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Another MRE Review!
15 years ago
Once again, I've got another round of reviews of MRE Rations that I've been your Guinea Pig for tasted recently!
I'm not sure if all (or any)of these are based on real US military MRE recipes, but I can tell by the wrappers that they're knock-offs.
For detailed info on MREs, follow this link; http://www.mreinfo.com/
That said, here are the results!
BARBECUE SAUCE WITH BEEF
Quality: 2/10
This one was kind of... strange.
The sauce was a little sweet, but mostly sour, due to all the vinegar, grease, and god only
knows what else the manufacturer dumped into it. There were also a few bits of tomatoes and green bell peppers in the sauce, but they did NOTHING for flavor or texture.
The beef was ground (which sucked --- I was hoping it would be shaved or shredded), and didn't taste particularly good either. The texture was hardly worth mentioning.
I didn't like this entree.
BEEF POT ROAST WITH VEGETABLES AND GRAVY
Quality:10/10
This was unbelievably good!
It contained an ACTUAL slices of Beef Pot Roast (and a generously thick cut at that), with gravy, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, and carrots. It tasted just like real, home-made Beef Pot Roast, and the texture was the best of any MRE I've yet eaten (tender!).
It's a must-have.
BREADED CHICKEN BREAST PATTIE WITH RIB MEAT IN TOMATO SAUCE WITH PASTA
Quality: 8/10
This one, despite it's odd description, was actually pretty good.
It's basically Chicken Parmesan with Marinara Sauce and Shell Pasta, all of which I found quite
good.
My only gripes are a couple of let-downs on the flavor and texture; the breading was a bit on the soggy side, and that the sauce had very little "zing" to it.
I wouldn't mind eating this entree again.
SOUTHWEST STYLE BEEF AND BLACK BEANS WITH SAUCE
Quality: 10/10
This one's another winner; the only thing wrong with it is the description (what's wrong with
just "Chili"?). I shared this one with my father, who was also very impressed with it.
This is basically a Chili, with steak strips, black beans, corn, bell peppers, and some other
peppers in a heavily-seasoned tomato base.
I found the corn to be pretty crisp, and the beans and peppers still had a lot of flavor and substance. The steak strips were tender, tasty, and cooked to perfection, and the sauce was
absolutely incredible --- though a bit on the mild side, it's a lot like a batch of home-made chili I made the other week!
The overall texture was excellent as well, making this entree a hearty meal.
Don't go on a long camping trip without it! :-D
PENNE PASTA WITH VEGETABLE CRUMBLES IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE
Quality: 4/10
This vegetarian MRE entree was another let-down, and a far cry from the veggie patty in BBQ
sauce. When I picked it up at my local surplus store, one pouch of "SOUTHWEST STYLE BEEF" and a couple-dozen pouches of this were the only MREs left in stock. I decided to buy one, just to try it... and once I opened the pouch and tried some, I learned the hard way why the other customers avoided it.
It had a sort of Marinara Sauce in it, but the stuff was too thick, too peppery (I NEVER put
pepper in MY pasta sauces!), and it had too much sugar in it. The result is a sweet, black
peppered, tomatoey muck that REALLY makes you glad to see the bottom of the pouch.
The texture was mushy, with way, way, WAY too much grease and flour in the sauce, some seriously-overcooked (and even more mushy) pasta, and various totally unidentifiable bits of vegetables. There was also a soft, mushy, eggy sort of material in the sauce, which I assume is supposed to be some sort of meat substitute.
Another odd thing about this entree was that the stamp on the pouch said "PENNE W VEG SAUSAGE" (the hell?!).
It wasn't disgusting or anything, but nothing about it was good. I'm glad I didn't opt to share THIS one with my dad.
Overall, a mediocre dish --- heed the warning of the other shoppers, and don't buy it unless there aren't any other MREs.
Born in the USA snack cookies
Quality: 8/10
These are basically the same recipe as Animal Crackers, but they're baked into "patriotic"
shapes (Eagles, "USA" logos, the Star-Spangled Banner, and images of Uncle Sam) instead of
animal shapes.
