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Idahoan Hash Browns for the trail

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    • Idahoan Hash Browns for the trail

      This awesome little product is cheap and delicious. Don't be fooled by 3 oz its so dehydrated it makes 4 1/2 cups! I suggest you make it a home a couple times before taking it out on the trail... can I suggest one ounce in a FBC pouch? OK here goes ... its so low in sodium you will need to add some Creole seasoning or Salt and Pepper or Buttered popcorn salt to the bag. So boil the water add it to the bag wait 8-10 minutes in a cozy and pour off the excess water. The shredded potato will double in volume. You can eat it right out of the bag. 140-150 calories per bag.

      As for the second step, I am on the fence for the trail cooking. The second step requires a non stick pan and oil to fry the shredded potato Canola oil adds an odd flavor as the shreds are already infused with oil. Deanna and I think you should use a vegetable oil instead. This would also require a spatula and 6 minutes plus. The shreds will stick anyway, requiring a scrape off now and then.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • WOO, you've been posting a lot of things lately here at the café.
      While I find most of your posts interesting and informative, this is one I'm likely to try.
      I'll have to look for the hash browns next time I'm in the store.
      This seems like it would be a nice thing to have on our hike in April
      Maybe I'll bring some eggs and our first breakfast on the trail could be scrabbled eggs and hash browns...hmmmmmm :)
    • max.patch wrote:

      for me that would be too much hassle when backpacking. great for car camping, though. unless, of course, ya got blood glucose issues ya need to watch.
      I don't see the hassle? boil water add to bag drop in cozy... wait 8 minutes, or do something else.

      Hard Boiled Egg and sea salt - Bacon Jerky. Breakfast for a King.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • JimBlue wrote:

      For blood glucose I carry chewy chocolate chip granola bars with me. Of course. Haven't tried them hiking yet.
      i was referring to avoiding an insulin spike, not carrying something with sugar in it to raise the blood sugar level if necessary. a white potato has a very high glycemic index. if it's not the highest then it's one of the highest.
      2,000 miler
    • OK, how about this....

      To a FB add the the hash brown mix(or any dry potato mix)....add bacon bits...add dried chives...add powdered cream(yep, it's a thing!)...add butter powder(IKR?), add course ground tellicherry black pepper and...get ready for it...a touch of...nutmeg....then rehydrate with 20 percent less water than the potato manufacturer calls for. You can always add more water when you are a couple of minutes from the end, to adjust thickness...

      If you'd like....sprinkle some temperature-stable dry Parmesan cheese on top during the last two minutes of cooking...for protein...throw in a packet of cooked white meat chicken, drained...
    • ScareBear wrote:

      OK, how about this....

      To a FB add the the hash brown mix(or any dry potato mix)....add bacon bits...add dried chives...add powdered cream(yep, it's a thing!)...add butter powder(IKR?), add course ground tellicherry black pepper and...get ready for it...a touch of...nutmeg....then rehydrate with 20 percent less water than the potato manufacturer calls for. You can always add more water when you are a couple of minutes from the end, to adjust thickness...

      If you'd like....sprinkle some temperature-stable dry Parmesan cheese on top during the last two minutes of cooking...for protein...throw in a packet of cooked white meat chicken, drained...
      Yea a dry mini packet! Awesome
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      I've done the hash browns FBC. I dumped bacon bits in with them. It was good. Mushy, but good. Wished I'd had some cheese.
      Done this except with a pot and it was great, particularly as the temp was sub-freezing. A hot meal is always a treat under such conditions.

      Lest we forget.....



      SSgt Ray Rangel - USAF
      SrA Elizabeth Loncki - USAF
      PFC Adam Harris - USA
      MSgt Eden Pearl - USMC
    • max.patch wrote:

      for me that would be too much hassle when backpacking. great for car camping, though. unless, of course, ya got blood glucose issues ya need to watch.
      I get it!---- you alluded to possibly Diabetes. I have several hikers that suffer from this and to be honest I am clueless - So I did a 50/50 and called a friend.. She said once ounce potato with two - three eggs on the trail with a combo of protein and starches, should be acceptable to most dieticians. Feel free to ask someone you trust.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      max.patch wrote:

      for me that would be too much hassle when backpacking. great for car camping, though. unless, of course, ya got blood glucose issues ya need to watch.
      I get it!---- you alluded to possibly Diabetes. I have several hikers that suffer from this and to be honest I am clueless - So I did a 50/50 and called a friend.. She said once ounce potato with two - three eggs on the trail with a combo of protein and starches, should be acceptable to most dieticians. Feel free to ask someone you trust.
      thanx woo, but i don't have diabetes. at least not yet. type 2 could be in my future down the line. so to forestall that as much as possible i am limiting refined carbs and white potatoes; the things that cause insulin spikes. i still eat bread, pancakes, hash browns -- just not near as much as i used to.

