Dehydrating hamburger for storage and making better backcountry meals

I will never forget the first freeze dried meal I ate while on the trail more than a few years ago, it convinced me to head out, buy a dehydrator and begin packaging my own foods 

Yes, I know the quality of freeze-dried products have improved over the years and that some people swear by them. But for me, I cannot justify spending the huge amount of cash it would take to support me on a five- or six-day backpacking or canoe trip. And more to the point, I like the foods I prepare much better than anything I have found in the stores.

On my solo canoe trip, I added a few things to the menu that I have not tried before, dried hamburger and shrimp. I know people have been dehydrating hamburger for a very long time, but for some reason it has always given me a bit of the creeps. Maybe it has something to do with all the stories I wrote as a reporter about contaminated hamburger. The fact is if you write enough of those stories and do as much research as I have regarding public health issues, it gets into a part of your brain and it is hard to shake.

With a dehydrator and a little effort you can dry your hamburger
and other meats for use on the trail or in an emergency

But shake it I did, and I wish I had done so a long time ago, because drying hamburger is easy, safe and offers a huge number of options when it comes to meals on the trail. The same goes for shrimp which pick up a concentrated flavor that really perks up a campfire meal.

One of the points to drying foods such as hamburger is that of course to preserve it and in doing so it becomes much lighter. My last batch of ground beef went from 1-pound raw down to a cooked and dried weight of 4-ounces.

It is important to understand that it is the fats in meats that can go rancid and this is what you must try and eliminate or at least reduce to a very low level. So the mantra when drying hamburger is to get as lean a mix as possible and then remove as much of the fat as you can when cooking.

The last batch I dried was ground sirloin, which was listed as having a blend of 90 percent beef and 10 percent fat. This worked very well and dried up perfectly.

Step one is to cook the ground beef, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you go. I cook  it slowly at  medium to medium low heat stirring almost constantly. If there is an excess of fat being rendered off, I remove it as the beef cooks, but if the mix is lean, as the ground sirloin was, it should not be a problem. If there is any concern that there is too much fat left there is a simple way to remove it. Add water to the pan and let the meat simmer for a few minutes and then drain the cooked meat in a colander. This process will remove a considerable amount of fat and guarantee that the meat is cooked through.

Once the meat is cooked and I am satisfied I have removed as much of the fat as I can, I use a slotted spoon to scoop it out onto a paper towel lined platter to let it cool and if there is any fat left, it will be absorbed by the paper towels.

Now all that is left is to place it on the dehydrator trays, making sure to spread it out to allow good air circulation. Dry the meat at the setting suggested by the manufacturer of the dehydrator, in the case of my dehydrator, the setting is 160F. The length of time it will take to dry can range from four to 15 hours, depending upon the type of dehydrator, the humidity in the room where the dehydrator is located and the ambient temperature.

When the meat is dry, it will be incredibly hard and many have given dried hamburger the nick name of "gravel" or “rocks”, either of which fits perfectly. There should be no soft pieces at all, if there are let it continue drying.

Home made spaghetti sauce leather, dried hamburger and
pasta make a wonderful meal while in the backcountry.

I pack my dried hamburger in zipper closed bags and store it in the freezer, where it will remain fresh until I need it. This is the only way I store any dried meat for the long term, never on an open shelf. For use on the trail, I have small heavy plastic bags that will hold one meal worth of dried hamburger. I fill the bags, press out as much air as possible, roll down the top and then tape it shut with clear packing tape.

I use the meat in meals such as beef stroganoff using a store-bought noodle package or in homemade spaghetti sauce I also dry. In meals other than the spaghetti sauce, I put the hamburger in a pot with water, bringing it to a simmer, letting it cook for a bit before adding all the other ingredients. With the spaghetti sauce, I can add the water needed to re-hydrate the tomato sauce leather and then toss in the hamburger, letting it cook for a while.

