1987 Menu 12 - Beef in Spiced Sauce
Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2015 4:02 pm
Greetings everyone. In order to establish eligibility for induction into the "dark brown bag club", I present to you today a review on the 1987 menu #12 "Beef in Spiced Sauce". I recently bought a lot of five of these older MREs on eBay since I thought it would be fun to relive the old days with some of these older, dark brown bagged ones that I used to enjoy as a younger one. I've had this one before when they were considered new, so I was anxious to see if it was like I remembered it.
The bag did have a small hole towards the bottom, which shouldn't affect spoilage at all, but could allow bugs better access to work on the inner bags and components. This MRE was made by Right Away Foods out of Texas.
I opened it to find the following components:
I had forgotten that some of these early ones still had the white spoons that were very similar to the MCI spoons, with the exception of the tip. I was quite pleased to find the oatmeal bar, which has always been one of my favorites! Ok, upstairs to the kitchen to get cooking!
Now, I must point out that I was a bit confused by this MRE. The menu lineup for 1987 does indeed show this menu as menu 12. As I went through the components however, I noted that many of them were 1988 production. I checked the menu lineup for 1988 to see if this could be a 1988 production with some leftover 1987 components (which could make perfect sense), but the 1988 menu 12 is Escalloped Potatoes. Hmmmm, not sure. Ideas?
The crackers had date code 8301. The vacuum was intact, and I got a nice hiss of air rushing in upon opening. They smelled perfectly fine, like the day they were made.
They tasted fresh, and I ended up eating quite a bit of it.
The dehydrated fruit mix was dated 7316. The vacuum was intact on this packaging as well, and I opened it to find no unusual smells. It was as dry as it was when fresh. I could detect a slight fruity smell on examination.
I tasted it, and found it flavorful and just as I remembered it. I ended up eating the whole thing! I always ate these dry.
Now for the oatmeal bar. The date code was 8287. The vacuum was intact, and no damage noted to packaging. Which is good, because I'd be very disappointed if it were inedible.
I tasted it to find it as fresh as new, and just as I remembered it!
I was surprised it wasn't harder, because I know they weren't the softest even new, and many of the older ones could be used as a hammer now. It was easy to bite into and chew, and I ate the whole thing.
The orange beverage powder was a no-go. It must've gotten a pinhole in it at some point, because when I picked it up it was almost solid. I opened it and found an "off" smell that sent it straight to the trash. No big deal though, the orange beverage powder was never my favorite.
The cocoa beverage powder appeared perfectly fine, just as fresh as new. I mixed it up and found it enjoyable.
Now for the main attraction
After boiling in the bag for about 15 minutes, I opened up the retort pouch to be greeted by a familiar smell, which was pleasant and not "off" in any way. I poured it onto a plate for better inspection (I know, it's often not the wisest to get a good look at rations, but for this purpose, we'll do it).
It smelled appetizing, and although the "beef in spiced sauce" sounds more sophisticated, in reality this reminded me of any basic sloppy joe type beef in a tomato-based sauce. Not a bad thing though, because I remembered this entree as a good one. I tasted it and found it as good as when it was new. I ended up eating about 1/4 of it, but it's still a bit strange knowing you're eating 27 year-old food. No ill effects though! The beef, even in a wet-pack retort pouch, reminded me a bit of the texture of the beef in a dehydrated meal like a Mountain House entree. Not a bad thing, just an observation. The entree had a decent amount of beef. It should be noted that this entree was among some of the earliest MRE menus. At first they were 5 oz servings, but in later production years they increased it to 8 oz servings, which is what this entree was.
Last was the apple jelly. I put it on a cracker and sampled it with the spoon. Nothing unusual noted with smell, although it smelled very mild. It tasted perfectly fine. It was pretty mild, which was nice. Not very sweet or fruity, but enough flavor to leave no doubt what you were eating.
I enjoyed this little trip down memory lane with this menu. Of the five older MREs I purchased, one went on the shelf with the collection, one was used in this review, which leaves three more for future review! I'm hoping for a nut cake in one of the others, which were another one of the components I miss. Hope all of you with "passion for the ration", as Steve says , enjoyed the review!
The bag did have a small hole towards the bottom, which shouldn't affect spoilage at all, but could allow bugs better access to work on the inner bags and components. This MRE was made by Right Away Foods out of Texas.
- Outer Package
- Contents
Now, I must point out that I was a bit confused by this MRE. The menu lineup for 1987 does indeed show this menu as menu 12. As I went through the components however, I noted that many of them were 1988 production. I checked the menu lineup for 1988 to see if this could be a 1988 production with some leftover 1987 components (which could make perfect sense), but the 1988 menu 12 is Escalloped Potatoes. Hmmmm, not sure. Ideas?
The crackers had date code 8301. The vacuum was intact, and I got a nice hiss of air rushing in upon opening. They smelled perfectly fine, like the day they were made.
- They were good!
The dehydrated fruit mix was dated 7316. The vacuum was intact on this packaging as well, and I opened it to find no unusual smells. It was as dry as it was when fresh. I could detect a slight fruity smell on examination.
- Mixed Fruit
- Very good!
I tasted it to find it as fresh as new, and just as I remembered it!
I was surprised it wasn't harder, because I know they weren't the softest even new, and many of the older ones could be used as a hammer now. It was easy to bite into and chew, and I ate the whole thing.- Very good!
- Orange beverage powder
- Cocoa beverage powder
After boiling in the bag for about 15 minutes, I opened up the retort pouch to be greeted by a familiar smell, which was pleasant and not "off" in any way. I poured it onto a plate for better inspection (I know, it's often not the wisest to get a good look at rations, but for this purpose, we'll do it).
- Main entree
The beef, even in a wet-pack retort pouch, reminded me a bit of the texture of the beef in a dehydrated meal like a Mountain House entree. Not a bad thing, just an observation. The entree had a decent amount of beef. It should be noted that this entree was among some of the earliest MRE menus. At first they were 5 oz servings, but in later production years they increased it to 8 oz servings, which is what this entree was.Last was the apple jelly. I put it on a cracker and sampled it with the spoon. Nothing unusual noted with smell, although it smelled very mild. It tasted perfectly fine. It was pretty mild, which was nice. Not very sweet or fruity, but enough flavor to leave no doubt what you were eating.
- Apple Jelly
, enjoyed the review!
) - those things could be from 1985, 1995, 2005, or now and still be good if they are stored properly - now if you happen to get one that went rancid, it will coat your throat with a burning swelling sensation that is hard to forget.
heheheh!
