Since buying our catamaran we’ve done quite a few long passages, sailing the yacht from Africa to Europe then across to the Americas.
As part of the provisioning for these journeys I try to precook as many meals as possible then freeze them. The two main reasons I do this are; it saves time being able to cook multiple meals at once compared to one at a time as we sail, and if the weather is rough or I’m seasick it’s easy to prepare a proper meal.
When choosing which meals to cook I take into account what the crew like to eat, what’s available locally, and which ingredients are economical. I then plan it out in a meal planner, which I talk more about in this blog.
Most of the dishes are curries, pastas and stews. This is because they can be reheated on the stove, in the microwave or using the slow cooker, and the crew can serve theirs up when they feel like eating as we’re all on different watches and sleep schedules. I also try to mix it up with different proteins and carbs so the days don’t feel so repetitive. In terms of quantity, I usually cook at least two meals worth at once and aim to have enough that there would be dinner and leftovers.
Here's a look at 10 of our favourite meals to precook for passage!
1. Thai Green Curry
After visiting Thailand we fell in love with the food, people and atmosphere; to date it’s still one of our favourite places on Earth! Thai Green curry has become a bit of a staple meal on the boat, especially when we’re near places where curry paste is readily available. If it’s not around you can generally create something relatively close using local ingredients.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Chicken • Beef • Seafood • Pork
Carb Choices: Rice
General ingredients: Thai green curry paste, onion, garlic, coconut milk, soy sauce, lime
Thai recipe substitutions
Sometimes Thai recipes will ask for ingredients I don't have on me so here are the substitutions I tend to use.
Apple cider vinegar for rice wine vinegar
1:1 ratio of rice wine vinegar & brown sugar for tamarind paste
1:1 ratio of lime juice & brown sugar for tamarind paste
1:1 ratio of rice wine vinegar & soy sauce for fish sauce
1:1 ratio of lime juice & soy sauce for fish sauce
Lemon zest for lemon grass
2. Massaman Curry
A mild dish with a sweet-tangy taste, Massaman curry is perfect if you like curries with less spice. It's another one from Thailand so has a coconut milk base. Personally I prefer to use canned coconut milk, but I do carry a stash of coconut milk powder on the boat for times when the cans aren't viable to have aboard.
Depending on the flavour of the curry paste I sometimes add extra cinnamon, cumin, lime or brown sugar on top of what the recipe calls for.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Chicken • Beef • Lamb • Duck
Carb Choices: Rice
General Ingredients: Massaman curry paste, onion, garlic, potato, carrot, coconut milk
3. Panang Curry
Panang curry has a rich, sweet and salty taste with a hint of lime. It’s one of my favourite curries and again can be made quite mild for anyone who can’t handle the heat. Personally I like to make it with chicken thighs, cooking the meat in the sauce until it's so tender it's falling apart.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Chicken • Beef • Seafood • Pork
Carb Choices: Rice
General ingredients: Panang curry paste, onion, garlic, potato, carrot, coconut milk
4. Bolognese
Another one of our staple boat dishes, we find Bolognese is good for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The ingredients are available in most places and it’s good for the pressure cooker or slow cooker if you have one aboard. I’m often quite liberal with the red wine and use bay leaves whenever I have them aboard.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Beef • Beef & Pork
Carb Choices: Pasta • Gnocchi
General ingredients: Onion, garlic, diced tomato, Italian herbs, bay leaf, beef stock, red wine
When I’m provisioning for passage and pre-cooking meals I try to use my Instant Pot as much as possible as it frees me up to do other things. Personally I like the air fryer/pressure cooker combo machines as they're more versatile.
5. Spaghetti Meatballs
I’d never made meatballs until I moved onto the boat and after I did, I wondered why it took me so long! Trent and Tynan devoured them, the meat went a long way and the sauce was easy to make. Depending on what’s available I use ground beef or a beef and pork mix, and often add passata for a thicker, smoother sauce. I also like to add a bit of red wine because yum!
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Beef • Beef & Pork
Carb Choices: Pasta
General Ingredients: Onion, garlic, diced tomato, Italian herbs, beef stock, egg, bread crumbs
Something I found in Trinidad was that high quality ground beef was hard to find. As a result I ended up making my own by partially freezing diced beef and blitzing it in the food processor attachment of our stick blender.
6. Beef Stroganoff
Beef stroganoff was something I grew up eating but the one my mum made definitely had an Italian twist to it. On the boat the designated cooker of stroganoff is Tynan; somehow he just manages to do it better than me so in this case I leave it to the master. We’ve found stroganoff goes with just about any carb, with our preference being mashed potato or gnocchi.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Beef
Carb Choices: Pasta • Rice • Mashed Potato • Gnocchi
General Ingredients: Onion, garlic, Dijon mustard, beef stock, sour cream, white wine
7. Moroccan Lamb
The first time we were in Gibraltar I was looking for a slow cooked lamb shoulder recipe and stumbled across one for Moroccan lamb. It was DELICIOUS! When it came time to sail from Gibraltar to Monfalcone I used diced lamb instead of the whole piece, and teamed it with mashed potatoes. It was an absolute hit with dibs being called over the leftovers before we’d even finished the meals. I’ve tried it with beef but it wasn’t quite right, maybe one day we’ll test it with goat.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Lamb
Carb Choices: Mashed Potato
General ingredients: Onion, garlic, cumin, cinnamon, lemon, honey, tomato paste, beef stock
8. Korma
Of all the Indian curries, Korma is my absolute favourite. I love the creamy tomato sauce so I always make sure to pre-cook one batch with slow cooked beef and another with chicken thigh when I’m doing my passage preparations. If it’s available I’ll also get some naan bread to go with it; garlic naan is the clear winner on our boat.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Chicken • Beef • Lamb
Carb Choices: Rice
General Ingredients: Greek yoghurt, garlic, ginger, cardamom, coconut milk, cream, garam masala
9. Red Wine Stew
This is one I started doing after my aunt gave a red wine lamb shank recipe to my mum; it was heavy on the wine, easy to make and I loved the flavour. I adapted the recipe to use it with slow cooked beef or lamb chunks and sometimes add fresh thyme and rosemary. Our favourite protein to do it with is lamb - there’s always a race for those leftovers!
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Beef • Lamb
Carb Choices: Mashed potato
General Ingredients: Onion, garlic, carrot, crushed tomato, potato, red wine, celery
10. Irish Stew
Before we started travelling abroad the three of us along with other friends used to do big camping trips north of Perth in spots that had no power, running water or facilities. During these trips we almost always made a big communal batch of Irish stew in a cast iron post cooked over a fire. What meat or vegetables went in it varied a little depending on what we had, but it was always a hit so now it’s another one of the staple dinner meals for passage.
Recipe information
Protein Choices: Beef • Lamb
Carb Choices: Mashed potato
General Ingredients: Potato, onion, carrot, tomato paste, beef stock
Bonus Tips!
Now that we’re in the Caribbean I can see some of the local curry dishes being added to the rotation. Whenever I find a curry powder I like I always try to stock up a bit so we can enjoy it after we leave.
Often when making curries I steam the vegetables separately (e.g. carrots, beans etc.) then add them at the end so they don’t influence the flavour of the sauce.
We usually store pre-cooked meals in zip lock bags as it means we can make the most of our freezer space. I’d love some reusable, soft, silicone storage pouches, so if you’ve tried out some good ones let me know!
If you're precooking for an ocean crossing, be sure to check out this post detailing how we provisioned to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
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