As I said I also have been drying shrimp, which is easier than the hamburger as there is nothing to cook. Using cooked, frozen cocktail shrimp, I thaw them under cool running water for five minutes, pat the shrimp dry and then toss them into the dehydrator. If the shrimp have the tails on, they must be removed, but last time my wife bought me a bag of the small salad shrimp and all I had to do was thaw and dry them.

I re-hydrate shrimp by placing them in a pot with water to cover and let them sit, the longer the better. My son tried out the last batch I made with an alfredo broccoli pasta mix and he really liked it. The shrimp end up with a concentrated flavor that is very good.

By drying these items, I save money, create a wide variety of meals without a lot of additives and I have the satisfaction of knowing that I truly made the meal I am eating from start to finish.

For more information on dehydrating foods, one of the best sites I have found with authoritative information is the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Here you will find instructions on how to dry vegetables, fruit leathers and more.

Another good place is at any of the dehydrator manufacture website. Often there are instruction manuals that can be downloaded showing how to dry foods. The NESCO website, maker of the American Harvester dehydrator I use has a great "How To" section that offers instructions on drying everything from crafts to cooked meat and tomatoes. It is a great resource and honestly the dehydrators they make are easy to use and very reliable.

So take the time to try your hand at drying your own meals. As I said, not only will you save money and avoid all the additives you find in packaged foods, but when you make a meal with ingredients you prepared you will know you truly cooked the meal from start to finish. 

Backpacking stoves: Keep them running hot

Backpacking stoves are built to take the rigors of the trail, but they need to be maintained to keep them running right.

When it comes to canister stoves, just make sure they are clean
and there are no missing o-rings.

With canister stoves, the job is quick and easy, as there is not much that can go wrong. Other than checking to make sure the burner head is clean and that all the o-rings are in place, there is not much to do. If you find an o-ring or seal missing, contact the manufacture and get a replacement.

Actually, this goes for any stove, whether it uses gas cartridges or liquid fuel. You need to check out any location that has an o-ring or seal and if there is damage replace them.

The first step in maintaining a liquid fuel stove is to have the proper instructions in hand when you begin the process. Coleman, MSR and Primus offer instruction manuals online that can be downloaded and printed out. On the MSR and Coleman sites pick the model of stove and there are links on the page to instruction manuals. I have listed below the links to the instructions for the two stoves I use. And luckily, if parts are needed, REI has repair kits for MSR stoves in stock.

The first step is to discard any old fuel in the stove as it will "go bad" and gum up the works. When you discard the fuel make sure to do it in a safe manner, remember you are dealing with gasoline and it is highly flammable.

When it comes to liquid fuel stoves, there are quite a few on the market, but they all work basically the same. The fuel is pressurized, fed through the fuel line where it vaporizes and then it is sent to the burner. To build that

pressure, air is pumped into the tank and this is where the pump cup comes in along with most of the failures.

Most stoves come with pump cup oil, but any mineral based oil can be used. If putting a few drops of oil into the pump does not solve the issue, then disassemble the pump so you can check out the cup. If it is damaged, replace it.  All the stoves on the market offer repair kits and it pays to have one on hand.

If the cup is intact, many times cleaning and oiling it will allow you to reshape it. You may be able to flatten out the cup then reform it into the proper shape.

Next comes cleaning the fuel line and at the same time the generator. The generator on these stoves allows the fuel to “swirl” through the fuel line and when it hits the heated portion, the fuel vaporizes. Each stove is a bit different in what the generator looks like, but they all work basically the same.

On the MSR and Primus stoves it can be cleaned, while on Coleman stoves it is a separate assembly that needs to be replaced. One suggestion made by MSR is on component stoves, those with separate fuel bottles, is to detach the fuel line from the burner and then run some fuel though the line to flush out any dirt.

Just a little work will help to keep your stove burning hot.

One area that needs to be cleaned on stoves like the Whisperlite is the priming cup and on Primus stoves, it is called the priming pad. It is the area on the bot- tom where you place fuel to burn and preheat the stove. A lot of carbon can build up and it needs to be cleaned. It can be wiped away with a cloth with a bit of oil on it and a lot of paper towels.

