BBQ Brisket Dinner, Trail Version
Freeze-dried beef and dried onion rehydrated in barbecue sauce built from a powder.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 138
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 400 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried shredded beef | 2 oz | pouched roast beef or beef crumbles both work |
|---|---|---|
| Barbecue sauce powder | 3 tbsp | sold as a seasoning powder, or dehydrate bottled sauce at home |
| Dried minced onion | 2 tbsp | |
| Brown sugar | 1 tsp | skip if the sauce powder is already sweet |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/3 cup | thickener and filler |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- Put the beef and dried onion in the pot with 400 ml of water. Bring it to a boil.
- Cut the heat and let it sit covered for eight minutes. Freeze-dried beef needs the full soak or it stays chewy.
- Stir in the sauce powder, brown sugar, and salt. Put it back on low heat for a minute so the sauce tightens.
- Add the potato flakes a spoonful at a time until it clings to the meat instead of pooling.
- Pour the oil over and stir it in off the heat.
The original is a three-pound brisket under pressure for over an hour. None of that travels. What does travel is the flavor logic: fatty beef, a sweet and sour sauce, onion, and enough time for the two to meet. Freeze-dried beef gives you the protein at a fraction of the weight, and barbecue sauce powder rehydrates into something close enough.
The potato flakes are the substitute for hours of reduction. A pressure cooker leaves you thin liquid you boil down at the end; on a stove with limited fuel you thicken instead. Add them slowly. Too many and the whole pot goes stiff and pasty.
Packing
Beef, onion, sauce powder, sugar, and salt go in one bag. Potato flakes ride in a second bag so you can control the thickness at camp. Oil in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- Wrap it in a flour tortilla instead of eating it from the pot. The potato flakes keep it from soaking through.
- A pinch of smoked paprika and a few drops of liquid smoke get you closer to the pit flavor.
- Swap the beef for a foil pouch of chicken to cut the cost and the soak time.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/instant-pot-beef-brisket-recipe