Turkey Chili Skillet
Ground turkey, chili powder, cumin. One pot, one spoon, no thinking after a long day.
- calories
- 610
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 102
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 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
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated cooked ground turkey | 4 oz dry | brown it at home, blot the fat off, then dry it |
|---|---|---|
| Instant white rice | 1 cup dry | |
| Dried pinto or black beans | 1/2 cup instant flakes | instant refried bean flakes rehydrate in minutes |
| Chili powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | the fat comes out of the meat in drying, so put some back |
Method
- Pour 400 ml of water into the pot with the dried turkey and let it sit five minutes off the heat. Dry meat rehydrates faster with a head start.
- Bring it to a boil, then drop to a low simmer for eight minutes. The turkey needs the time; the rice does not.
- Stir in the rice, bean flakes, tomato powder, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cover and pull it off the heat.
- Wait five minutes. Stir in the oil and check for salt. Add a splash of water if it seized up.
The forum version of this starts with browning ground turkey in a pan, which needs a fridge and a sink. Neither exists in camp, so the browning happens at home: cook the meat, press the fat out, and dry it until it rattles. Fat is what turns rancid, so getting it out is the whole point of the exercise, and the tablespoon of oil at the end puts the calories back where you control them.
The rest is timing. Turkey takes the longest to come back, so it goes in first and alone; rice and bean flakes only need residual heat. Tomato powder does the work a can of sauce would, without carrying the can or the water in it.
Packing
Turkey in its own bag, everything else premixed in a second bag. Oil in a leakproof bottle inside a ziplock.
Variations
- Swap the rice for instant polenta if you want it thicker.
- A spoonful of dried chipotle or a crushed bouillon cube covers for the lack of onion.
- Cook it in a foil packet on a grill grate if the pot is already dirty.
https://www.mtbr.com/threads/whats-your-recipe-for-post-ride-meal.3063