To keep carbon build up down, use denatured alcohol for priming instead of white gas. Alcohol burns clean and can be stored in a small squirt bottle to make filling the priming area easy.

Finally, if at any time you find you have fuel leaking anywhere on the pump assembly, send it in for repair or get a repair kit. There are check valves in the pumps that allow air into the fuel tank to build pressure and at the same time keep the fuel in.

I have had a check valve fail and it is rather surprising to pump up the stove and then have a pressurized stream of fuel come back out of the pump.  

So take the time to make sure you stove is running at its peak, you will be happy you did when you sit down to cook a meal on the trail.

Alcohol Stoves: Clean, environmentally friendly and ultimately simple

There are all types of back- packing and camping stoves, but there is one class of burners that do not get a lot of attention and they are alcohol stoves.

The vast majority of stoves on the market run on either gas cartridges filled with butane/propane blends or on liquid fuel, better known as Coleman Fuel. These are the workhorse stoves on the market. They are hot, boil water fast and can be used in almost any condition. But they can be expensive and both burn non-renewable fuels.

The Trangia burner is the tried and true alcohol stove that generates a lot of

heat in a simple package.  Lawrence DiVizio

On the other hand there is the low tech alcohol stove.

Alcohol burners have been around since the time when someone realized it would burn.

Recently there has been a rebirth of these stoves with a few new ones on the market, but the tried and true unit is the Trangia stove madein Sweden. These are a ported stoves meaning that once the alcohol heats up, small holes in a raised portion of the stove begin to burn like a gas burner. They are offered in complete cook kits with stove and windscreen and all the way to a small ultra lightweight survival stove. They are fantastic products. There is also the Vargo Stove which is made of titanium, super light weight and easy to use. both of these stoves are available at REI .

The benefit of alcohol stoves is the very fact that they are so simple. There are no moving parts, nothing to replace and extremely safe.

For those who are handy and like to make things, there are a wide variety of homemade alcohol stoves out there. You can make (and my son and I have) stoves from beverage cans which is really rather neat when you do it. At the website Zen Stoves you will find descriptions of stoves you can make, discus- sions on the different types of alcohol that can be used and even drawings on how to make the stoves.

Now to the drawbacks and advantages to using alcohol fueled stoves.

The down side to alcohol is that it does not generate the heat a white gas or canister stove does so the boil time is a lot longer. It can take 10 minutes to   boil one-half quart of water, though my Trangia burner will do it in six. So ounce-per-ounce you get a lot less cook time than you do with a fuel like Cole- man fuel. These are not stoves for people who want to cook quickly, it can take some time. Another concern with alcohol is that it is hard to see when it is burning. So care must be taken when using an alcohol stove.

On the plus side, the fuel is made from renewable resources and alcohol will not explode, so it is very safe. Denatured alcohol also burns extremely clean and does not leave soot on you cook pots. That is why I use alcohol as the priming fuel with my MSR Whisperlite.

Alcohol is also easy to find. I bought my last can of it at the Meijer Store in Allen Park, Mich.  Unlike some fuels, if you spill alcohol it just evaporates and that’s it. And since it does not explode under normal conditions, it is much safer to carry and can be shipped via ground delivery in the United States. It cannot be taken on an aircraft.

Finally the stoves are totally silent, which is a real blessing at times.

The fuel I burn is denatured alcohol, so called because a compound has been added so it cannot be used as a beverage. Another source is the gas line antifreeze HEET in the yellow bottle., which is methyl alcohol. I use this when I can find it on sale or clearance in the spring and again, it must be the HEET in the yellow bottle.

You can also burn alcohol from the drug store, which I do not recommend because it can give off odd fumes and can burn dirty. But if you are stuck and need fuel it will work. I have done this but not if I can help it. Even high proof  booze will work, but  why waste it in a stove?

