camp meals

Souvlaki Pita with Cucumber Sauce

Marinated chicken, a lemon-oregano dressing, and yogurt sauce built from powder. Greek street food, minus the refrigerator.

calories
720
weight
9 oz
cal / oz
80
protein
42 g
serves
4, scales
prep
20 min
cook
12 min
total time
32 min
water
120 ml cold
cost
$$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Dinner
  • Lunch
  • Grill grate
  • Campfire coals
  • Canister stove
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Canoe / raft
  • Nut free
  • One pot
  • Pre-mix at home
  • Needs a cooler
  • Basic

Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken breast 1 lb cut into 1-inch cubes at home, packed frozen in a zip bag
Olive oil 1/3 cup in a leakproof bottle
White vinegar 2 tbsp
Garlic, minced 3 cloves or 1 tsp granulated garlic, which does not spoil
Dried thyme, rosemary, and a crumbled bay leaf 1 tsp total
Dried Greek oregano 1 tbsp split between marinade and dressing
Kosher salt and black pepper 1 tsp each
Whole milk yogurt powder 1/2 cup
Freeze-dried cucumber or 2 tbsp dried dill 1/4 cup
Lemon juice 3 tbsp bottled, or one real lemon
Dijon mustard 1 tsp single-serve packets
Pita rounds 4 pocketless pita packs flatter and stays soft longer
Red onion 1 small keeps for days without a cooler
Roasted red peppers 1 small jar drained
Pitted olives 1/2 cup pouched, not jarred, to save weight
Cabbage, shredded 2 cups stands in for lettuce and survives the drive

Method

  1. Thaw the chicken in the cooler overnight. Shake the oil, vinegar, garlic, half the oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay, salt, and pepper into the bag with it and leave it there while you set up camp. Two hours is enough; four is better.
  2. Stir the yogurt powder with about 120 ml of cold water in a mug until it is thick. Crumble in the freeze-dried cucumber or dill, a pinch of garlic, and 1 tbsp of the lemon juice. Let it sit ten minutes so the cucumber rehydrates.
  3. Thread the chicken on skewers or lay the cubes straight on a hot grill grate. Eight to twelve minutes, turning every few minutes, until no piece is pink at the center. Over a stove, use a pan and cook in two batches so the meat browns instead of steaming.
  4. Shake the remaining lemon juice, mustard, remaining oregano, and 2 tbsp oil in a small bottle. Toss it with the cabbage, sliced onion, peppers, and olives in the empty pot.
  5. Warm the pitas for a few seconds on the grate. Load with chicken, salad, and a spoon of the sauce.

The original of this is a four-part restaurant project: a 24-hour brine, a second marinade, a fourteen-ingredient chopped salad, and a yogurt sauce. In camp, most of that is water weight and knife work you do not want. The brine goes first — it exists to insure against overcooked breast, and cutting the meat into cubes does the same job for free. The salad shrinks to five things that survive a cooler, with cabbage in place of iceberg because iceberg turns to slush by day two.

The yogurt sauce is the part worth protecting. Yogurt powder plus cold water rebuilds a thick, sour sauce with no dairy in the cooler, and freeze-dried cucumber gives back the crunch that fresh tzatziki has. Go light on the garlic. Camp garlic reads stronger than kitchen garlic, and there is nowhere to brush your teeth afterward.

Packing

Cube and freeze the chicken at home in the bag it will marinate in; it doubles as a cooler ice block for the drive. Marinade spices, yogurt powder, and dressing spices go in three labeled snack bags. Pitas travel in a rigid container or they arrive as crumbs.

Variations

  • No cooler: swap in two 10 oz cans of chicken, drained, and crisp them in oil with the spices. Same sandwich, no marinating.
  • Vegetarian: chickpeas from a pouch, dried and pan-fried in the marinade spices.
  • Wrap the loaded pita in foil and reheat it on the grate the next morning.

https://www.tasteandtellblog.com/cookbook-of-the-month-recipe-souvlaki-chicken-shish-kebab

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