Sausage and Wild Rice
Summer sausage browned in the pot, instant wild rice cooked in the fat it leaves behind.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 28 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 18 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
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Summer sausage or dry-cured smoked sausage | 8 oz | shelf-stable, no refrigeration until cut |
|---|---|---|
| Instant wild rice blend | 1 package (about 1 1/2 cups dry) | quick-cooking, not raw wild rice |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried bell pepper flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tsp | only if the sausage runs lean |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Slice the sausage into coins, then quarter the coins. Smaller pieces render faster.
- Put the pot on low heat and brown the sausage dry, stirring often. Five minutes. Add the oil only if nothing is rendering out.
- Pull the pot off the heat and scoop the sausage onto your lid so it does not scorch while the water comes up.
- Add 400 ml of water, the onion and pepper flakes, and the rice. Follow the package ratio if it differs from this.
- Boil, then cover and simmer until the water is gone and the grains split open. Ten minutes for most instant blends.
- Stir the sausage back in, crack pepper over it, and let it sit covered for two minutes off the heat.
The original was a home-kitchen dish with fresh sausage from a fridge. Dry-cured summer sausage does the same job without a cooler, and it renders enough fat to season the whole pot. Brown it first, in the pot you will cook the rice in, so the fond dissolves into the water.
Instant wild rice matters. Real wild rice takes forty-five minutes and a lot of fuel. The quick blends are parcooked and finish in ten, which is what makes this a one-pot dinner instead of a fuel problem. Dried onion and pepper flakes rehydrate in the same water and cover for the fresh vegetables you are not carrying.
Packing
Rice, onion, and pepper flakes travel together in one bag. Whole summer sausage rides in the pack uncut; once you cut it, eat it that night.
Variations
- A bouillon cube in the cooking water makes up for a lean sausage.
- Swap in a foil packet of chicken and add it at the end instead of browning anything.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/sausage-and-wild-rice