So if you are considering an alternative fuel stove, take a look at the alcohol stoves on the market and if you want, the plans to build your own.

Firebox Gen2 Nano Stove: light weight, easy to use and built to last

I carried the Gen2 Nano with me on an extended canoe trip last
year and it was perfect whether I was using wood or an alcohol
burner as the heat source. 

Of all the wood burning camping stoves I have looked at and used, the best one by far is the Gen2 Nano Firebox Stove. 

Firebox also makes a larger version, the G2-5-inch Folding Firebox Stove, which is a very good unit, but for my uses I want small and light weight.

The Firebox Nano is not only easy to carry and use, it sets up super quick, is extremely rugged and as an added bonus, will accept the Trangia alcohol burner.  With the use of two supports, the Trangia burner is placed one inch below the pot supports on the stove. This is known as the "sweet spot" for the Trangia burner where you get the most efficient use of the heat generated. With the burner in this position it is also possible to use the simmer ring for the Trangia, which is a must.

For me, being able to use my Trangia burner was the deal maker on this stove. I have looked over other units that take proprietary alcohol burners or solid fuel cubes, but having the ability to use a Trangia burner, which is considered the king of alcohol stoves, puts the Nano leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.

Those who have been pinned down by rain for a few days will totally understand the value of being able to use the alcohol burner when dry wood is not available. I have been in that position more than once and have had to pull out a backup stove. With the Nano, I will only need to add the alcohol burner and fuel to my gear to keep me cooking.
Specifications for the Firebox Nano are:

• Width:   3.0 inches (8 cm)
• Height:   4.75 inches (12 cm)
• Folded:   .25 inch (.635 cm)
• Weight:   6 oz (170 g)

By making the side panels of the stove asymmetrical, it allows the Firebox Nano to fold flat, taking up very little space in the pack. Folding flat for storage is true of the Nano and the larger Campfire Stove. To open either stove, there are no clips to engage, separate panels to put in place or anything else to move. You just very simply unfold the stove, flip down the ventilated floor plate and you are set to go. The legs on each corner of the Nano act as part of the hinges and both lift the stove off the ground and provide pot support.
It is simplicity itself. 

When it comes to weight, the six-ounce stainless steel Nano, which is what I have, is easy to carry. For those who want to shave the weight down a bit, there is a titanium version weighting only 4 ounces, with all the other dimensions being the same.

Retail on the stainless steel Firebox Nano is $39.99 and the titanium version comes in at $69.99. To be honest the added cost of the titanium is a bit too much for me, but for those who want to go light and have the extra cash, it may be the way to go.

I am not new to using wood stoves while on the trail, having used a couple different ones over the years. They were big, took up a lot of space in the pack and with each of them it was difficult to add wood to the fire.

With the Gen2 Firebox Nano, the issue of having to break wood into small pieces has been eliminated. On two panels of the stove near the bottom, there are openings that allow you to feed longer sticks into the fire, moving them in as they burn. When I have used the stove it was very easy to keep the fire fed and control the heat output. Having used other stoves that required small pieces of wood and lots of it, this addition makes life much easier. Add to this, the fact that the stove burns extremely efficiently and it is easier to start than many of the stoves I have used in the past or an open fire for that matter. 

Perhaps the reason there are so many pluses to this stove is because the maker, Steve Despain of Firebox Stove actually uses the stoves his company makes and he listens to his customers. He understands what it is all about when you are on the trail and want to cook a meal. You want a stove that is easy to set up and use, offers the versatility of using different fuels sources and will hold up over time. He has created this in his line of Firebox Stoves. 

To this end, Steve has not stopped with just offering a basic stove. There are grill plates that can be added, a flame deflector which keeps some of the heat off the handle of your cook pot and more. It is truly a complete system for cooking in the back-country or in base camp.

The only problem I found has to do with how well it works and how much my wife likes the stove. I now find myself having to purchase a full size Firebox Stove for base camp use, but honestly it is going to be money well spent.


