Riced Potato Bomb, Trail Version
Instant potatoes rebuilt with powdered dairy and fat until they carry a dinner's worth of calories.
- calories
- 700
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 156
- protein
- 13 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 3 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 350 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
- Thru-hike
- Winter / snow
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant potato flakes | 3/4 cup | plain, not the seasoned kind |
|---|---|---|
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | stands in for the heavy cream |
| Butter powder | 2 tbsp | or 1 tbsp ghee in a leakproof jar |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | more at the end if it tastes flat |
| Black pepper | a few grinds |
Method
- Boil 350 ml of water and take the pot off the heat.
- Pour in the dry mix in two or three additions, stirring between each one. Dumping it all at once makes lumps you cannot break up with a spoon.
- Let it sit one minute to finish absorbing, then stir in the oil.
- Taste and add salt. Powdered dairy mutes salt more than you expect.
The original is two russets, a pot of salted water, twelve minutes of boiling, and a ricer. None of that travels. Instant flakes are already riced potato, dried, so the texture problem the ricer solves is solved before you leave home. What you actually have to replace is the butter and cream, and that is what powdered whole milk and butter powder are for.
Mix off the heat and add the dry in stages. Potato flakes hydrate fast and unevenly, and once a lump forms in a camp pot it stays a lump. The oil goes in last because fat coats the starch and slows absorption if it is in the water first.
Packing
Combine flakes, milk powder, butter powder, salt, and pepper in one quart freezer bag at home. Oil rides separately in a bottle with a good cap.
Variations
- A packet of tuna or a handful of freeze-dried chicken turns it into a full dinner.
- Bacon bits or a spoonful of dried onion give it something to chew on.
- Half a bouillon cube in the water in place of the salt.
https://mealswithmaria.site/fluffy-russet-mashed-potatoes-recipe