Breakfast Skillet
Brand: Peek Refuel
640 calories / 138g = 4.64 cal/g
Recently Mountain House nerfed (as in, made it healthier) my favorite freeze-dried meal, so I’ve been forced to look for new and different variety in my freeze-dried menu for long-distance hikes.
I haven’t been to the local REI since COVID started and found Peak Refuel as a new brand addition to the shelves on my last trip. I bought several things to try including this Breakfast Skillet. I was doubtful it could live up to how much I loved the original Mountain House Breakfast Skillet, but surely if it’s more expensive it must be better, right?
Nutritional content looks right on par for high sodium and saturated fat content and the calorie density is pretty decent. So far, so good.
Instructions called for 2 cups, 15 minutes, no mid-stir which is maybe a bit longer than most bags but pretty normal. My bag looked very sausage heavy at first glance, presumably because they were added last.
I boiled 2 cups of water in my microwave and added to the bag. It initially almost overflowed the bag because the contents were a bit bulky. But after a bit of stirring some of the contents soaked in the water and the level receded enough that I could close the bag.
After waiting 15 minutes, I dug into the bag. My two first impressions were a) saltwater sponge and b) black pepper.
Now to be fair, most freeze-dried bags give me a bit of saltwater sponge affect, but this was a bit more than normal. The eggs and the sausage both have that sponge texture going on which is a bit overwhelming. While I expect that from eggs, the sausage felt a bit more disappointing compared to what I remember of other dishes with sausage. The texture besides the sponginess (if that’s excusable) was good. The potatoes mostly held up form and were a counterpoint to the eggs and sausage.
The black pepper flavor was constant through the bag. This was the main spice component I detected (besides salt of course). I liked it personally but if you didn’t like black pepper you would not like this dish. The red and green pepper pieces were delightful and added flavor and color to the overall dish. I would have liked a bit more of these.
Ratings
Calorie Density: 4/5
Serving Size: 4/5
Flavor: 3/5
Fillingness: 4/5
Would you eat again: Yes, this could be a normal part of a meal rotation though not something that is a clear go-to.