For more information on the Firebox website for more information on the stove and other gear offered there. Then take the time to watch a few of the videos Steve has made using the stove and you will be amazed by what can be done with this simple but capable stove.  

Solo on the Ausable River: Trying a new PFD from Stearns and dry bags from SealLine

Late fall trips are always on my list each year but this time around I decided to stay off the trails and head for the Ausable River in upper Michigan for a few day solo trip.

In general, I am a backpacker and not a canoeist, sure I canoe the lakes I camp on when I have a car to get me there and I have traversed lakes to campsites along them, but was a bit different. So when I opened my equipment list on my computer it did not exactly fit my needs.

In short, I needed a way to keep my gear dry in the canoe and I very honestly needed an updated life jacket.

So it was time to look for a new PFD and dry bags.

The life jacket ( PFD) I had is a very general recreation type, intended to be worn in situations where extreme freedom of  movement of the arms is not a necessity as it is in canoeing or kayaking. It will do  when I have cross a lake to camp, but it would not work out for extended paddling, it would be too restrictive and uncomfortable.

So the search began.

When it came to finding a new PFD I was amazed by the variety and the price range of what is on the market. I thought that spending big money may make sense for those who will be using their  PFD reasonably often, but as I came to find, spending the big bucks really was not necessary. What I wanted was a PFD that was dependable, offered all the safety certifications that matter, is comfortable, made me feel secure and is affordable.

So I started looking around and reading as much as I could on paddle sport websites about the different PFDs on the market. It can get a bit crazy with prices ranging from $20 and up to near $200.

The Avant 200 Paddlesports Life Vest offered comfort 

while paddling and security, especially when the 

winds were gusting up to nearly 30 mph. 

One of the benefits of being an outdoors writer is that I have access to experts at the companies that offer the gear we all use in the outdoors. So when I have a question I can send an email or pick up the phone so I contacted Stearns Flotation.

Stearns Flotation has a long history on the market. They make everything from strange little water wings for children to full blown PFDs for the most extreme conditions faced by search and rescue teams and the military. Along with this wide variety of gear is the fact that the pricing on the recreational vests put them well within reach of all of those heading onto the water.

Thanks to the people at Sterns I was offered the chance to try which ever PFD I felt would work for me and I picked the Avant 200 Paddlesports Life Vest. First off, it offered the options I was looking for, a zipper front, ease of adjustment and what is always important to me is a reasonable price. Retail on the PFD is $37.99 and can be found online for right around $30. This is always important to me when I have the chance to test gear, will the price of the item make it available to the average outdoors person and in the case of the Avant 200, the answer was yes.

The Avant 200 Paddlesports Life Vest is designed for as its name implies, those who are doing more than just sitting in a boat. The arm openings are wide enough to provide unimpeded movement and the zipper closed front makes it easy to put on and take off. There are two adjustment straps on each side with slide buckles that are easy to use and when tightened down, for me, the PFD felt comfortable and secure.

As I said, I needed to feel confident in the PFD I was wearing and when I hit one of the big ponds on the river being moved by 15 mph winds with gusts approaching 30 mph, I was glad I had the Avant. On that day I had to make 15 miles to be close to my pickup point the next morning. With an entire day on the water wearing the Avant, it was very comfortable and it offered the freedom I needed when paddling. My only observation is that a small  pocket or two on the Avant would really add to the convenience of keeping small needed items at hand, but I solved this easy enough with a small pouch attached to the canoe cross member near me.

Next on the list were dry bags.

With the three dry bags from SealLine, I was able to carry 

the vast majority of my gear secure that it would remain dry.  

In the past I would line everything with heavy duty trash bags, add my gear and then put my packs in trash bags and then hope for the best. This works if all goes as planned but then there are times when nothing goes as expected. The major problem with the "trash bag" system is that they tear and puncture easily and believe me you will punch holes in them The only trash bag I used on this trip was in my day pack as a liner. The gear in it would not be ruined if it got wet and the pack protected the plastic trash bag.

