Day-Two Shrimp Rotini
Shrimp cooked before you leave, eaten cold out of the cooler on the second day.
- calories
- 640
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 71
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Cooler only
- Canoe / raft
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Shrimp, peeled | 8 oz | cooked at home, chilled hard before packing |
|---|---|---|
| Old Bay | 2 tsp | |
| Garlic, minced | 2 cloves | jarred is fine |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Tri-color rotini | 6 oz dry | boiled at home, rinsed cold |
| Jarred artichoke hearts | 1 cup | drained |
| Italian dressing | 1/3 cup | oil-based, not creamy |
| Shaved parmesan | 2 oz | a wedge and a peeler travels better than a tub |
Method
- At home: toss the shrimp with Old Bay, garlic, and the olive oil. Sear or grill them two minutes a side, no longer.
- Spread them on a plate and get them cold in the fridge before they go anywhere near a bag. Warm shrimp in a cooler is how this goes wrong.
- At home: boil the rotini, rinse it under cold water until it stops steaming, and toss it with half the dressing so it does not glue itself together.
- Bag the pasta and shrimp separately and bury both under the ice.
- In camp: dump the pasta, shrimp, and drained artichoke hearts into one bag. Pour in the rest of the dressing.
- Seal it, work it with your hands for a few seconds, then shave the parmesan over the top and eat straight out of the bag.
This is a second-day meal, which is a specific problem. Day one you eat what is fresh. Day two the cooler has lost its edge and nobody wants another cold slice of something. Cooking the shrimp at home solves it: they are already safe, already seasoned, and they need nothing but a bag and a spoon.
The fat is doing the preserving. Oil-based dressing coats the pasta and keeps it from drying into a brick, and it does not break down the way a creamy dressing does after a day in a warm cooler. Chill the shrimp completely before packing, and drain the artichokes or the whole bag turns to brine.
Packing
Two heavy freezer bags, both flat against the bottom of the cooler. Keep the parmesan wedge and dressing above the ice line so the cheese does not go waterlogged. Everything gets eaten by the end of day two.
Variations
- Swap the pasta for chopped romaine and a caesar dressing. Romaine holds in a cooler longer than people expect.
- Roll the whole thing into a tortilla if you want to eat it standing up with one hand.
- Crushed tomatoes and penne instead of dressing and rotini, if you have a stove and want it warm.
https://www.sailnet.com/threads/2nd-day-meals.9933