BiFi Sausage Stroganoff
Vermicelli, milk powder, and a shelf-stable sausage stick doing the work of sour cream and beef.
- calories
- 470
- weight
- 3.9 oz
- cal / oz
- 121
- protein
- 16 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 13 min
- water
- 300 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
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Vermicelli pasta | 50 g | break into short pieces so it fits the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk powder | 20 g | whole, not skim, for the fat |
| Shelf-stable sausage stick | 1 | BiFi, Landjäger, or any dry cured stick |
| Dried mushrooms | 1 tbsp | crush them at home or they stay leathery |
| Dried mixed vegetables | 1 tbsp | a soup mix of leek, carrot, celery, onion, parsley |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Beef bouillon powder | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Mustard powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | a pinch of each |
Method
- Put 300 ml of cold water in the pot and dump in the dry bag. Stir once so the milk powder does not clump on the bottom.
- Bring it to a boil, then hold it at a low bubble for one to two minutes until the vermicelli gives.
- Kill the heat. Slice the sausage stick in and stir.
- Lid on, five minutes. The vegetables finish rehydrating and the sauce pulls together off the flame.
Stroganoff normally leans on sour cream and fresh beef, neither of which survives a pack. Whole milk powder covers the first job — it goes creamy in hot water and carries fat, which skim milk powder does not. A dry cured sausage stick covers the second, and since it is already cooked it only needs to warm through.
Cook the pasta in the same water that becomes the sauce. The starch it sheds is what keeps the milk powder from separating, so there is nothing to drain and nothing to rinse. Crush the mushrooms at home; whole dried caps take longer to soften than the vermicelli takes to cook, and you end up chewing them.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag at home, mushrooms crushed first. The sausage stick rides loose in the food bag and gets cut at camp.
Variations
- Swap the beef bouillon for mushroom bouillon and leave the sausage out for a meatless version.
- A tablespoon of instant mashed potato at the end thickens it if the sauce comes out thin.
- Chicken bouillon and a harder cheese instead of the sausage makes a milder version.
https://www.hikeforpurpose.com/trail-meal-bifi-stroganoff