SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Quickand easy(lazy)

4K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  ughmo2000 
#1 ·
Something you never see mentioned as on the go food is the factory canned meals available. I guess it started with the C-rations we ate in Viet Nam. In the intervening years of hunting, fishing and working in the out of doors, I have come to appreciate the conveniance a lot, if not the perfectly delicious offerings. By heating the meals in their own cans the only cleanup involved is disposing of the can and cleaning up your spoon. When I worked in the woods, we would bang a deep dent in the can and then lay it at the edge of the fire turning often, always watching the dent. If the dent started to unfold, watch out, your meal was turning into a bomb. Since I have taken up sailing my lazy ways have continued. Now, I drop the unopened can into a larger container of water on the stove. It takes some time, allow at least 15 - 20 minutes. While people joke about the quality of food from cans, there are some foods on the market that aren''t all that bad if you don''t over do them. Some of my favorites include Swansons chicken and dumplings, and Chef Boy R Dees beef and mac. Ham and limas is good, but I prefer it when the can has been lightly frozen once which breaks down the beans like long cooking. Of course there are all of the things you ususlly think of associated with canned food, beef stew, chili, soups some of which are better than others depending on brand. Chef Boy R Dee make a whole shelf of pasta meals which are all pretty similar, but all certainly edible. Bottom line is if you''re sailing alone, and the weather is a little blustry, a hot can of something sure beats a cold bologna.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
billmac26,

I had plenty of meals cooked directly in the can over an open fire when I was camping as a kid. When you''re hungry as hell, just about anything tastes good. We always punctured a small hole in the lid to vent any steam to prevent the "bomb" scenario. Naturally, we didn''t position the can such that the contents could seep out.

Duane
 
#3 ·
Gentleman, I don''t consider myself a finicky eater either, and I''m all for the convenience of one-pan meals and easy wash-up, but I just don''t see why one would stare at a can slowly warming in a pan of water when the types of food you have mentioned could just as easily be dumped into the pan, where the increased surface area to direct heat and the possibility of stirring will cut both heating time and fuel consumption drastically.
Oh, and you don''t have to try to hold onto a hot can while trying to open it. Even then, there''s nothing aesthetically pleasing about eating out of a hot tin can, maybe even with the jagged lid still sticking straight up.

All that inconvenience, just to avoid washing one pan?
 
#4 ·
Gentlemen, I don''t consider myself a finicky eater either, and I''m all for the convenience of one-pan meals and easy wash-up, but I just don''t see why one would stare at a can slowly warming in a pan of water when the types of food you have mentioned could just as easily be dumped into the pan, where the increased surface area to direct heat and the possibility of stirring will cut both heating time and fuel consumption drastically.
Oh, and you don''t have to try to hold onto a hot can while trying to open it. Even then, there''s nothing aesthetically pleasing about eating out of a hot tin can, maybe even with the jagged lid still sticking straight up.

All that inconvenience, just to avoid washing one pan?
 
#5 ·
Several reasons why I usually cook in the can. When I started doing this I was usually cooking over a campfire. Leaving it in the can prevents a lot of ash in your meal. There are lots of options for heating a meal in a can, a couple hours under the heater blower of a car or in the hot sun or on a heating stove is enough. Just make sure your heat source won''t boil water to turn your meal into a food bomb. Also, scraping some of these meals out of the can while they are cold is difficult and degrades the food, raviolli comes to mind, mess around with it when it is cold and you end up with raviolli chunks. When you are done cooking in the can you have the hot water left over that I usually use to rinse out the can so it doesn''t smell up the garbage. If your meal is still in the can and the pot slides off the stove, the mess isn''t near as bad, and most importantly, you still have your victualls, you don''t go hungry. Nothing really important, to each his own.
 
#6 ·
My favourite rough weather meal:
1 can stewed meat
1 can mixed vegetables (don''t drain, juice is stock)
1 can potatoes (drain unless you want salty soup)
Heat up all ingredients in a large pan (pressure cooker if you are worried it might come off the stove) for as long as it takes. Serve in deep bowls. Can be eaten one handed with a spoon while you are braced at the tiller. In the Royal Navy we called it Pot Mess - never ever serve ashore!!!!
John the Michellin *** Chef
 
#7 ·
As Johnamrosd said, "never serve ashore".
We lived-aboard for nine years, spending winters cruising Bahamas, and summers at dock in Florida.
None of the "pasta & something" dishes that help fill out the cruiser''s food plan NEVER make it back in civilization. Same goes for fresh seafood - ate lots in Bahamas, almost never Stateside.
The idea was to keep these quick, easy, long shelf-life foods "fresh(er)" for cruise use.
Good post!
Gord
 
#8 ·
When your hungry, cold Dinty Moore can be a feast, your method can be pretty dangerous though reguardless of the "safety dent".

Air tight containers in proximity to heat/fire can lead to a B.L.E.V.E., or Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Elplosion. Like throwing an arosol can into a fire with the resulting flame explosion replaced by a steam explosion both of which can burn someone severly.

I''m sure you know what your doing having done it many times, and thank you Sir for your service to our country, but putting a small vent hole in the cans can prevent some serious injury.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top