They were munchy, toasty, and not overly-sweetened; good stuff. And --- as you might imagine --- they're made in the U-S-of-A!
I only took points off because they were a little bland, tended to be broken into fragments,
and there weren't many in the packet (only 1 ounce).
They make a nice desert for an MRE entree, and they're in their own packet, so you can keep
them after you throw away the main MRE pack.
Good stuff.
MRE spoons
Quality: Don't eat it --- eat WITH it!
This isn't really a food item, but it's still worth noting.
Like most contemporary Field Rations, MREs are made to be eaten with a spoon. Depending on which type of MRE you buy (the real thing, or any of the various knock-offs), the provided spoon varies in size and proportions from one brand to another.
MREs are highly-concentrated, with a TON of calories, so it's not a good idea to eat them
quickly; this makes a spoon with a smaller scoop desirable, because it won't encourage
"diners" to eat the entree too quickly.
At the same time, MRE pouches are deep, which means that you'll get sauce/gravy/broth on your hand if the spoon's handle is too short. Obviously, a spoon with a longer handle is best.
So, if you have the opportunity to bring use one, the best spoon to eat MREs with is arguably a stirring spoon --- it has a small scoop and a long handle.
I'm not sure if all (or any)of these are based on real US military MRE recipes, but I can tell by the wrappers that they're knock-offs.
For detailed info on MREs, follow this link; http://www.mreinfo.com/
That said, here are the results!
BARBECUE SAUCE WITH BEEF
Quality: 2/10
This one was kind of... strange.
The sauce was a little sweet, but mostly sour, due to all the vinegar, grease, and god only
knows what else the manufacturer dumped into it. There were also a few bits of tomatoes and green bell peppers in the sauce, but they did NOTHING for flavor or texture.
The beef was ground (which sucked --- I was hoping it would be shaved or shredded), and didn't taste particularly good either. The texture was hardly worth mentioning.
I didn't like this entree.
BEEF POT ROAST WITH VEGETABLES AND GRAVY
Quality:10/10
This was unbelievably good!
It contained an ACTUAL slices of Beef Pot Roast (and a generously thick cut at that), with gravy, potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes, and carrots. It tasted just like real, home-made Beef Pot Roast, and the texture was the best of any MRE I've yet eaten (tender!).
It's a must-have.
BREADED CHICKEN BREAST PATTIE WITH RIB MEAT IN TOMATO SAUCE WITH PASTA
Quality: 8/10
This one, despite it's odd description, was actually pretty good.
It's basically Chicken Parmesan with Marinara Sauce and Shell Pasta, all of which I found quite
good.
My only gripes are a couple of let-downs on the flavor and texture; the breading was a bit on the soggy side, and that the sauce had very little "zing" to it.
I wouldn't mind eating this entree again.
SOUTHWEST STYLE BEEF AND BLACK BEANS WITH SAUCE
Quality: 10/10
This one's another winner; the only thing wrong with it is the description (what's wrong with
just "Chili"?). I shared this one with my father, who was also very impressed with it.
This is basically a Chili, with steak strips, black beans, corn, bell peppers, and some other
peppers in a heavily-seasoned tomato base.
I found the corn to be pretty crisp, and the beans and peppers still had a lot of flavor and substance. The steak strips were tender, tasty, and cooked to perfection, and the sauce was
absolutely incredible --- though a bit on the mild side, it's a lot like a batch of home-made chili I made the other week!
The overall texture was excellent as well, making this entree a hearty meal.
Don't go on a long camping trip without it! :-D
PENNE PASTA WITH VEGETABLE CRUMBLES IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE
Quality: 4/10
This vegetarian MRE entree was another let-down, and a far cry from the veggie patty in BBQ
sauce. When I picked it up at my local surplus store, one pouch of "SOUTHWEST STYLE BEEF" and a couple-dozen pouches of this were the only MREs left in stock. I decided to buy one, just to try it... and once I opened the pouch and tried some, I learned the hard way why the other customers avoided it.
