Venison Cheesesteak Mac
Cheesesteak and macaroni in one pot, rebuilt around powdered dairy and dried peppers.
- calories
- 760
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 127
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 600 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
- Backpacking
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Elbow or small penne pasta | 4 oz | |
|---|---|---|
| Dried venison, cut small | 3 oz | jerky or home-dehydrated ground venison; beef jerky works |
| Dried bell pepper and onion flakes | 1/2 cup total | |
| Whole milk powder | 1/3 cup | |
| Powdered cheese sauce mix | 1/2 cup | the kind sold for mac boxes, or a cheddar powder |
| All-purpose flour | 1 tbsp | thickener, since there is no cream |
| Ghee or olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Ground mustard | 1/2 tsp | |
| Cayenne | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | 1 tsp total | |
| French fried onions | 1 oz | packed in a rigid container or they turn to dust |
Method
- Cover the venison and the dried pepper and onion with 150 ml of hot water in your mug or a spare bag. Leave them 15 minutes while you set up.
- Boil 450 ml of water in the pot. Add the pasta and cook it until just short of soft, about 7 minutes. Do not drain.
- Pour in the soaked meat and vegetables along with their water. Simmer two minutes.
- Take the pot off the heat. Whisk the flour, milk powder, cheese powder, mustard, cayenne, salt, and pepper into a paste with a splash of pot liquid, then stir that back into the pot.
- Return to the lowest flame for a minute, stirring, until it thickens. Stir in the ghee.
- Crush the fried onions over the top and eat straight from the pot.
The original is an oven casserole with two cups of milk, a cup of heavy cream, and four cups of grated cheese. None of that travels. Whole milk powder and cheese powder rebuild the sauce dry, and a spoonful of flour stands in for the body the cream used to provide. The starch left in the undrained pasta water does the rest of the work, which is why you never pour it off.
Soaking the venison and the dried peppers separately matters. Jerky dropped straight into boiling pasta stays leathery, and dried bell pepper needs a full fifteen minutes before it reads as vegetable instead of confetti. Add the cheese powder off the heat; boiled cheese powder goes grainy and will not come back.
Packing
Pasta in one bag. Milk powder, cheese powder, flour, and spices premixed in a second bag so the sauce is one pour. Meat and dried vegetables together in a third. Fried onions ride in a crushproof jar.
Variations
- Trade the venison for a foil pouch of roast beef if you did not fill a tag.
- A packet of instant potato flakes instead of the flour thickens it faster and adds calories.
- Skip the fried onions and stir in crushed crackers for the same crunch at less bulk.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/venison-philly-cheesesteak-mac-n-cheese