The Best Freeze-Dried Beef & Chicken: Our Tips & Advice

Going camping? Living on a boat? Freeze-dried beef or chicken is a great way to take protein with you, without needed refrigeration.

If you are building an emergency food supply, these supplies would be an important component of your hurricane or earthquake supplies.

After interviewing several of our readers who’ve used these freeze-dried beef and chicken for camping, here are some tips:

• Consider slow cooking. This allows the meat to return to the consistency and texture folks expect. Quick cooking doesn’t allow the meat to properly absorb moisture.

• Follow the instructions regarding rehydration. Different brands require different mixes (1/2 cup water to 1 cup chicken, for example).

• Spices are a good idea. Most of these brands are unseasoned—expect to add your own to seasoning to taste.

Here are the winners from our taste tests, comparing several brands against each other in our freeze-dried cook off!

About the Authors

Denise & Alan Fields are consumer advocates and best-selling authors. The Fields have authored 12 books with three million copies in print, including the best-selling guide to baby gear, Baby Bargains.

The Fields have been featured and quoted in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times.

As consumer products experts, the Fields have been guests on the NBC Today Show, Good Morning America and ABC’s 20/20.

How We Pick Products To Recommend

We often turn to our readers (3 million strong!) to find products to recommend. We ask our parent readers for their favorites and consider their real-world experiences in our recommendations.

When we test a product, we always purchase it with our own monies. We do not take free samples, as we believe that compromises our independence.

We also fact check manufacturer information with our own measurements. If a maker claims a product weighs X pounds, we will weigh it to make sure. If the battery life is supposed to be six hours, we will see how it stands up in the real world.

In some cases, we will do interviews with experts in the field to get additional feedback on products.

To get hands-on time with products, we regularly meet one-on-one with gear companies and even tour manufacturing facilities. (When we do this, we pay our own travel expenses).

Why Trust Us

We’ve been rating and reviewing products for the home and families since 1994. We do extensive research, evaluating products with an eye toward quality, ease of use and affordability.

We make our living from affiliate commissions, but we always recommend what we think are the best bets for our readers (not the ones that are the most expensive). We are always looking for products that offer the best bang for the buck.

Our independence is a key reason why we have been doing this so long. As we mentioned above, when we purchase a product for hands-on testing, we do so with our own money.

Here’s another key point: we don’t take money from the brands we review. No free samples, no sponsors, no “partnerships.” Our work is 100% reader-supported!