Rotisserie Chicken Skillet, Trail Version
A foil pouch of chicken, instant rice, and enough seasoning to make it read as a real dinner.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 98
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 12 min
- water
- 400 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
- Backpacking
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Bikepacking
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Foil-pouch chicken | 5 oz | pouch, not can; the can is mostly weight you throw away |
|---|---|---|
| Instant rice | 1 cup | the parcooked kind that rehydrates in five minutes |
| Chicken bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp powder | |
| Dried mixed vegetables | 1/4 cup | peas, carrots, bell pepper |
| Smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper | 1 tsp total | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Instant potato flakes | 2 tbsp | thickener, optional but it earns its place |
Method
- Boil 400 ml of water. Stir in the bouillon, dried vegetables, and spices and let it sit on the flame one minute so the vegetables start softening.
- Dump in the rice, stir once, and kill the stove. Lid on.
- Wait five minutes. Do not lift the lid to check. It is fine.
- Open the chicken pouch, drain the liquid into the pot, and fork the meat in. Break up the big pieces.
- Stir in the potato flakes a spoonful at a time until it thickens into a skillet rather than a soup. Pour the oil over and stir.
The original of this is a supermarket rotisserie chicken stretched across three weeknight dinners. None of that survives contact with a trail: no fridge, no oven, no carrying two pounds of bone. What does survive is the shape of the meal, which is shredded cooked chicken folded into a starch that has already absorbed a seasoned broth. Foil-pouch chicken does that job at about a third of the weight, and it is already cooked, so nothing here is a food-safety question.
The pouch liquid goes into the pot rather than onto the ground. It is salted chicken broth and it is most of the flavor you paid for. The potato flakes at the end are the difference between a dinner and a bowl of wet rice; they bind the loose broth and hold the oil in suspension instead of letting it slick the top.
Packing
Rice, vegetables, bouillon, spices, and potato flakes go into one freezer bag at home. The chicken pouch rides separately, flat against the pack wall so it does not get punctured.
Variations
- Swap the rice for instant couscous and cut the water to 300 ml.
- A packet of hot sauce or a squeeze of lime powder cuts the salt.
- Two pouches and two cups of rice feeds two people out of the same pot.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/rotisserie-chicken-meals