MRE storage??

[Jerod Broussard]

I've got a little refrigerator room for some MRE's. I've got lots of freezer room. Other than that room temp 74-F and below.

I plan to take some hunting this fall but would like a good stash to keep when things go to pot (hurricane, dayssssss of sub-freezing temps).

[klflowers]

Where’d you get them? I’ve seen some at Sportsman’s Warehouse but I haven’t tried them. Got my son some for a Boy Scout hike some years ago, he said they were pretty good.

[Jerod Broussard]

Amazon. Still en route.

[USMCCrashCrew89]

From my time in the service, we always just stored them at room temp. I think freezing them would probably end up separating the stuff like peanut butter and cheese spread packets. Might effect the heaters performance too.

pro tip - the chili Mac heated up with jalapeño cheese spread mixed in and crackers crumbled up is the best you’re gonna get outta those cases.

Word to the wise- if you can help it try not to eat them more than a few days at a time, you will regret it later if you don’t.

[ecowper]

What is this “chili Mac” and “jalapeño cheese spread”? Man, modern military has got soft!

[USMCCrashCrew89]

ecowper we didn’t have the five fingers of death, but the god forsaken omelete was still around. I hear they have a “pepperoni pizza” one these days. They also took the Charms out while I was in. Replaced with expired M&Ms, aka chocolate discs, candy coated.

[ecowper]

Okay, that omelette thing was never the best idea, I gotta say.

[latenight71]

Word to the wise- if you can help it try not to eat them more than a few days at a time, you will regret it later if you don’t.

sometimes it best to let people learn about constipation on their own . . .

[USMCCrashCrew89]

What can I say, I have a sympathetic heart for those that haven’t had the experience of trying to “unload” two weeks or more worth of MREs...

[ecowper]

USMCCrashCrew89 from Aug 22, 1990 to sometime in late March, 1990, I ate 2-3 MRE’s every day. Hot meals might have happened once a week at best. Reprogramming the digestive system after that was .... interesting.

[lostclusters]

I can not confirm the "unloading" issue, well from my experience anyway. In the early 90s I ate them everyday and consumed a case of the military ones (civilian ones are different I believe). Although it was rumored that if you ate them for longer than 30 days they would raise your cholesterol.

[MBMorgan]

I wouldn't freeze them. MRE's have been so sterilized that they don't even qualify as biodegradable anymore. Just store them in a relatively cool place and " ... enjoy ... ...".

[latenight71]

this place has a good variety of MRE's that advertise a 20-year shelf life - https://survivalprepfood.com/

doesn't say anything about refridgerator or freezer. pretty sure U.S.A. military MREs don't require any special storage. used to bring them on overnight moto rides down Baja and kept them in a box in the garage until i used them.

[Jerod Broussard]

Book Marked. Thanks

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

DoD ones just need to be in a closet somewhere if you keep your house around low 70s. Not sure about commercial ones.

[Willy]

My favorite MRE-ish story: I say "MRE-ish" because the ones I'm talking about were likely a commercial, freeze-dried product from someplace like REI. Anyhoo, a co-worker and his two sons went elk hunting. After spending the entire day tramping up and down hills and such, they got back to camp and ate some kinda freeze-dried food. They all agreed it was awfully good, so when they got home, they bought some more and cooked 'em up. None of the family thought they were even edible, including the hunters who ate them in the wild.

I've been on many camping trips where no matter what was cooked, no matter how full of ashes, no matter how burnt, or whatever, etc, it was great...but probably not so great in a home kitchen. LOL

[Jerod Broussard]

That's my thing. Almost starving camping on public land.

[latenight71]

there's gotta be a thread on this! i've been designated camp cook since i was 16 when the friends i was with didn't know how to crack an egg let alone open a can using a manually-operated can opener. i ruined so many meals over the years that ended up being devoured and still talked about only because everyone was so hungry!

[Clark]

There are some 'decent' freeze-dry packages on the market that are easy to store and last for years. Light weight for camping, etc.

[tstalafuse]

Don't forget to stock up on the dehydrated water for those natural disasters as long as you are ordering from Amazon... https://www.amazon.com/Can-Dehydrate...1D0B6J12RV3AKB

In other news, we always referred to them as Meals Rejected by Ethiopians, but at least they were better than the C-rations that my dad served on camping trips...

[tstalafuse]

Ya, mine carried a P-38 with him as well. Never know when you need to open a can and not have a can opener. I pretty much existed on the peaches and other canned fruits whenever we went camping.

[Mr. Bones]

Lived on MRE's fer th same time period that my esteemed Brother ecowper did, same scarcity / entire lack of hot chow as he described.
In years/tours previous, went fer months on end, livin offa C Rations...

An, yup...

Still gots me a P-38 on my danged ol key ring, lol

[mnavarre]

Still carry a p-38 on my keychain. Have been carrying one since cub scouts.

[ecowper]

Wait, why do you need to refrigerate, or otherwise coddle, MRE’s? I stuck ‘em in the rack on the butt end of the turret on my tank, whether it was 0F or 120F. Never noticed it made any difference to the MRE. They are literally designed to go to war with a soldier. They have a stable shelf life for something like 10 years. I really think you can just toss ‘em in a box on a shelf in the garage and be just fine.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

So the MREs they were giving us down range were all questionable if not expired (according to the storage data). Lifespan stored at around 70 is 5-10 years, at 80-90 I think it's 2 years, at 100+ degrees it's weeks. I know ours were on pallets sometimes in a tent, sometimes just out in the open with a tarp, months before we cracked into a pallet

[ecowper]

I ate MRE’s in the sandbox that were definitely stored at high temp ..... cause it was the sandbox. Never noticed them going bad at all.

[Mr. Bones]

ecowper is quite correct; our MRE's were stored at current desert temps, until utilized...

Ahhh, Such Golden Memories...

[Stuey1515]

I had to google MRE's, I'm clearly not one of the cool kids

[tstalafuse]

You aren't missing anything having never heard of or tried one...

[Mr. Bones]

or from not havin been in a situation where that was yer only viable food source...

[Bkhuna]

Two a day for 7 month in the Saudi desert was enough for me. Once you open a bag of spoiled turkey a la king, you never want it again. I did like the ham slice though.

[ecowper]

That a la king entree was awful.

[ecowper]

On the other hand, the dehydrated pork and beef patties were awesome .... rehydrate, mix into a package of ramen.

[Mr. Bones]

For th record, we were often able to gobble down 3 a day...
I'll tel some stories, later, but, fer now, I'm thinkin strongly on goin back to bed, curled up with a beautiful Tuxedo Kitty...(My brain kinda hurts, today! )

[dubob]

Y'all might want to check out this site for info on the MRE's: MRE Shelf Life | MRE Info

I get mine at the commissary on base and have stored them at home for up to 4 years. None ever turned bad. They are okay to eat on outdoor day-trip adventures but I wouldn't make a steady diet of them. On a 1-10 taste scale I'd rate them maybe a 4. Shelf storage is more than adequate for at least a few years.

[USMCCrashCrew89]

Oh buddy! Please let this one end up in the SUWYC thread!

[Mr. Bones]

Texas MRE's, I'd haveta reckon!

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

I don't have that one or I woulda done that instead of the McRib one https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...53#post1013753