Venison Sausage Spaghetti Pot
Italian venison sausage, sauce, and broken spaghetti in one pot. The camp version of a stunt dish.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 7.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 96
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 700 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
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Shelf-stable venison Italian sausage | 12 oz | summer-sausage style or a vacuum-sealed smoked link, sliced into coins |
|---|---|---|
| Dried spaghetti | 12 oz | snapped into thirds so it fits the pot |
| Tomato sauce | 1 pouch (about 14 oz) | pouches beat jars; no glass, no weight |
| Grated parmesan | 2 oz | the hard shelf-stable kind in a shaker |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes | 1 tsp each | |
| Salt | 1 tsp |
Method
- Heat the oil in the pot and brown the sausage coins until the edges crisp. Scoop them onto a lid or plate.
- Pour 700 ml of water into the same pot, salt it, and bring it to a boil.
- Add the broken spaghetti. Stir often for the first minute so it does not weld to the bottom, then cook 8 to 10 minutes.
- Do not drain. Cook it down until only a shallow layer of starchy water is left.
- Stir in the sauce pouch, the seasoning, and the sausage. Simmer two minutes to heat through.
- Kill the heat and shake parmesan over the top.
The source for this one is a stunt: cook spaghetti, freeze it into balls, wrap each ball in ground venison sausage, bread it, and bake. That needs a freezer, four hours, and an oven, which rules out every camp kitchen. What survives the trip is the flavor combination underneath, so this is that combination cooked straight in one pot.
Cooking the pasta in a measured 700 ml instead of a full boil means no draining and no strainer, and the starch left behind thickens the sauce so a single pouch is enough for four people. Ground sausage does not travel without a cooler, so a cured venison link stands in. Browning it first puts fat in the pot that the pasta soaks up later.
Packing
Snapped spaghetti and the dry seasoning ride in one bag. Sausage stays vacuum-sealed until it goes in the pot. Sauce pouch flat against the back panel.
Variations
- No venison sausage on hand: a hard salami or pepperoni chub cooks down the same way.
- Swap the spaghetti for gluten-free penne if you need to; it wants two more minutes and a little more water.
- A handful of dehydrated mushrooms in with the pasta water gives it more body.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/jj-s-spaghetti-in-meatballs