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.

I've made hamburger rocks and after cooking in hamburger soup, no one knew the difference. Tasted like fresh hamburger, although on the lean side.