Six of the best backcountry ready meals

Backcountry meals save time, space and weight when on the trail. But finding one that tastes good is a bit like playing Russian roulette with your taste buds. We guinea-pigged six trail-ready meals to find the very best

Expedition Foods Chicken Tikka with Rice (High energy)

Expedition 1

Type: Dried
Price: £7 per meal

This is part of Expedition Foods’ high-energy range, offering 800 calories per 140g serving, making it by far the most calorie-dense product on test. You simply add boiling water to the packet and stir the contents, before leaving it to steep for around eight minutes. The fill markings on the inside of the packaging made it easy to know how much water to add, and the pouch expands outwards for simple mixing.

Taste wise, this was a favourite among our testers. The spicing is spot on, with a warming kick reminiscent of your local curry house – which is what you want after a long day’s hiking. We took a point off for the chicken itself, which was dry, and all the testers agreed that a vegetarian version would probably have won the test.

Scores

Taste: 4/5
Ease of use: 3/5
Weight: 5
Nutrition: 5
Value: 3
Total score: 20/25

Blå Band Indian Chicken Stew

Bla Band

Type: Dried
Price: £6 per meal

Originally developed for the Swedish military, Blå Band use a range of different drying techniques to develop flavour-packed backcountry meals. The Indian Chicken Stew was the tastiest, most complete meal we tested, with all the components just the right texture, though the we preferred the spicing of Expedition Foods.

Rehydration was simple, thanks to the wide, shallow pouch which was easy to pour into and stir, then steep for around 10 minutes. Clear markings on the inside made adding the right amount of water a cinch. The pouch itself is insulating, so food stayed warm, and it was easy to eat out of as well. At 650 calories, it offers impressive energy for its weight (146g) and the mix of meat, veg and rice felt thoroughly nourishing.

Scores

Taste: 5/5
Ease of use: 4/5
Weight: 5
Nutrition: 5
Value: 4
Total score: 23/25

Forestia Minty Lamb Casserole with Long Grain and Wild Rice

Forestia

Type: Ready to eat
Price: £6 (£8 with heating pack)

A healthy take on traditional pub food from Forestia, this is the warming and hearty kind of meal which will keep you motivated on tough hikes. Full of flavour, the lamb was moist (if a little too fatty) and the wild rice still had a little bite to it — we actually had to tear it away from some testers’ hands.

It can be bought with a self-heating pack, or warmed in a saucepan full of water. We prefer the latter method because it’s faff free and you can use the leftover water for tea or coffee, although self-heating packs are handy for emergencies. The sacrifice here is weight; at 300g it’s twice the weight of dried meals, and although well-balanced, the energy content is relatively low (333 calories).

Scores

Taste: 4/5
Ease of use: 5/5
Weight: 3
Nutrition: 3
Value: 4
Total score: 19/25

Trek’n Eat Wild Mushroom & Soya Ragout with Pasta

Trek n eat

Type: Dried
Price: £5.50 per meal

Like all the dried meals we tested, this meal from Trek’n Eat scores highly for energy (620 calories) and weight (160g). The method to ‘cook it’ is nice and simple – you just add boiling water directly to the pouch, stir and leave to steep for eight minutes. However, the fill guideline was on the outside of the packet rather than the inside, which made it harder to add the right amount of water. We actually had to add more after eight minutes of steeping, as the soya hadn’t rehydrated.

On paper, this sounded like the nicest-tasting meal, but all were agreed it was too bland; the wild mushrooms could hardly be tasted and it lacked seasoning. “You’d want to add your own herbs,” reckoned one tester, “but otherwise it’s a well balanced and filling meal”.

Scores

Taste: 3/5
Ease of use: 3/5
Weight: 5
Nutrition: 4
Value: 4
Total score: 19/25

Wayfayrer Meatballs and Pasta

Wayfayrer 1

Type: Ready to eat
Price: £4 per meal

Along with Forestia, Wayfarer’s was the easiest meal to prep; you just warm it in boiling water for around eight minutes. But again, that convenience comes at a heavy price. The pouch is 300g, so if you’re looking to keep weight to a minimum, the dried options are better.

Our discerning testers unanimously rated this the lowest in terms of taste, mainly due to the tomato sauce tasting a little “fake”, but everyone happily gobbled it down nonetheless. We still reckon it’s a safe choice for fussy eaters or kids. The energy content is higher than the other ready to eat meals we tested (375 calories) and it’s also the cheapest on the test, so worth having in your pack as an emergency ration.

Scores

Taste: 3/5
Ease of use: 5/5
Weight: 3
Nutrition: 3
Value: 4
Total score: 18/25

Hotpack Vegetable Curry Action Pack

Hotpack 1

Type: Ready to eat
Price: £34.50 for six meals

Surprisingly flavourful, with a good mix of vegetables and gentle spicing, though we’ve deducted a point for the mushy texture. The Hotpack meal came with its own self heating pouch; you just add 45ml of cold water to create an exothermic reaction, and then leave it to warm for around 10 minutes, so there’s no need to carry a stove.

However, we actually found the pouch a little bit fiddly and the instructions are hard to follow. Further points deducted for the excessive amount of packaging and heavy weight (425g). The portion was also very small – more of a side dish than a main meal, and it provides just 165 calories, which doesn’t cut it after a day in the outdoors. We’d buy it as an emergency ration, but not for dinner. 

Scores

Taste: 4/5
Ease of use: 3/5
Weight: 2
Nutrition: 2
Value: 3
Total score: 14/25

Taken from our Outdoor Cooking Special

OAG