      the hassle would be frying them up when backpacking. i suppose you could eat them cozy style as you described if ya wanted to wait 8 minutes - but if i'm boiling water i'm eating oatmeal which is much better for you.
      2,000 miler

      The post was edited 1 time, last by max.patch ().

    • meat wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      meat wrote:

      I'm afraid 8 minutes cooking time precludes me from this.
      Yeah, I am a just get the JetBoil to boil and pour, and then go do something else while it sits for 9 minutes. :)
      now if I was camping somewhere more than 10 hours I might bring a fry pan and extre fuel
      Yes, car camping that is another deal. Take the old Coleman Stove and really cook. A whole lot of more options there.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I am plying with an MSR flex skillet. For a little more weight I like the ability to cook some. Fried vs soggie taters! I don't consider time an issue. Start taters then start packing up. I hve alwqys concidered food as my reward on a long hike. I'm out there to enjoy myself as best I can. Eating slop is not on my ways to do it.

      A fry pan can add so much more. Quasidilla, grilled cheese, fried or srambled eggs, baon, cheeseburgs, burittos... End;ess cheap options in town or firdt night out.
    • So, I went and got a container of Hungry Jack dry hash brown potatoes. I took about 35g from the package and added that to a quart FB. To that I added a 2.5 ounce serving of.....

      SPAM!!! Yep, it comes in 2.5 oz. foil packets, just like tuna! YAY SPAM!!!

      So, I then boiled 1/2 cup of water and added to FB, put the FB inside the MSR Titan and put the lid on the Titan. At six minutes I added a Tbsp. of Parmesan cheese. At the 12 minute mark I plopped the contents onto a plate, added black pepper.....

      Not bad at all. The SPAM gave off plenty of salt and flavor to the potatoes and retained its original texture and shape(I had torn it into small-ish pieces prior to adding water...)

      I think I will omit the Parmesan, up the water to 2/3 cup, and increase the time to 15 minutes...will report on those results....

      In the end...it's kinda like ham and hash browns....which isn't a bad thing....
    • ScareBear wrote:

      So, I went and got a container of Hungry Jack dry hash brown potatoes. I took about 35g from the package and added that to a quart FB. To that I added a 2.5 ounce serving of.....

      SPAM!!! Yep, it comes in 2.5 oz. foil packets, just like tuna! YAY SPAM!!!

      So, I then boiled 1/2 cup of water and added to FB, put the FB inside the MSR Titan and put the lid on the Titan. At six minutes I added a Tbsp. of Parmesan cheese. At the 12 minute mark I plopped the contents onto a plate, added black pepper.....

      Not bad at all. The SPAM gave off plenty of salt and flavor to the potatoes and retained its original texture and shape(I had torn it into small-ish pieces prior to adding water...)

      I think I will omit the Parmesan, up the water to 2/3 cup, and increase the time to 15 minutes...will report on those results....

      In the end...it's kinda like ham and hash browns....which isn't a bad thing....
      I just can't make myself eat spam.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • I never eat spam at home now. Growing up I loved fried spam and scrambled eggs. I do love spam for hiking. Great added to the four cheese mashed potatoes or added to mac and cheese or ramen. Lots of calories and fat for fuel.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • I tried one of the individual Spam slices last year just to see what it was like. I had eaten it as a kid and it had a rather fatty something in the package with it. Each can had a metal key thing to open it with. Cut myself on it more than once.

      The more recent version does have a better taste. But the fat content is too high for me.
      --
      "What do you mean its sunrise already ?!", me.
    • JimBlue wrote:

      I tried one of the individual Spam slices last year just to see what it was like. I had eaten it as a kid and it had a rather fatty something in the package with it. Each can had a metal key thing to open it with. Cut myself on it more than once.

      The more recent version does have a better taste. But the fat content is too high for me.
      Fat good or bad is instant long term energy for the trail.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup: