Trail Burger Sauce
Special sauce in a squeeze tube. Powdered mayo base, no fridge required.
- calories
- 150
- weight
- 0.9 oz
- cal / oz
- 167
- protein
- 1 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 30 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
- No cook
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Powdered mayonnaise mix | 1/2 cup | or shelf-stable mayo packets, 1/2 cup total |
|---|---|---|
| Dried sweet pickle relish | 2 tbsp | freeze-dried relish, or chopped dried pickle chips |
| Mustard powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Barbecue sauce | 1 tbsp | a single fast-food packet is close enough |
| Apple cider vinegar powder | 1 tbsp | liquid vinegar works if you carry it anyway |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Onion powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Paprika | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- At home, whisk the powdered mayo, mustard powder, vinegar powder, garlic, onion, paprika, and salt together and seal it in a small bag.
- In camp, add about 30 ml of cold water to the bag a splash at a time and knead until it is thick and smooth. Too much water at once and it stays runny.
- Stir in the relish and the barbecue sauce packet.
- Let it sit ten minutes so the dried relish rehydrates and the powders lose their raw edge.
- Squeeze or spoon onto burgers, tortillas, fried potatoes, or anything bland.
The original is a fridge recipe built on jarred mayonnaise, which is a problem three days from a road. Powdered mayo mix plus water rebuilds the base close enough, and vinegar powder carries the tang without a bottle sloshing in your pack. Everything else in the list was already a dry spice.
Hydrate slowly. Powdered mayo grabs water fast and goes thin before you notice, and thin sauce runs off a burger and onto your hands. The rest time is not optional either: dried relish needs a few minutes to soften, and mustard powder tastes sharp until it sits.
Packing
Dry mix in a small zip bag, relish in its own bag, barbecue packet tucked in with them. Knead and serve out of the same bag so there is nothing to wash.
Variations
- Thin it with an extra tablespoon of water and it becomes dressing for a ramen slaw.
- A pinch of cayenne or a crushed chili packet if you want heat.
- Shelf-stable mayo packets skip the powder entirely: squeeze in, stir, done.
https://domesticsuperhero.com/big-mac-sauce-copycat-recipe