Skillet Chicken and Potatoes with Crisped Pork
Freeze-dried chicken, garlic, and thyme built back into a one-pan camp dinner.
- calories
- 690
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 115
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 500 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
- Campfire coals
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried cooked chicken | 4 oz | rehydrates in about 10 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable diced pancetta or salami | 3 oz | vacuum-sealed, no cooler needed |
| Instant potato flakes | 1 cup | stands in for boiled rainbow potatoes |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Garlic | 6 cloves, or 2 tsp granulated | whole cloves keep for a week in a pack |
| Dried thyme | 2 tsp | |
| Freeze-dried lemon powder | 1 tsp | or a real lemon on night one |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Pour 350 ml of boiled water over the freeze-dried chicken in a mug or bag. Cover and leave it ten minutes.
- Heat the skillet dry and add the pancetta. Render it until the edges go crisp, three or four minutes. Scoop it out and leave the fat.
- Add the oil, garlic, and thyme to the hot fat. Thirty seconds, stirring, until the garlic smells like something.
- Drain the chicken and add it to the pan. Press it flat and let it sit undisturbed two minutes so one side browns in the fat.
- Push everything to one side. Pour 150 ml of boiled water into the empty half, kill the heat, and stir in the potato flakes until stiff.
- Fold it all together with the pancetta, lemon powder, salt, and pepper.
The original is a stuffed chicken breast roasted at 475 alongside boiled potatoes. Neither part survives a trip without a cooler and an oven, so the structure moves rather than the technique: cured pork gets rendered first and its fat becomes the cooking medium for everything after it, which is what the stuffing was doing in the first place. Freeze-dried chicken replaces the raw breast, and it browns once the surface water is gone.
Potato flakes take the place of the boiled rainbow potatoes and cut the water you carry or filter down to half a liter. Add them off the heat and hold back some water — flakes thicken on standing, and a stiff pan is easier to fix than a soupy one. The lemon matters more than it looks; without acid the rendered fat and salt flatten out.
Packing
Potato flakes, thyme, granulated garlic, lemon powder, salt, and pepper premix into one bag. Chicken, pancetta, and oil ride separately.
Variations
- Swap the potato flakes for instant polenta if you want a softer base.
- A handful of freeze-dried peas or spinach in with the chicken adds bulk for almost no weight.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/pancetta-stuffed-airline-chicken-breast-with-roasted-garlic-potatoes