Canadian IMP14 Shepherds Pie

[BlackDogBob]

Second written review of an IMP. I am a big fan of Shepherds Pie and when I saw one in the cases of IMPs I bought, I was super stoked. Then, after trying the Veal Cutlets, my anticipation grew!

First let me say that I was a extremely happy to open the package and see a Bread/Pain. What Marine would not be excited to eat something called Pain? Then, as I emptied the contents of the package, I became slightly disappointed. The outer package was sealed. But the box containing the peaches had been opened and taped shut again. There was some discoloration on the corner of the box. I can only assume that during the packing process someone realized something had leaked onto the box and opened it for inspection. I wish they had inspected it closer. Yep! There was a small hole in the pouch. Needless to say, after opening the pouch and emptying the peaches onto a plate I did not eat them. They were discolored and had a very odd smell about them. But in the back of my head I heard Steve1989s voice "oh man". Ok, so I threw the peaches away and thought to myself, I said "Self, it's time to try that honey and peanut butter on some Pain. When I started to knead the peanut butter it started to come out the side of the pouch. Again I heard steve1989s voice, "oh man. That's not good". Not to be deterred, I spread the honey onto on side of the hamburger bun and enjoyed it anyway. The honey had started to crystallize. While it tasted great (I usually don't eat honey), I began to think that maybe this ration might just be a huge waste.

On to the Orange/Pineapple drink mix. Wow! It tasted like tang, but with a sweetness that had my taste buds jumping with joy. I drank the entire cup and made the second one to enjoy with my meal. That's right. TWO drink mixes per IMP.

Next up was the main. You can imagine that as I was opening the pouch I was doing so with an odd mixture of anticipation and dread. Hadn't really felt that combination since my wedding day. Lol (hey, don't tell my wife I said that. What is said in the forum stays in the forum, right?). On the one hand I was excited to finally be sampling the shepherds pie I had been thinking about for 11 days and on the other hand I was dreading that it, too, might be bad. But once I opened the pouch and smelled what scrumptious tastiness lay inside I knew I had to get this heated up fast! Not wanting to waste too much time, I cheated and heated it up in the microwave. I know, cardinal sin, right? Once heated and ready to eat, I was NOT disappointed. I don't know who is making these meals for the Canadian military but they really need to migrate a little south! The shepherds pie was a mixture of ground beef, corn and potatoes. It looked like any ordinary everyday shepherds pie. Boy was I wrong! The first taste let my tastebuds know they were in for a real treat. Each bite was a new exciting experience of tastes. Every now and then, I could taste the garlic, the onions, the thyme. Wow! What a meal! It didn't stand a chance against my hunger! Getting toward the end I realized I hadn't tried it on bread or tried the "Franks Hot Sauce". So I put some on the bread and it was really good. I hadn't realized with the honey that the hamburger bun (Pain) had a real buttery taste to it. Then I put some of the hot sauce on what little was left and felt like kicking myself for not doing it sooner. The hot sauce gave it a whole new deminsion in tasteful explosions. Needless to say, I realized once it was gone that I will definitely be getting more of these IMP14s.

An hour or so after dinner, I decided to mix up the 3 in 1 coffee stick and enjoy it with the M and Ms. This was where I truly began to appreciate the outer package of the IMP compared to the U.S. MRE. The M and Ms were not crushed together and melted. They were as fresh as if I had just purchased them from a gas station. The way the Canucks package the IMPs by putting the two boxed items on the outside and everything else in the middle is just plain awesome.

Again, I hope you enjoyed this review as much as I enjoyed making it. Pictures are below. Feel free to PM or comment if you have any questions.

[housil]

That shepards pie has with its 340 kcal +100 kcal more than a MRE entree.

[Name_not_found]

Nice review bob, i haven't seen a round bread, usually its petite pan a little rectangle loaf.

Was there a feedback form inside?

[Apocalypse]

Re-taped shut is really common with IMPs, both main and sides.

The 14 indicates the year of assembly, but not sure if that's just when the contents were bagged or when produced for bagging.

The peaches are usually discoloured no matter how old or new they are, but the pinhole and smell indicates to me you made the right choice by tossing them.

[elandil]

really awesome to see how they did that menu. I was wondering how they were going to get the potato aspect of the sheperds pie in, and seeing the cubes like that makes me want to really try it.

Great review, look forward to the next one.

[sourwes]

Nice review BlackDogBob, looking forward to trying an IMP soon. Not had one yet.
Working on a 2010 mfr HDR review today.. Should be up in a day or two.

[BlackDogBob]

Nice review BlackDogBob, looking forward to trying an IMP soon. Not had one yet.
Working on a 2010 mfr HDR review today.. Should be up in a day or two.

If you want to trade for some, let me know. I have plenty.

[sourwes]

Thx BlackDogBob. Don,t really have anything for trade right now. Pretty new to foreign rations, so when I get them I,ve been eating them. My stock right now is mostly mil/civ MREs and a few HDRs and IRPs that I opened. Expecting another box of IRP and a cpl others soon. Don,t usually buy more than a cpl foreign rats at a time, cause they seem so expensive compared to MREs. Thx again!

[Ruleryak]

Great review BlackDogBob It's always a shame when a few components go bad - and on such a recent issue IMP to boot. I hope that's not a bad sign for IMPs in general - they did change up quite a bit only a few years ago so here's hoping nothing's wrong with the new production methods. I never saw a hamburger bun as the bread either - definitely interesting.

[kman]

Come on, Bob...I'm a little disappointed...right after you said you heard Steve1989's voice in your head, I thought *for sure* you were going to eat those peaches.

Steve1989 would have eaten them for us.

Pain...heh...the Pain's not in the bread...it's in eating those peaches!