Herb Stuffing Chicken Bake
A dutch oven casserole rebuilt from shelf-stable parts. Freeze-dried chicken, powdered gravy, stuffing mix on top.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 45 min
- water
- 700 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
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried or canned chicken | 10 oz total | canned is cheaper, freeze-dried is lighter |
|---|---|---|
| Cream of chicken soup mix | 2 packets | the powdered condensed-style mix, not a can |
| Powdered milk | 3 tbsp | stands in for the mayonnaise richness |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried corn | 1 cup | |
| Dried celery and bell pepper flakes | 1/4 cup total | |
| Chicken bouillon | 1 cube | |
| Herb stuffing mix | 8 oz bag | |
| Butter or ghee | 4 tbsp | ghee keeps without a cooler |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Start about 20 coals or burn a fire down to a bed of embers. You want heat under and over the oven.
- Pour 700 ml of boiling water into the dutch oven and stir in the chicken, corn, and vegetable flakes. Let them sit five minutes to rehydrate.
- Stir in the soup mix, powdered milk, bouillon, oil, and pepper until the liquid thickens into a gravy. Level it out.
- Melt the butter in a mug or small pan and toss it through the stuffing mix until the crumbs are evenly damp. Spread over the top, do not stir it in.
- Lid on. Roughly 8 coals underneath, 16 on the lid, for 30 to 35 minutes. Rotate the oven and the lid a quarter turn every 10 minutes so nothing scorches.
- Done when the edges bubble and the top browns. Rest five minutes before serving.
The original is a home casserole: poached chicken, a cup of mayonnaise, a can of soup, fresh celery and pepper, butter-soaked stuffing on top. Most of that does not survive a weekend without a fridge. The mayonnaise and canned soup are replaced by powdered soup mix, powdered milk, and oil, which get you the same fat and body from a bag. Dried celery and pepper flakes rehydrate in the gravy and do the aromatic work the fresh vegetables did.
The stuffing layer is the part worth protecting. Butter the crumbs off the heat and spread them dry on top, and the coals on the lid crisp them while the base bubbles underneath. Stir them in and you get mush. Coal count matters more than time here: heavy on the lid, light underneath, or the bottom burns before the top colors.
Packing
Combine the soup mix, powdered milk, bouillon, dried vegetables, and pepper in one bag at home. Corn and chicken in a second. Stuffing mix stays in its own bag so the crumbs stay dry.
Variations
- Freeze-dried turkey works the same and is worth buying after the holidays.
- Skip the topping and serve the gravy over instant rice if you would rather not manage coals on the lid.
- A packet of instant potatoes stirred into the base thickens it if the gravy comes out loose.
https://thervatlas.com/food/the-foods-of-fall-camping-dutch-oven-treats-and-a-classic-casserole