It had a sort of Marinara Sauce in it, but the stuff was too thick, too peppery (I NEVER put
pepper in MY pasta sauces!), and it had too much sugar in it. The result is a sweet, black
peppered, tomatoey muck that REALLY makes you glad to see the bottom of the pouch.
The texture was mushy, with way, way, WAY too much grease and flour in the sauce, some seriously-overcooked (and even more mushy) pasta, and various totally unidentifiable bits of vegetables. There was also a soft, mushy, eggy sort of material in the sauce, which I assume is supposed to be some sort of meat substitute.
Another odd thing about this entree was that the stamp on the pouch said "PENNE W VEG SAUSAGE" (the hell?!).
It wasn't disgusting or anything, but nothing about it was good. I'm glad I didn't opt to share THIS one with my dad.
Overall, a mediocre dish --- heed the warning of the other shoppers, and don't buy it unless there aren't any other MREs.
Born in the USA snack cookies
Quality: 8/10
These are basically the same recipe as Animal Crackers, but they're baked into "patriotic"
shapes (Eagles, "USA" logos, the Star-Spangled Banner, and images of Uncle Sam) instead of
animal shapes.
They were munchy, toasty, and not overly-sweetened; good stuff. And --- as you might imagine --- they're made in the U-S-of-A!
I only took points off because they were a little bland, tended to be broken into fragments,
and there weren't many in the packet (only 1 ounce).
They make a nice desert for an MRE entree, and they're in their own packet, so you can keep
them after you throw away the main MRE pack.
Good stuff.
MRE spoons
Quality: Don't eat it --- eat WITH it!
This isn't really a food item, but it's still worth noting.
Like most contemporary Field Rations, MREs are made to be eaten with a spoon. Depending on which type of MRE you buy (the real thing, or any of the various knock-offs), the provided spoon varies in size and proportions from one brand to another.
MREs are highly-concentrated, with a TON of calories, so it's not a good idea to eat them
quickly; this makes a spoon with a smaller scoop desirable, because it won't encourage
"diners" to eat the entree too quickly.
At the same time, MRE pouches are deep, which means that you'll get sauce/gravy/broth on your hand if the spoon's handle is too short. Obviously, a spoon with a longer handle is best.
So, if you have the opportunity to bring use one, the best spoon to eat MREs with is arguably a stirring spoon --- it has a small scoop and a long handle.
They can also be purchased online, but I'm not sure which sites are safe to buy them from. This forum might help in that department;
http://www.mreinfo.com/forums/viewf.....adc2ef56f60731
Also, MREs are pretty clear on whether or not they contain meat products, and what kind of meat --- what *cut* of meat it's from, however, isn't always clear (it may be best not to ask!).
If you're lucky enough to have access to a vendor selling authentic MREs from *known* dates of manufacture, this site has a list of menus you can use to pick one out;
http://www.mreinfo.com/
But if the menus for the Canadian Forces' "IMP" rations are any indication, I wouldn't be surprised that US troops are buying them;
http://www.mreinfo.com/internationa.....008-menus.html
These sound MUCH tastier than US MRES!
The same goes for Curry Powder found in some of the UK's field rations, and it's probably the same with the Brandy found in some Italian rations. No, I didn't maker that up --- two of the Italian field ration menus actually DO have a bottle of Brandy in them!
See for yourself;
http://www.mreinfo.com/internationa.....t-rations.html
My local surplus store normally only has civilian knock-offs of MREs (most of which are quite good, and a relatively accurate recreation), some of which you can find out about here;
http://www.mreinfo.com/civilian/mre.....lian-mres.html
It would be totally awesome if one could order foreign field rations, though!
But be cautious, as there are scams out there that try to take advantage of people's generosity!
Here's a list of charities that are legit;
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztec.....les/troops.htm
And remember --- when in doubt, ask the USO;
http://www.uso.org/