kman wrote:Hi obscurotron - welcome to the forums!
Like Ration Man said...put the tray ration down and back away slowly...
Seriously, though, I think Wornick and the other MRE producers are always coming up with new varieties of MRE entrees and tray rations. They probably produce short-run batches of these and send them to the military for taste-testing. Some are accepted and many probably aren't.
It sounds like your tray ration is one of those. If it were me, I'd probably not eat it. I mean, surplused MREs are one thing but lab samples are another. I'd be more inclined to file a complaint against the ebay seller for failing to adequately describe the item.
Well, since 2 more cases of 2/08 MRE's came, I decided yesterday to pop open that tray ration.
First impression - it looked off in color, but smelled fine, seal was intact.
Cut a bit out and microwaved it. There was lots of congealed fat on the food, likely from all the sausage embedded in it.
Taste: salty, no off taste, once heated up looked more or less like any other stuffing, but too salty for my taste. I ate about 3-4 ounces last night, and gave a bit to the dogs. We're all still alive!
Tonight I decided to have a bit more. I don't know about you all, but when I think "cornbread" I think something buttery and full of honey. So I microwaved a bit more of the stuff and added a little bit of clover honey. Let it soak in. It balances out the salt and it's pretty darn good!
As for the "lab" marking on it, I did some poking around. All major food and confection makers have 'lab' kitchens where they sanitarily produce new items for testing and tasting, and to refine cooking or packaging techniques. That is likely exactly what this is. Since this stuff is not visually appetizing, and is a bit too salty (and laden with fat), I would guess the DoD rejected it as a dish. But, if you can find one of these in good condition, I say get it and either put it in a glass case, or enjoy it!!!
