Trail Thanksgiving
Stuffing, potatoes, gravy, and chicken in a freezer bag. The whole holiday plate, minus the plate.
- calories
- 800
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 3 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 300 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
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Winter / snow
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Instant stuffing mix | 1/3 box | cornbread if you can find it |
|---|---|---|
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/3 bag | garlic or herb flavored works |
| Powdered gravy mix | 1/3 packet | turkey or chicken |
| Dried cranberries | 1 oz | |
| Foil-pack chicken or turkey | 4.5 oz | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | optional, roughly 100 calories |
Method
- Boil about 300 ml of water. It needs to be genuinely hot, not warm.
- Pour it into the bag until the dry mix is just barely covered. Hold back the last splash until you see how it drinks.
- Seal and wait a minute. Stuffing and potato flakes rehydrate fast; more time only makes it gluey.
- Stir in the oil, then the meat straight from the pouch. Eat from the bag.
Three instant starches doing three different jobs. Stuffing brings bread and herbs, potato flakes thicken everything into something a spoon can carry, and the gravy powder ties the two together so it does not read as two separate side dishes sharing a bag. The cranberries are the only acid in the meal and they matter more than their weight suggests.
Water is the thing to get right. Barely covering the mix is correct, because the flakes will keep pulling moisture for another thirty seconds after you think you added too little. Overshoot and there is no fixing it short of adding more dry mix you probably did not pack. The oil is optional on paper and mandatory in practice on a cold night.
Packing
Stuffing, potatoes, gravy powder, and cranberries all go in one quart freezer bag at home. The meat pouch and the oil bottle ride separately.
Variations
- Swap the meat pouch for a foil packet of salmon if you are tired of poultry.
- A packet of instant chicken bouillon in place of the gravy mix drops weight and still salts the whole thing.
- Leave out the meat and use a vegetarian gravy mix for a lighter, cheaper version.
https://thehikingtreeblog.wordpress.com/2016/10/29/easy-trail-recipes-thanksgiving-dinner