I don't want to send folks away from QJ but  for this issue there is a terrific thread on bwca.com

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You might also find some good info on backpackingchef.com.

I'm not much farther along the experience curve than you are, but here are a few things I've learned that they don't seem to tell you in the "standard sources":

(a) Everything dehydrates well, as long as it contains almost no fat or oil, and anything solid (meat, veg) is cut into small bits: shreds or small thin pieces (think 1/2" length of popsicle stick) for meat, tiny dice for veg. Smaller pieces rehydrate faster, but I like the pieces of food to be big enough to taste separately

(b) For meat-in-sauce type dishes, I find it easiest to cook the dish the way you normally do, let it cool, then pick out the meat chunks and slice them into dehy-size. Dry the meat and sauce separately, then recombine.

(c) Cooked rice and lentils (any kind) are especially good dehydrated.

(d) Preparing a good dehydrated meal is time consuming (just like preparing any good meal) so plan ahead! Buy stuff when it's on sale, cook extra quantities of meals, and dry them for later. When summer rolls around and you need a couple of weeks supply of dehy food, you won't have time to do all the cooking and drying.

For recipes, Mexican and East Indian cookbooks are good places to look, but you can find ideas in many other places too. Pasta with "real" tomato sauce (home dehy) is so much better than store-bought you'll never go back. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Joe_Schmeaux wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2013 at 6:37am:


Joe_
I think I'd like to try chili (with hamburger) for my first dehydrated meal.  So I should dehydrate the meat separately, but cook the chili sauce then dehydrate it?

prouboy

Here is how I make my chili and corn bread.  (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)
Tastes GREAT!

rlageman3 wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2013 at 1:25am:

I've taken burritos on almost every trip for about the last 6 years.  I use ground sirloin (as lean as I can find)  and cook it with burrito seasoning before dehydrating.  (I don't use bread crumbs.)

Independently, I dehydrate salsa (I like a little more spice than usually found in the packets).  I also purchase dehydrated refried beans (Rosarita brand ... bought from Walmart, in a plastic pouch).  I typically add a little vegetable [olive] oil with water when re-hydrating to making them a little more creamy.

This season, I also took dehydrated chicken, a variety of veggies (peppers, mushrooms, ripe olives), fruit (apples, bananas, mangos), and sauces (pizza, spaghetti).

dd