Another concern was that unlike cruising on a lake that I remained on, going on the Ausable required that I would have to portage at dams along the way. Having gear in trash bags will not work when going solo with a couple hundred yard portage from the take out point to the next entry on the river.

Again I was lucky on this point having the opportunity to test out a few dry bags and a portage pack from SealLine. Individuals who use dry bags understand just how well they work and for those who do not and plan on being on the water on a regular basis, believe me the convenience and water tight security they offer is well worth the cost.  Add to this the fact that if they are properly cared for, they can last for a very long time.

The three bags, part of the Nimbus line from the company were a 5 liter, 10 liter and a 30 liter bag which provided plenty of storage. Prices on the bags are $19.99, $24.99 and $34.99 respectively.  I was able to separate my gear in a way that I could access what was needed while leaving the other bags closed and in the canoe.

Using the 10 liter bag I was able to store my Trangia 27-4 UL cook set, a Firebox Gen2 Nano stove, alcohol fuel, a collapsible wash basin and a few other items for the kitchen.  In the 30 liter bag I was able to stow all of my clothing which I separated in smaller plastic bags based on use, such as base, mid and outer layers and socks. 

Finally in small 5 liter bag I had all of my photography gear, my still camera, video camera, lenses and extra batteries along with a digital audio recorder and microphones.

Nimbus dry bags are very simply polyester nylon bags with a very tough urethane coating. What makes them special and water tight is the way in which the top seals. After they are loaded, the opening of the bag is folded over a small amount, there is a strip which controls the width of the fold. You then press the air out of the bag and fold it again and finally a third time. There is a strap and a buckle on the outside of the fold and when brought together, the pressure forms a water tight seal and in effect creates a handle. Once you get used to folding and "burping" the air out of the bag the process is fast and easy. 

At one campsite on my trip, the bank was a couple feet above the river and while I was tossing my gear up onto the shore, the bag with my camera gear rolled off and into the water, getting trapped between the canoe and the shore. The shot of adrenaline I felt as I watched it hit the water was intense and then it floated up and just sat there. To say I was relieved that I had that dry bag is an understatement and it was reinforced when I opened the bag and found everything dry.

With adjustable, padded shoulder straps

and a very basic hip belt, the Boundary Bag 

makes it much easier to move your gear 

when making portages. 

Perhaps the best of the dry bags I had the chance to use was the 70 liter Boundary Pack from SealLine. The best way to describe this is a large single cavity rubberized backpack with a roll down top that straps down making it water tight. There are shoulder straps and a very basic waist belt making it easy to carry on a portage. This sort of pack is not built for comfort like a backpack, but it allows a person to haul gear on a portage and it truly saved me a lot of work.

The 70 liter size allowed me to stuff in a rather large sleeping bag I was testing, my tent, tarp, compressed sleeping pad and a host of other small items stored in a plastic bag. What I really liked was the top of the bag where you roll it down. As with other dry bags there are strips that control just how wide of a fold you can make and added to this were instructions. First it is "fold a to b" then "2: fold tightly again" then  "3: fold connect buckles D-ring  out". It does not get much easier than that.

Though I was using a portage cart to move the heavy canoe I was using, it was extremely helpful to be able to put the portage pack on and reduce the weight I was pulling. If I was in a more remote area with a lighter canoe that I would be carrying,  the Boundary Pack would be invaluable.

For anyone heading into remote areas with a canoe I highly recommend this portage pack, it is not inexpensive with at a retail of $90 but it is also not over priced either. Considering I carry a backpack on the trails that cost me three times the cost of the Boundary Pack, it is a great buy for all it will do for you.

Over all the dry bags worked out very well and as I said the Boundary Pack is a must have if you are going to be portaging any distance at all.

For more information on the Stearns Avant 200 and other products offered by the company, head to the Stearns website.

Information on Nimbus dry bags and the Boundary Pack can be had at the SealLine website. SealLine is a subsidiary of Cascade Designs, which offers top shelf products for use in the outdoors.