AlpineAire Foods Cooked, Diced, Freeze-Dried Beef

Stores well. Tastes okay. Not great. Not awful. Kind of fatty flavor. If you like that sort of thing, maybe you'll enjoy it more than I do. But as a little something extra to add to a cup of instant ramen noodles, it works quite nicely. I'd imagine it's a great backup for camping / hiking when you're not able to catch fish or other game. All-in-all, it is what it is. No more. No less.

Easy to cook and prepare, but doesn't end up with a rubber texture like most other dehydrated meats. Tastes pretty good too.

ok, so it's not a great meal, but you probably guessed that.I bought several varieties of these pouches from AlpineAire because we have one person in our family who requires a special diet, and I want to be prepared for emergencies. AlpineAire makes several GF pouches which fit our needs, and I can find them easily at a local sporting goods store. In addition to this beef pouch I got the roast beef hash and the brown rice. None of them were horrible, just not great. They would definitely serve in an emergency situation and are much better than the camping freeze dried foods we had as kids. They do seem a bit heavy handed with the spices, which is a problem when you're feeding kids, but otherwise are acceptable.What you need to know about them:They do require clean, hot, water to rehydrate.The steeping time on the packages was always a little off- the hash never did quite rehydrate all the way down.Because you pour the hot water into the pouch- it becomes HOT!!!! and they don't stand up on their own. At least not the ones I tried. I had to prop them against something while they steeped, and one time the rice fell over and spilled some of the water. So be careful- not a job for the kids to do.There was a lot of water left in the bottom of the pouches. It made the last several bites very soupy and unappealing. I ended up draining as I ate, but it seemed that the left over water and the rehydrating problem are probably related. Maybe if you stir the contents of the pouch halfway through it would be better?All in all, they serve very well as back up food as long as you will have a source of clean water and a way to heat it. If you think your situation may be more dire than that- look elsewhere.There is a large variety of entree, side dishes and even desserts available. You can find them at stores like REI, or order direct from their website [...]for other choices. The 2,or 4 serving sized pouches are nice and the website has other, canned items, that are shelf stable for a longer period of time.Bottom line: I will be ordering more for "just in case", along with water purification tablets and our camping stove. Someone said, wisely I think, that this stuff is like food insurance. And like other types of insurance, you're really hoping you never have to use it.

My first experience with AlpineAire products in general and FD meat in as a standalone product specifically. I was pleasantly surprised with taste and found it to be filling when combined with a FD beans and rice dish. I would purchase this item again.