Re: 2014 MRE's - Case B
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 9:16 am
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls and sandwiches are pretty good, too. They're all sausage items, of course. But not bad. You do need a microwave, so they aren't camping food.
While RockyRaab pointed out that for something like the Hormel and JimmyDean products, the instructions/suggestions call for microwaving, there is always more than one way to skin a cat.
Probably because I have had so many failures on my FRH units because of their age, something that I have discovered about the vinyl bags the MRE's come in is that they are perfectly sturdy enough to hold boiling water. While they may not be food safe, like the hot beverage bags, they are not going to bulge or burst. Any of the MRE retort pouches or things like these products can easily be heated in the actual MRE bag. Just prop it up, drop in the food bags, and pour in enough boiling water to cover the units. Of course, it's even more efficient if you can work out some kind of a"cozy" with a sweatshirt or something. When you're done you have hot/warm water leftover for washing up.
I have now used a number of these Hormel products as take-alongs for camping. They all come with a very "tuff-skin" protective film on top. It's actually easier to cut away the film with the knife tip than it is to peel it off of the container. While I don't know about the Jimmy Dean products, the Hormels will stand up to rough treatment. So, they easily deal with this kind of immersion cooking.
I have also simply simmered the entire "tray" in a frying pan over my stove.
I know this is no substitute for the FRH if you're trying to heat'n'eat it in your kayak, while you're out fishing, in your crotch, without burning yourself, but it does work surprisingly well.
And I suppose since we now have camping stoves that will charge your electronic gear, it's only a matter of time before one of them also doubles as a microwave in the woods.