Just because your miles from civilisation doesn’t mean you can’t eat as well as you do at home. In fact, being so far from those yum-but-really-bad-for-you fast food outlets, it might even see you eating better!

Of course making up for the increased consumption of beer.

A great technique for ensuring your perishables can last the journey is to use a vacuum sealer or cryovac machine.

What’s a vacuum sealer?

sunbeam-foodsaver-vacuum-sealer-vs4400-largeVacuum sealing is a process of removing all the air out of a bag full of whatever you want to preserve – then sealing it shut. You might have actually already seen it in your local supermarket where some meat has a distinctive tight plastic wrap rather than thing glad wrap on a tray.

This method of packaging has one main benefit – the removal of oxygen surrounding a perishable item. This lack of oxygen slows the growth of nasties that will spoil your food. Extending the refrigerated shelf life up to 5 times!

A steak for example will last 1-2 weeks (including the time at the supermarket) but vacuum-sealed at the butcher correctly it will last 6 weeks!

So then why isn’t everything vacuum-sealed?

It’s a good question! I’m no economical expert but the only conclusions I can make are that in most cases it’s just not needed. The vacuum process is more expensive and in supermarkets the turnover is so fast they just don’t need things that will stay good on the shelf that long (I’m sure there are smarter people than me who’ve done the maths on that).

But when you are on a long trip your needs are different, you actually might have a long time between supermarkets so extending the shelf life can be the difference between a nice steak dinner or a tin of baked beans.

What can you vacuum seal?

Cheese AssortmentYou can vacuum seal pretty much anything, but as an off roader its really anything that’s perishable and even more specifically meats. But veggies, cheeses, sauces can all be sealed up to preserve their tasty goodness.

How do I get one?

Vacuum sealers have been around the industrial circuit for a long time, but these big machines cost a small fortune so it was for a long time out of the question for the average Joe (or Jane). But the inventive bunch we are has actually seen the production of more and more consumer vacuum sealers making it much more viable.

There are a ton of different brands of consumer vacuum sealers all with their different bells and whistles. I’m not going to go into any real brand specific details here other than make sure common sense prevails.

  • Buy a reputable brand if you can
  • Make sure that they use generic bags not weird hard to get ones.
  • A unit that can also run on 12v can be used during the trip .

A couple of more handy tips:

Some lessons I’ve learned (mistakes I’ve made) when using these bags might be beneficial.

Lot’s of smaller bags in single portions are better.

Vacuum bags are single use only. Once you crack the seal you are done. So if you put all 50 sausages in 1 big bag, the first night you digg into them you either need to reseal them in a brand new bag (if you have a 12v machine) or your back in glad wrap territory. However, if you put those 10 snags in 5 different bags you’ve got 5 days of fresh sausages without any of the hassle. It takes a little more time upfront but makes life so much easier in the bush.

It also makes it easer to pack more into your car fridge too as you can jam the little bags into all the nooks and crannies.

If you’re a marinade guy do that before sealing.

If you like your steaks or chops dripped in something, do that before you suck out the air and seal the up. This way you don’t need to carry around the marinade ingredients and you’re steaks stewing in that lovely flavour 24/7.

Buy the best meat you can and handle with care.

It’s important that the sooner you can vacuum seal the food the longer it will last you. It slows the process but it doesn’t stop it so the earlier you do it can the better. You should also try to do the sealing in the cleanest possible environment you can. Clean hands, a clean table and a clean machine can make a bit difference in how long the food will last.

Good food in the middle of nowhere is possible.

Confezione sottovuoto di olive verdi piccanti

With some handy gadgets, some good planning you can now carry all the great food you love at home. There’s nothing quite like chowing down on a mouth-watering piece of beef whilst watching the sun set with the campfire going.

Okay I’m hungry now… I better go!