Taste Test: Ground Beef-Freeze Dried

"Oldie but Goodie":   Hat Tip to 'KR105' over at the original American Preppers Network. I searched the new forum and can't find this over there. I'll share it back to them)

PREP TEST: Freeze Dried Ground Beef

I purchased the test can from MRE Depot. They ship very quickly and the can was well wrapped to avoid denting. The only surprise was it did not come with a plastic reseal lid. Another surprise was that my Oxo brand, manual can opener would not open the can. I had to pull the old ratchet style back up can opener out of the bug out bag to open the can.



When the cover finally came off, it was about 2/3 full and once again there was an issue of some of the product had been reduced to powder. It may seem irrational, but all I thought was that it looked like dog food/kibble. I measured out ½ cup and put it in a plastic bowl with boiling water.



At about one minute I noticed that it smelled like ground beef that had been cooked. At 3 minutes I drained off the water and it tasted like ground beef (albeit beef that had been boiled.) One nice surprise was that the ½ dry filled a salad plate and if added to a casserole, would provide four servings.



You could easily add this to hamburger helper to get a meal, or use it to make a hamburger pie (shepard’s pie made with ground beef instead of sausage.)

Pros: It does look and taste like cooked hamburger and you end up with a decent portion of meat reconstituted.
Cons: You can’t use it to make a hamburger or meatloaf. Don’t let the family see it in the can or you may have a mini-riot on your hands with accusations that you are serving them dog food. Also be sure to include the “powder factor” when determining how much to buy.