Hardtack in Gravy
Hard biscuits softened in a thick onion gravy. Cheap, sturdy, and it keeps for years in the pantry.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 155
- protein
- 13 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 7 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
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Winter / snow
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Hardtack | 2 pieces | baked at home from 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup water, 1 tsp salt; or any dry cracker or biscuit |
|---|---|---|
| Gravy thickener powder | 3 tbsp | potato starch and milk powder base |
| Bouillon powder | 1 tbsp | or half a cube, crushed |
| Dried onion | 2 tbsp | sliced thin and sun-dried or oven-dried at home |
| Mustard powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| White pepper | to taste | |
| Nutmeg | a pinch | |
| Ghee or olive oil | 1 to 2 tbsp | carried in a small screw-top container |
Method
- Bring 300 ml of water to a boil, then pull the pot off the heat.
- Rain the gravy bag in while stirring. Dumping it all at once gives you lumps you will not get out with a spoon.
- Put the pot back on low heat for a minute or two, stirring, until it thickens and the onion softens.
- Stir in the ghee or oil off the heat.
- Break the hardtack into the pot, press it under, and let it sit two or three minutes before eating. It needs the soak.
Hardtack is flour, water, and salt baked until it stops being bread. On its own it is a jaw exercise. Gravy is what makes it food: the hot liquid gets into the biscuit and turns it back into something you can chew, and the starch holds the whole thing together instead of leaving crumbs in a puddle.
The gravy is doing double duty as flavor and calories. Bouillon and onion carry the savory end, the mustard and nutmeg keep it from tasting like plain salt, and the fat is where most of the energy comes from. Skip the ghee and you have soggy crackers. Total dry weight is around four ounces, which is the point of this one.
Packing
The thickener, bouillon, onion, mustard, pepper, and nutmeg go in one zip bag at home. Fat rides in its own container. Hardtack is fragile in the wrong way, meaning it survives everything but will crush lighter food, so pack it against the frame.
Variations
- Swap the hardtack for grocery-store water crackers or a hard roll if you did not bake.
- A foil packet of tuna or chicken stirred in at the end turns it into a heavier dinner.
- Use vegetable bouillon and a dairy-free starch thickener with oil instead of ghee for a meat-free version.
https://www.hikeforpurpose.com/trail-meal-hardtack-in-gravy