camp meals

BBQ Pulled Pork and Rice

Freeze-dried pork rehydrated in a smoky sauce, poured over instant rice. One pot, one boil.

calories
620
weight
5.5 oz
cal / oz
113
protein
32 g
serves
1, scales
prep
2 min
cook
10 min
total time
12 min
water
500 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
  • Liquid fuel
  • Backpacking
  • Basecamp
  • Car camping
  • Canoe / raft
  • Dairy free
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Dump and stir

Ingredients

Freeze-dried pulled pork 2 oz or shelf-stable pouched pork, drained
Instant rice 3/4 cup the parboiled kind that rehydrates off heat
Tomato powder 2 tbsp
Brown sugar 1 tbsp
Cider vinegar powder 1 tsp or a vinegar packet from a fish and chips counter
Smoked paprika 1 tsp
Onion powder 1 tsp
Garlic powder 1/2 tsp
Chipotle powder 1/4 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Dried minced onion 1 tbsp stands in for the pickled red onion

Method

  1. Boil 500 ml of water. Take it off the heat.
  2. Stir in the pork, the dried onion, and the whole sauce premix. Let it sit two minutes so the meat starts drinking.
  3. Add the rice, stir once, and put the lid on.
  4. Wait eight minutes. Do not stir again, the rice needs the steam.
  5. Pour in the oil and stir hard. The tomato powder and sugar will pull together into sauce as it cools.

This is the trail version of a slow-smoked pulled pork dinner. Fifteen hours over oak is not happening at a campsite, so the smoke comes from paprika and chipotle instead, and the meat comes freeze-dried. What you are really rebuilding is the sauce: tomato, sugar, vinegar, salt. Get those four in the right ratio and the rest is seasoning.

The order matters. Pork first, in water alone, because dried meat rehydrates slowly and rice will steal the water it needs. The oil goes in last, off heat, so it coats rather than fries. Dried minced onion is the stand-in for pickled red onion, which is mostly there for sharpness, and the vinegar powder covers that anyway.

Packing

Sauce spices and brown sugar go in one small bag, rice in another, pork in a third. Keeping the rice separate matters: if it sits packed against the salt and sugar it draws moisture and clumps.

Variations

  • A packet of instant mashed potato flakes instead of rice makes it thicker and faster.
  • Crumble in a handful of corn chips at the end for texture and another 150 calories.
  • Swap the pork for a foil pouch of chicken if the freeze-dried version is out of budget.

https://casambu.com/products/repas-deshydrate-porc-effiloche-sauce-bbq-firepot-food