Australian Hiker

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Back Country Cuisine Sweet and Sour Lamb Review

The Back Country Cuisine range of outdoor meals is probably the best known in Australia. These meals are stocked by the majority of outdoor stores and many people consider them the staple meal choice for outdoor activities. Back Country has a huge range of meal choices and many stores seem to select a ‘top ten’ so you are unlikely to find the full range in any one store. In addition to the large variety of twin serves, the company also has single serves (entrée size) although the single serve options don’t seem to have as large a variety at least as far as the stores I visit. I’m still working my way though the very large range but I am finding this adventure is a bit hit and miss. But then again, everyone’s tastes are different!

I was looking forward to this meal and had high hopes for that sugary tartness that is associated with sweat and sour meals but was disappointed. I could see where the taste was heading but after adding the recommended 250 ml of boiling water and leaving it for 12 minutes rather than the recommended ten minutes the end result was more of a soup rather than a solid meal. I usually recommend using less than the suggested amount of water in these meals to ensure a good texture but in this case I think the amount of water needs to be cut back to 200 ml as a starting point. Having said that the meal texture was good and that’s always part of the experience. All in all the meal wasn’t bad but neither did it leave me raving.

The normal price sits around the $12.99 mark for a single serve pack with the twin serves working out more cost effective at $19.99. Most of the larger chain stores offer member discounts or have regular sales so its worthwhile looking around.  As these products do have a long shelf life so you can stock up as the sales come on line in anticipation of an upcoming trip.

The meal comes in a bag that is well designed and the bottom opens out to provide a flat base for those minimalists who want to leave the bowl at home. The option exists to tear the top off the bag to allow easy access to the food but you if you have a long handled spork/fork/spoon you won’t need to tear the bag. My other reason for not tearing the top off the bag is that you minimise any mess and after you’re done, you can re-zip the zip lock.

So what is the final verdict? While this meal was OK there are just too many other meal options that are better and I would rather eat given the choice. As such I won’t be adding the Sweet and Sour Lamb to my regular hiking meal list on future trips.

We Like

• Three year warranty which means you can buy these when you see them discounted thereby reducing the price. You also know the meals will always be edible
• Minimal preparation time.  All you are doing is rehydrating these meals so once you add boiling water there’s only a 10-12 minute wait
• If you eat from the bag there is only your eating implement to clean up. In fact you may not even need to carry a bowl at all thereby limiting the weight you carry
• A very large variety of meals from which to choose both single and double serves so it’s unlikely you will become bored unless you are on a really long hike
• Freeze dried. This takes much of the weight out of the meals and helps to limit the impact on your body
• Single serve option provides just the right size for solo travellers on a short trip

We Don't Like

• The main negative of any commercially preprepared dehydrated/freeze dried meals is the cost. The Back Country Cuisine meals are cheaper than their competitors which only offer twin serve meals however per person this single serve meal is $11.99 which is not cheap. These meals are cheaper/serve when bought in the twin serve size
• Single serves start being a bit small on longer trips when you burn through the calories. I will usually pack a mix of single and double meals on longer trips
• I found that this offering from Back Country was a bit disappointing on the flavour front

Best Uses

An easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip for camping and hiking

Buy One

You can purchase the Back Country Cuisine Sweet and Sour Lamb meal from Wildfire Sports

Disclosure: We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

If you have eaten the Back Country Cuisine Sweet and Sour Lamb or if you have questions, we’d like to hear from you. Post your comment or question below

Other Versions

• Honey Soy Chicken
• Cottage Pie
• Classic Beef Curry
• Beef Stoganoff
• Spaghetti Bolognaise
• Mexican Chicken
• Nasi Goreng
• Sweet and Sour Lamb
• Creamy Carbonara
• Moroccan Lamb
• Roast Chicken
• Roast Lamb and Vegetables
• Lamb Fettuccine
• Beef Teriyaki 
• Pasta Vegitariano
• Chicken Tikka Masala
• Vegetarian Stirfry

Back Country Cuisine Sweet and Sour Lamb

Bottom of the bag folded out to form a stable platform. this also allows the water to reach all parts of the dried food

Back Country Cuisine  Sweet and Sour Lamb unrehydrated

Back Country Cuisine Sweet and Sour Lamb Rehydrated. you can see from this image with the reopened amount of water (25oml) the meal is more soup like than it should be. I’d recommend dropping the amount of water you add to 200ml to get a more solid rather than soupy meal

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

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