Russian IRP Menu #1

[jmcdaniel0]

At the start of this I was not going to do a review of this, because it was already being done, but an old army buddy of mine has been asking me so many questions about it, I thought what the heck.

I start by saying my phone was being a jerk and I was not able to translate anything, so I just went with the flow. This is dinner for me here, I’ll update breakfast and lunch later.

I chose the Beef and Potatoes main because it had a picture of what was inside lol. I also pulled a pack of crackers out and three random small packs to try.

Here is everything laid out

I got the stove set up and put the main on to heat.

So I opened up my side containers. I wound up with some sort of Pate, cheese, and some sort of vegetable sauce or purée.

I gotta say, I really loved the vegetable purée. Put that on a cracker and have at it. The pate was ok, it was good but underwhelming. The cheese was surprisingly good. I didn’t have high hopes for it, but I was surprised.

So circling back to the main, I was dubious at best because it kinda looked like the Alpo I feed my dog. However, as it started to heat up, it smelled great. I got it to a good hot temp, and pulled it off.

Now I was is the Army for the better part of a decade. I am very familiar with our MRE’s for better and worst. I gotta say, being able to literally cook the food, and smell it cooking, along with being able to get it really nice and hot is very nice.

The overall dish was seasoned nicely. I didn’t think it needed anything. The potatoes were just past aldente so they weren’t mush and they were not crunchy either. The meat was small pieces, but it was super tender, with no fat or hard bits. It also had a nice amount of carrots that added a nice complexity to it.

Overall, I really liked the dish. It was rustic, hearty, and for the lack of a better word homey.

Also, I felt like I should add that I drive a semi for a living now and I keep several MRE’s on hand just in case. The FRH is easier to users the truck, but I think I prefer the esbit.

I’ll reply back with some pics and further thoughts, apparently 12 attachments is the magic number

[jmcdaniel0]

So I realized I kinda flew through the sides. I can’t say enough about the vegetables, they had a nice tomato acid that cut the fat of the main and the pate very nicely.

The crackers were pretty decent. They had a nice crunch and held up under pressure. They had a semi sweet taste, but it was very light and instantly masked by whatever you put on it.

I did not get to try any of the drinks sadly. I need to find my old canteen cup, so I can have some coffee or tea.

Also, if you have any thoughts or questions feel free to ask. I am no expert by any stretch, but I’ll do the best I can.

Here are a few pictures.

[Evergreen21]

Looks like a great ration! Have yet to try out any of the Russian ones but I've always heard good things about them.

[Rahzmataz]

I haven't gotten around to posting about the veggie puree stuff in mine yet (it translated as "Vegetable Caviar" for me), but I did find it absolutely delicious when I ate it. Almost a smokey tomato flavour. I mixed it in to the beef stew and it was great!

[jmcdaniel0]

I have really enjoyed the entire ration.

Today for dinner I decided to break open another main dish and a side of pate. This was just the standard beef in a tin. Once, again, at first glance it did not look appetizing at all. However, once it started to get good and hot, it smelled fantastic and started to look more palatable.

Here it is before I put it on the heat.

And after it was nice and hot

And finally after it was warmed and ready to eat

The meat was well seasoned and super tender. Even though the tin looks small, there was quite a lot of meat in it. I also felt that the meat was well prepared, it still had a good meat texture and chew. It was cooked into mush, which I greatly appreciate.

The pate I had with the meal was very similar to the first can. It was well processed and smooth. It had a nice velvet type of texture, and the taste was very mild and I enjoyed it.

I actually had some water on hand today so I mixed up on of the drink packages. It was nice semi sweet berry flavor. I dislike super sweet drinks and food in general actually. I really appreciate it when a instant drink like that is sweet, but still refreshing without giving me a sugar rush.

It also turned a nice pink color and dissolved quite well.

All I have left is the Beef and Buckwheat two packs of crackers and the apple jam. I’ll try to get that meal done in the next couple of days.

[jmcdaniel0]

I haven't gotten around to posting about the veggie puree stuff in mine yet (it translated as "Vegetable Caviar" for me), but I did find it absolutely delicious when I ate it. Almost a smokey tomato flavour. I mixed it in to the beef stew and it was great!

It was one of my favorite dishes from the entire ration. I have read some folks don’t like it, but I thought it was good stuff.