Breakdown
Taste: 1/5
Quality: 4/5
Portion Size: 3/5
Meal Prep: 4/5
Explanations in order:
I thought the taste was very bland to be frank. I've had venison many times and I really feel like this may not even be the best recipe to use for a "venison based" entree. The spices were virtually non existent. Eating a piece of the venison alone was the most satisfying part of the meal (even though it could have used additional seasoning). I've never eaten a freeze dried meal from Mountain House, Peak Refuel or Backpacker's Pantry that tasted this bland. There have been several meals from those companies that I just didn't like, but they all are what I would consider "full flavored". To be honest the flavor profile of Hunter's Pie is about at the level of cheap hotel food or cheap cruise line food.
Despite the lack of taste I did appreciate the quality of ingredients such as the larger pieces of venison and what appeared to be the skin of the potatos used for the mashed potatoes.
Portion size was pretty good. I would agree with the description of "feeds 1 person".
I followed the instructions to prepare this entree and there is no way 3 minutes would be enough. Even after 8 minutes there were still a few crunchy bits. I used piping hot water and stirred very well before sealing the bag. I am in an area that's actually below sea level and I prepared the meal indoors. Lastly, based on my experience with the wild boar entree and sweet potatoes (review coming soon) this company definitely nails the amount of water they recommend. In my experience with other brands sometimes the instructions over/under estimate the amount of water to add.