Sauerkraut Potato Mash
Dutch stamppot compressed into one pot: sauerkraut, bouillon, and potato flakes, with sausage on top.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 80
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 6 min
- total time
- 9 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
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Winter / snow
- Car camping
- Bikepacking
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Sauerkraut | 150 g pouch | shelf-stable sachet, not the refrigerated jar |
|---|---|---|
| Bouillon cube | 1 | beef, or a vegetable cube |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1 sachet, about 4 oz | |
| Dried sausage | 3 oz | summer sausage, salami, or chorizo |
| Mustard | 1 tbsp | a takeout packet works |
| White pepper | to taste | |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Put 400 ml of water in the pot. Add the sauerkraut and the crumbled bouillon cube while the water is still cold.
- Bring it to a boil and hold it there for a minute so the kraut softens and the cube dissolves.
- Cut the heat. Stir in the potato flakes until the mash thickens and no dry pockets are left.
- Stir in the mustard. Lid on, or into a pot cozy, and leave it two minutes to finish hydrating.
- Season with white pepper and salt. Slice the sausage and lay it on top, or stir it through.
Sauerkraut is one of the few vegetables that travels without a cooler. It ships in a sealed pouch, it keeps in its own brine, and it survives whatever your pack does to it. That makes this the rare trail dinner with actual acid in it, which matters more than it sounds after four days of salt and starch.
The kraut goes in cold and boils with the bouillon so its liquid becomes the cooking water rather than something you drain off. Potato flakes then absorb all of it, which is why the ratio stays near 400 ml and there is nothing left in the pot at the end. Add the mustard off the heat; boiling flattens it. The sausage is the fat and most of the protein, so do not treat it as a garnish.
Packing
Kraut pouch, bouillon cube, potato sachet, and a mustard packet go in one freezer bag. Spices ride in a pill bottle. The sausage packs anywhere.
Variations
- Swap the sausage for bacon bits, jerky, or a vegan sausage and use a vegetable cube.
- A spoonful of olive oil or milk powder in the mash makes it richer and adds calories.
https://www.hikeforpurpose.com/trail-meal-sauerkraut-potato-mash