What do you think is the best MRE and how do you "prepare" it in order to make it better?

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 23:37:26 -0500

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 28 at 2017 11:47 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 23:47:41 -0500

Haven't done much preparing yet, but any of the chicken ones are good. If you're going to get Asian Beef Strips make sure you cook the rice. The beef can be eaten cold, the rice can not. It stays in the form of a brick otherwise.

Response by SSG Will Phillips made Nov 29 at 2017 12:26 AM

SSG Will Phillips — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 00:26:35 -0500

Never had one ... "C-Rations" and meals out of a Mermite Canister.

Response by Cpl Scott McCarroll made Nov 29 at 2017 2:25 AM

Cpl Scott McCarroll — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 02:25:17 -0500

Me too, C-Rats all the way, my favorite was Bennie wienie. And we got a 4 ccigarette pack

Response by PFC Jonathan Albano made Nov 29 at 2017 5:22 AM

PFC Jonathan Albano — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 05:22:33 -0500

As I recall, nobody seemed to like any of the veggie varieties, however, I always preferred them over the meat ones. I never felt the need to doctor the veggie ones, however, I thought they tasted better cold.

While I'm not normally opposed to meat, the meat MREs I actually liked were few and far between. As such, it seems only fitting that the last unit I was assigned to before getting out actually had a few vegetarians in it. Needless to say, I learned quickly what parts of the MRE certain people were willing to trade and for what they would be willing to trade it for. Makes me wonder how many Veterans went into sales and used MRE bartering as a part of their resume...

Response by SPC Clinton Johnson made Nov 29 at 2017 6:14 AM

SPC Clinton Johnson — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 06:14:20 -0500

Chili-Mac and chicken breast as I can remember were good.

Response by CW5 Jack Cardwell made Nov 29 at 2017 6:19 AM

CW5 Jack Cardwell — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 06:19:20 -0500

Best MRE is the one that stays in the sealed package !

Response by SPC Erich Guenther made Nov 29 at 2017 7:26 AM

SPC Erich Guenther — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 07:26:32 -0500

Gawd, I still remember generation one of the MRE's. Chicken A'la King always smelled like vomit when you opened the package and looked like it as well. Then there was the pork and beef pattie, freeze dried they both looked the exact same. Once you mixed with water.....gross. We didn't have the luxurious generation II MRE's like they do now with the meal selections by Martha Stewart and the MRE heaters, etc.

My exposure to C-Rats only lasted when I was in the National Guard, after transfer to Regular Army it was all Generation I MRE's. The worst C-Rat was the Ham and Eggs in a can........lol...gross.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 29 at 2017 8:06 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 08:06:37 -0500

Chili Mac with Cheese sauce, heated up

Response by CSM Richard StCyr made Nov 29 at 2017 9:51 AM

CSM Richard StCyr — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 09:51:06 -0500

Tied between chicken a' la' king and the burrito. Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce make everything task better in MRE land.

Response by SFC Jim Ruether made Nov 29 at 2017 10:21 AM

SFC Jim Ruether — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 10:21:54 -0500

C-Rats were great I loved the canned peaches and traded my entree if you could call it that for the other cans of peaches in the unit. The meat looked a lot like SPAM. The C-Rations were stamped 1967 on the boxes and this was 1982.

It all took time to heat them though and I think the old school exhaust manifold was the best until a can of beans blew up because a Pvt. didn't punch a hole in the can with his P-38. The motor sergeant was madder than hell and told the Pvt he was going to eat every bean on that engine till it was clean.

Then the Gen I MRE meals came out and they weren't first class but you had more choices. I would mix the rice with the chicken breast and use my Tabasco Sauce bottle and a few others from my buddies and would lay it on the exhaust manifold of my Jeep or on a deuce manifold to heat it up just like the C-Rats.

No need to be a savage and eat it cold now is there? When the Gen II meals came out it was like a freaking buffet at the casino....well maybe not quite that good..... but the heaters were nice. I remember some guys in the unit making Ranger Pudding out of the cocoa powder with some water and some coffee creamer. Definitely some inventive ways to eat this type of meal.

I don't know what they are eating in the field now but it has got to be better than those in the past.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Nov 29 at 2017 12:16 PM

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 12:16:38 -0500

SSG Private RallyPoint Member MREs are after My Time, We Had Old Korean and Vietnam Era C-rats still in the 70's and 80's (Dated from then too). I'm a Sailor I Put Tabasco or Cholula on about Everything.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Nov 29 at 2017 12:58 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 12:58:03 -0500

The one I liked the no longer have, it was turkey with gravy, and came with the potato patty, used to crush up the patty, and mix with the turkey and gravy, warm it up a little salt and almost thought you were eating leftovers from Thanksgiving.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Nov 29 at 2017 1:43 PM

SGT Matthew S. — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 13:43:23 -0500

For reasons I can't fathom, for some reason in Basic I enjoyed days that we got MREs for chow. Fast-forward a year or two (along with a deployment), and suddenly there was no such thing as a "good" MRE... only some that weren't as bad as others. I considered Chicken & Salsa one of the better ones, but it was several years before I was able to eat it with any regularity as my Platoon Sergeant at the time favored that one as well - and we all know where a lowly Private stands in terms of selecting a particular entree.

Never did do much doctoring or hold to any particular mix & match recipes, though. I was known, however, as one of the few Soldiers in my unit that could stomach eating an MRE cold.

