Garlic Bisquick Pancakes
Baking mix, powdered milk, and garlic powder. What's left in the food bag on day six, cooked in a pan.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 14 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 15 min
- water
- 180 ml cold
- 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
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Bisquick or other complete baking mix | 1 cup | complete mix already has fat and leavening in it |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | nonfat works, whole browns better |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | powder, not granules, which stay gritty |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | for the pan, plus whatever goes on top |
Method
- Dump the dry mix into your pot and add about 180 ml of cold water. Stir to a thick batter that falls off the spoon in clumps, not ribbons. Add water a splash at a time; you cannot take it back out.
- Let it sit two minutes. The mix hydrates and the leavening wakes up.
- Heat a pan or the pot lid with a slick of oil over a low flame. Low. Baking mix scorches faster than it cooks through.
- Spoon in batter in rounds about four inches across. Cook until the edges dull and bubbles hold their shape, roughly three minutes, then flip.
- Another two minutes on the second side. Press the middle. If it springs back it is done; if it dents, it is still batter inside.
- Oil the top and eat them hot, straight from the pan.
This started as a joke on a canoe forum: a group down to Bisquick, milk powder, and garlic powder, and somebody made pancakes out of it. The joke is fine but the ratio actually works. A complete baking mix already carries its own fat and leavening, so powdered milk and water are all it needs to become batter. Garlic and pepper pull it away from breakfast and toward something you can eat next to a pot of beans.
Two things go wrong. Too much water gives you crepes that tear on the flip, so start dry and add slowly. Too much heat burns the outside while the center stays raw, which is the failure mode that gives camp pancakes their reputation. Keep the flame low and give them the full five minutes.
Packing
Mix Bisquick, milk powder, garlic, salt, and pepper into one bag at home. Oil rides in a dropper bottle. In camp you add water to the bag's contents and nothing else.
Variations
- Thin the batter with an extra 60 ml of water and cook it as one large flatbread to mop up whatever else is in the pot.
- A crumbled bouillon cube in place of the salt turns these into something closer to a savory dumpling.
- Skip the garlic, add 2 tbsp sugar and cinnamon, and they go back to being breakfast.
https://www.canoetripping.net/threads/worst-camp-meals.98024