti and meatballs, and put them im "boil in bags" then he would those large 50 cup coffe urns filled with water plug em in and heat the food....no fuss no muss easy clean up to boot.....Me I like my food burnt on the fire or cooked on the spot ...just an idea though if your in a hurry

This is a great idea, it can save you time, waste and particularly water. You can use clean water that you wouldn't otherwise trust for drinking (boil for a few minuted before adding the bags) or if the only water you have is what you brought in, you can reuse the water for several meals as long as you don't contaminate it.

However, you must take some precautions otherwise vacuum packing has a the potential to be extremely dangerous. Botulism just loves the no oxygen enviroment of a vacum bag. So even though it is vacuumed you need proper temperature control in two ways.

1. Storage, make sure you store cooked food below 40 F. Don't fall into the trap that since it is vacuum sealed it will be OK that my cooler got a little warm.

2. Cooling, most problems with food illness from reheated food is a result of how well the food was originally cooled into the safe zone (below 40 F) Faster is better and anything over two hours can be downright dangerous.

Example: You want to make spaghetti and meatballs for 12 so you can have a few friends come over for dinner while your camping, you are going to premake it and vacuum seal it. You make it, out it in a bowl and place the bowl in the fridge to cool overnight and then pack the bags the next morning(you already know that it is not a good adea to try and pack hot foods in a vacuum bag). So what is wrong with that you ask...well the chances are it took your spaghetti anywhere from 4 - 8 hours for all of it to get into the safe zone!
The reason is, refrigerators are good at keeping things cold, but lousy at cooling things down.

The best thing to so is spread the spaghetti out as mush as possible and stir it every 10 minutes until it is room temperature then put it into the fridge and continue until it is cold. If you have aluminum cookie sheets spread it out on them. They will help cool hot foods quicker. If it is a cool night out cool it off outside, it is much faster. Once cool, pack seal and chill again. On your trip make sure the food stays below 40 F. If the temperature of your cooler/food rises above 40 F for more than 2 hours consider hitting the Pizza Hut down the road or bring out your MRE's.