2002 Turkey Breast with Gravy and Potatoes MRE Review

Reviews and taste-tests of any MREs from 1981-present
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SentientTootsieRoll
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2002 Turkey Breast with Gravy and Potatoes MRE Review

Post by SentientTootsieRoll » Sat Jul 14, 2018 4:10 pm

I felt like having another MRE today, so I grabbed this one. This is a 2002 Turkey Breast with Gravy and Potatoes. I have a 2001 version of this menu as well, but Oldsmokey already made a video review of that MRE so I decided to review the 2002 menu.
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One thing I've begun to notice is that most of the the MREs from this era aren't too much different than the ones produced today. The FRHs are about the same, the way some of the items are packaged are the same, etc. I still like opening them and comparing it to a modern MRE just to see how things have changed. I've also noticed that the older ones all come with Tabasco sauce and matches. With the newer MREs, it's more of a hit or miss.

So let's start with the turkey breast. It came with quite a bit of gravy so when I poured it onto the plate, it pretty much soaked the crackers and pretzels. Not a big problem. The turkey itself tasted pretty odd. It's nothing like I expected. It was very processed and the chemical taste was strongly present. It was also pretty hard to cut. The potatoes were soft and the gravy was okay. Overall, I didn't really care for it. I wish they would have included mashed potatoes in this MRE instead. I think that would have made the experience a little better.

The cheese pretzels were tasty and are just like the new ones. You can never go wrong with those. The crackers weren't baked enough and were pretty soft, so I didn't even finish those. The peanut butter tasted fine as usual and also tasted the same as the kind produced today. The chocolate sports bar is comparable to the chocolate First Strike Bar they put in the current MREs. It tasted about the same, but there was a small coating of chocolate over the bar and was a great desert! I'm glad they still produce a variant of it today.

I found it odd that they included two Grape drink mixes. Maybe it was a mistake, but I'm perfectly okay with it. It mixed nicely and is comparable to the carbohydrate electrolyte beverage you get today, except it was colored purple instead of blue! I already had some coffee today, so I put that aside. The gum was a little hard but I could tell it had real sugar in it. It wasn't as minty as the current MRE gum, but it was still enjoyable for the 10 seconds it lasted. :mrgreen:

SkimPickens
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Re: 2002 Turkey Breast with Gravy and Potatoes MRE Review

Post by SkimPickens » Mon Nov 12, 2018 2:31 pm

I'm surprised the drink mixed as well as it did! I had a 2011 ration recently that had an orange beverage powder that I could not mix the clumps to save my life

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parafireboy
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Re: 2002 Turkey Breast with Gravy and Potatoes MRE Review

Post by parafireboy » Sun Nov 18, 2018 7:59 pm

Good review, and thanks for sharing with us! I remember when this one came out, and it wasn't the greatest one even when fresh.

DANTHEMANDOTCOM
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Re: 2002 Turkey Breast with Gravy and Potatoes MRE Review

Post by DANTHEMANDOTCOM » Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:25 pm

Nice take on this one bud! I've got one in my stash that I had high hopes for, well as high as can be expected for processed ration turkey, but yeah, totally agree mashed taters would have been the better choice. Was planning on ripping it open on or before Thanksgiving but that didn't end up happening, maybe save it for Christmas lol...nice bonus on the double purple drank! Love that stuff! Maybe with mine I'll mash the potatoes myself perhaps.
"When the going gets weird, The Weird turn Pro" Go Eagles!!!

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CaptBob
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Re: 2002 Turkey Breast with Gravy and Potatoes MRE Review

Post by CaptBob » Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:23 pm

I bought a couple dozen of these entrees as gag gifts years ago and handed them out as "Thanksgiving (or Christmas) Dinner". Most recipients got a good laugh!

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