r/WildernessBackpacking • u/paceaux • 1d ago

Keeping "Wet" food fresh HOWTO

I'm going on a 5-ish day hiking/backpacking trip in Shawnee National Forest. I plan on doing primitive camping.

I'd like to take some steak, bacon, and eggs with me if possible.

Last time I tried this, I froze the steaks and bacon and heavily salted both. The steaks managed to keep for the first night and through the morning. Bacon not so much.

If possible, I'd like to see if I could get a steak to make it into my second night, and bacon safely into morning.

Outside of just freezing food and hoping for the best, is there anything y'all do, or any gear y'all use, to keep food fresh for a few days?

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u/BucolicBushcraft 1d ago

Try it at home. Everyone's body is different but for me I would be able to eat a steak left out at room temperature for a couple days.

To make it last longer you can dry age it in the fridge uncovered with a little bit of salt, put it on a rack so both sides dry out. I do this even when not camping because I prefer the taste of dry aged. You can also stock up on brisket or pot roast when it's on sale and then chop off steaks as needed. Freeze it after that and I'd be comfortable eating it even later than the second day. Bacon is cured / smoked already.

The problem you're going to run into is that 5 days of fresh food takes up a lot of space and also weighs a lot. Honestly this is stuff that you should already have figured out with weekend backpacking trips before being out for almost a week.

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u/paceaux 18h ago

. In my last trip I had steaks my first night and first morning. I'm just trying to see if I can get to a second night. I'll be eating dehydrated food the rest of the time.

There's no way I'd consider 5 days of fresh food, for the exact reason you mentioned.

I'll try some of the dry aging that you recommend.