Response by PO1 Brian Austin made Nov 29 at 2017 2:14 PM

PO1 Brian Austin — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 14:14:49 -0500

Chili Mac with the cheese sauce and hot sauce added!
Always added hot sauce to any MRE i had.

Response by SSG Steven Mangus made Nov 29 at 2017 5:30 PM

SSG Steven Mangus — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 17:30:13 -0500

So I would have to say the omelet with ham slow cooked on a squad stove with the white cheese packet melted in with some Tabasco. Then served on a cracker..can't forget the coffee mixed with the cocoa packet and creamer frothed on the same squad stove to wash it all down..

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 29 at 2017 6:23 PM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 18:23:10 -0500

During Ranger School my buddy and I would literally sit and write up crazy ideas of what gourmet entrees we could imagine involving MREs. The best one at the time was a Chocolate Ranger bar with peanut butter, plain m&ms, sugar and creamer. Or the Chili and Beans with crushed crackers and jalapeño cheese spread and some bartered hot sauce/red pepper.

However, once we started droning further on, our recipes got lazier and we started mixing all kinds of stuff together just to get more calories out of crappy ones like chicken pesto or spicy penne pasta.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 29 at 2017 6:33 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 18:33:04 -0500

The new chicken feta one is the best in my opinion. With anyone one the best way to eat it is to always mix in the bread/crackers and cheese if you get em after you heat it up.

Response by SGT Morrison (Mike) Hogwood made Nov 29 at 2017 6:40 PM

SGT Morrison (Mike) Hogwood — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 18:40:04 -0500

MRE's need go back to the lab,C-rats were alot better,anything that needs rehydrating into food should not be consumed,back in the 80's they were very basic ,nothing beats the good ole john wayne bar in the c-rats,umm umm good

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Nov 29 at 2017 7:01 PM

Cpl Justin Goolsby — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 19:01:21 -0500

Chili Mac in my opinion was the best. Had a jalapeno cheddar cheese spread and the little bottles of tabasco sauce. It's also one of the few MREs that I can eat cold if I have to. Typically whether it's heated or not, I'll open up the pouch, stir in the tabasco sauce and eat it just like that. The cheese spread was a good snack too.

Response by Sgt R Zan made Nov 29 at 2017 7:27 PM

Sgt R Zan — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 19:27:08 -0500

Skittles in Applesauce was my favorite treat. Discovered it by accident at Parris Island the first time we had MRE's; before the DI's even told us to surrender the geedunk. Luckily. mine wasn't the only MRE that didn't 'include' it.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 30 at 2017 10:53 AM

PFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 10:53:35 -0500

Beef stew

Response by PO3 Art Womer made Nov 30 at 2017 11:41 AM

PO3 Art Womer — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 11:41:20 -0500

I had some of the "original" MRE's back in the mid 70's. They tasted like cardborad and really weren't eatable. I served with the old "C" rations and loved them. I also had whaht we called LURPS, given to Long Range Patrols. They were much better the the MRS.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Nov 30 at 2017 6:46 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 18:46:21 -0500

Meals Rejected by Ethiopia? As I said before, we have no clue how to manufacture them. The French solved it 30 years ago. Just remember one of the original MREs had a packet called "Bean Component" with a larger note saying "WARNING: NOT FOR FLIGHT OR PREFLIGHT USE". As I said, no clue.

Response by CPL Ralph Moschler made Dec 1 at 2017 5:15 PM

CPL Ralph Moschler — Fri, 01 Dec 2017 17:15:33 -0500

They are all the same sorry

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 2 at 2017 3:07 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 02 Dec 2017 03:07:02 -0500

in the reserves we got Jimmy Dean lunch bags because we're Twice the Citizen!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2017 6:33 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 18:33:27 -0500

Tuna, or chili mac

Response by PVT Wayne Cheek made Dec 5 at 2017 7:56 PM

PVT Wayne Cheek — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 19:56:04 -0500

Chicken and rice and beef frankfurts

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2017 8:31 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 20:31:07 -0500

Chicken and noodles and veggie sauce, tobasco and salt and you are good to go. Better warmed up though.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2017 8:42 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 20:42:22 -0500

The best way to prepare an MRE is to take all the unnecessary stuff out and to eat one thing at a time in case you have to move at a moment's notice. Never heat them, as the astute enemy who conducts SLLS can get the jump on you; then you're really in for it.

Response by CH (CPT) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2017 8:44 PM

CH (CPT) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 20:44:06 -0500

1. Chicken Pesto Pasta
2. Anything with Red Sauce
3. Don't eat the main course and hope you can trade with others.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 5 at 2017 11:19 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 23:19:08 -0500

My rule of thumb is anything you can buy as a canned food is usually not too bad.

Response by SPC Brett Robertson made Dec 30 at 2017 10:20 PM

SPC Brett Robertson — Sat, 30 Dec 2017 22:20:17 -0500

Beef stew for me , I would trade everyone of my meals for it . Tasted good hot or cold dump your little bottle if hot sauce in it and grab a bread pack if you could get one and dunk it in. That was the only MRE that did make me want to puke.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 20 at 2018 1:19 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 13:19:15 -0500

The one that has the loaded potato soup

Response by SGT Tony Long made Feb 25 at 2018 12:36 PM

SGT Tony Long — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 12:36:30 -0500

The one sea ration that I remember as being the best was ham and eggs. Open up the OD green can with my P38, cook over a fire or eat cold, it was delicious.