MRE Help

[Deertick]

Any tips on getting the food heated-up?

Brad convinced me that MREs are the way to go, so I got some and made my own \"menu\" and took one along today scouting. The trouble was that it didn\'t heat up real well. The heater felt hot, but the food never really warmed, even after 12 minutes.

So, questions below. I hope some of our military friends can help.

1. Can I heat an entree AND a side dish in the same box with one heater?

2. Any tips to get the hottest meal possible?

3. If I didn\'t have a heater, could I drop the entree into a pot of boiling water to heat up?

BTW, I shopped at epicenter.com, from which you can buy individual components rather than complete MREs, so if you don\'t really need coffee or a powdered drink with every meal, you don\'t have to buy them. Same for all the other \"stuff\" that comes in the military MRE packages.

 

[iccyman001]

I\'ve always heated one item at a time. Meal first, then the side gets some quick heat.
Using the heater is kind of a trial and error thing to get the perfect amount of heat. The worst thing you can do is overfill it with water.

Usually I pour in a little water, wrap the heater bag up so it has only a little vent hole, stick it back in the box, and lean it over on an angle.
You\'ll be able to tell if it\'s working or not by the amount of smoke coming out.

With all of that being said, if you have a little water boiler, I would use that.
You\'ll save time and a headache. You may even be able to do both entree and side in the same pot of water.

One thing I will say is some of the meals actually taste better cold.

 

[elky McElkerson]

there is no way..for me.

i tried one of those meals. i never got it hot. that heater thing got hot, but the transfer over to the food is inefficient. maybe wrap it up in your beanie? dunno.

here is the big rub for me. you end up with so much litter. there is crap everywhere. packaging, the heater, the wrappers..ugh.. it sucked packing it all out.

 

[cnelk]

Yeah, the meals don\'t get all that hot and there may be some trash.
But the way I look at it is like this...

If I\'m using a MRE its not in a home style situation.
There has to be some sacrifices when you are away from the amentities of your kitchen.

Warm vs. hot
I think a lot of heat escapes the heater pouch and maybe placing it in some sort of insulating sleeve would help.

Trash
What food product doesn\'t generate trash?
Especially when you are miles from a camp or truck.

I have a MRE in my pack most of the time.
I will take the pros and the cons just for the convenience.

 

[elky McElkerson]

i like trash that i can wad up and stuff into the smallest crevice of my pack..or my pocket.

MRE trash needs to be bagged up. it is a lot.

 

[elky McElkerson]

i dont know the shelf life of an average MRE..i think i have a dozen stored away for earthquake food.

if anyone needs them..let me know.

 

[Deertick]

Let\'s get some more input regarding the idea of hot/boiling water as a heater.

Does it work?

Or ... will the plastic wrapping on the meals melt?

 

[iccyman001]

If it\'s the same type of MRE meal packages, the plastic is thick coated to prevent that.
On one of my many deployments we used an electric tea boiler. One of those things that you add water to, press a button and it gout boiling hot.

We used to heat our stuff in that.

 

[VTHOKEE]

the chicken fajita MRE\'s are the best in my opinion... stay away from the breakfast omelet

 

[Deertick]

Chicken Fajitas .. that\'s what I got!

I\'m thinking about bringing some tortillas to go with, eh? I think they\'d be pretty decent like that.

 

[razorback]

A boiler will work better but is more to pack. I strip an MRE down and don\'t even use the cardboard so I have less trash to carry. I fill my heater to the line and place the meal inside with the pad down. Wrap the top up and place it on a log/rock slightly elevated. It gets warm. One thing about the heaters is not all are as effective as others. They lose their efficiency depending on age and they are manufactured by different companies. I know this because I used to have soldiers make bombs out of them by putting them in plastic bottles. Some were very effective some not so much. I also had to manage our MRE stock and checked dates etc. That\'s the drawback with the heaters, you really don\'t know how effective they will be. They will at least get your meal somewhat warm and I can live with that.

 

[cnelk]

Steven
That is some great information!
Thanks for your insight, it is greatly appreciated.