camp meals

Herb-Butter Chicken and Stuffing Pot

Thanksgiving seasoning, freeze-dried chicken, and stuffing mix in one pot.

calories
720
weight
5.5 oz
cal / oz
131
protein
38 g
serves
1, scales
prep
2 min
cook
8 min
total time
10 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
  • Canister stove
  • Alcohol / Esbit
  • Liquid fuel
  • Backpacking
  • Basecamp
  • Car camping
  • Winter / snow
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Shelf stable
  • Dump and stir

Ingredients

Freeze-dried cooked chicken 2 oz canned chunk chicken works at a car-camp weight penalty
Boxed stuffing mix 1 cup seasoning packet included
Ghee or shelf-stable butter powder 2 tbsp ghee keeps for weeks unrefrigerated
Dried rosemary 1/2 tsp crush it between your fingers
Rubbed sage 1/2 tsp
Onion powder 1/2 tsp
Garlic powder 1/2 tsp
Salt 1/2 tsp split between the rehydrate and the finish

Method

  1. Boil 500 ml of water. Drop in the chicken and a quarter teaspoon of the salt and hold it at a simmer for five minutes so the meat comes back.

A roast chicken is an oven problem, so this keeps only the part that travels: the herb butter. Rosemary, sage, onion, and garlic were doing the work in the original recipe, and dry herbs carry that fine at a fraction of the weight. The bird itself becomes freeze-dried chicken, which rehydrates in about five minutes of simmering and lands near 38 grams of protein.

The stuffing mix is the structure. It absorbs the seasoned broth the chicken rehydrates in, so nothing gets poured off. Add the ghee off the heat — that fat is most of the calorie load and it coats better once the pot has stopped boiling.

Packing

Stuffing, herbs, and the rest of the salt go in one bag. Chicken in its own bag so you can see it rehydrate. Ghee rides in a screw-top jar inside a ziplock.

Variations

  • A spoonful of instant potato flakes tightens it up if you overshoot the water.
  • Dried cranberries stirred in at the end put the rest of the holiday plate in the pot.

https://mealswithmaria.site/thanksgiving-chicken-recipe