Camp Chicken Potjie
Layered chicken and vegetables in a heavy pot over coals. You do not stir it.
- calories
- 560
- weight
- 14 oz
- cal / oz
- 40
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 150 min
- total time
- 170 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Chicken thighs or drumsticks, bone-in | 3 lb | skip breast, it dries out over two hours |
|---|---|---|
| Onions | 2 large | sliced thick |
| Cooking oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Carrots | 1 lb | cut into fat chunks so they survive the cook |
| Potatoes | 1.5 lb | quartered |
| Mushrooms | 8 oz | whole or halved |
| Green beans or cabbage wedges | 12 oz | |
| Chicken stock concentrate | 2 tbsp | paste or cubes; saves carrying liquid |
| Tomato paste | 1 small tube | |
| Garlic | 4 cloves | or 1 tsp granulated |
| Paprika, black pepper, dried thyme | 1 tbsp total | |
| Bay leaves | 2 | |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Burn a fire down to coals well before you want to eat. You want a steady low bed, not flames. Shovel a shallow layer under the pot and keep a second fire going to feed it.
- Set the dutch oven or three-legged pot on the coals. Heat the oil and brown the chicken in batches, then the onions, until both have color.
- Return all the chicken to the pot. Now build layers and stop touching it: carrots on the chicken, then potatoes, then mushrooms, then beans or cabbage on top.
- Dissolve the stock concentrate, tomato paste, garlic, and spices in 500 ml of boiled water. Pour it down the side of the pot. Tuck in the bay leaves. The liquid should sit low, not cover the food.
- Lid on. Hold a lazy simmer for two to two and a half hours. Add or pull coals to steer the heat. Do not stir. Lift the lid only to check the liquid.
- Test a potato and the chicken at the bone. When both are done, salt it, then fold it together once for serving.
Potjiekos is a South African fire-pot dish, and the whole method rests on one rule: layer everything and leave it alone. Stirring breaks the vegetables down into a uniform stew. Left in place, the carrots stay carrots and the top layer steams while the bottom braises in fat and stock.
This is a car camping or basecamp meal, not a pack meal. It needs a heavy pot, two hours of coals, and a cooler. The trail concessions are small: stock concentrate and tomato paste instead of liquid stock and fresh tomatoes, granulated garlic if you would rather not carry cloves. Keep the liquid shallow. The chicken and vegetables release plenty on their own, and a flooded pot loses the layering that makes this worth the time.
Packing
Chicken and vegetables ride in the cooler, chicken sealed in a bag at the bottom on ice. Spices, stock concentrate, tomato paste, and bay go in one small box so the whole seasoning kit is one item. Bring long tongs and a shovel for coals.
Variations
- A can of chickpeas added in the top layer stretches it to eight people.
- Swap in a cup of dry white wine for part of the water if you are carrying it anyway.
- Dried mushrooms rehydrated in the stock water work if the cooler is tight on space.
https://braaiculture.com/chicken-potjiekos-recipe