chicken – BackCountry Cuisine

I am building up my dried chicken supply and I thought I would write a quick post on what I do and show how easy it is.

Canned chicken rehydrates much better then fresh cooked chicken. Trader Joe’s has good deals, but you can find canned chicken in any grocery store. Look for chunk chicken with the lowest fat content they have. It is the fat that can make the chicken go bad over time. I have found that one large can of chicken (12.5 oz) fits perfectly on one Excalibur tray.

The process could not be easier. Open the can, leave the lid in place after you open the can and squeeze out as much water as you can. Then I unceremoniously dump the chicken on the tray with the “fruit leather sheet” in place, break it up and spread it out. Once I have all 5 of my trays full, I put them in the dehydrator at 145 degrees and let it go for 5-8 hours. I will check on the chicken every couple of hours and use a paper towel to soak up

some of the oil that is coming out of the chicken. You won’t get it all, but the less there is the better it will keep. I store my dried chicken in the freezer, so it keeps great for at least a year. I have had the chicken on a 6-day trip and there was no issue at all with spoilage. I don’t know how it would do in a drop that you shipped out a month ahead of time, but others online say that as long as it is dried completely it is not an issue.

Once the chicken is crumbly and very dry, take it off the trays. I am very good at making a huge mess when taking dried food from the sheets to the bags. I have developed a system that reduces that mess. I transfer my dried goods to a large open container with a pour spout.

I found one with a really large pour spout and it works great, but you don’t really need it to be that big. You can then transfer all the food over to a large ziplock bag and place it in the freezer. That is the easy way, but I like to make things harder, so I vacuum seal 1 and 2 serving portions (1/4 and 1/2 cup). Those portions allow me to accommodate my solo trips, trips with my wife or son, or trips when all three of us go together.

What to do with all this chicken? Try out the recipe below!
Per serving:
1/4 cup dried chicken
1/2 cup dried rice
1/4 cup dried vegetables of your choice
1/4 cup cream of anything dried soup mix or curry powder mix or Thai peanut sauce.

If that does not work for you how about enchiladas? Watch my youtube video to see how it is done! Tastes amazing 🙂

Eat well! Let me know what you think about the recipe!

Dustin

Meal of the week: Curry Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

Want curry in the backcountry? No problem! I will even show you how to make your own curry powder that tastes great. It is really simple. Add all the following ingredients into a bowl and mix well. A whisk or morter and pestle is best as it really mixes the spices well, but I have used a spoon before and it works fine.

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tbls cumin

1 tbls coriander

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tbls turmeric

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

This is your bulk curry powder. Store this in a small container or ziplock for quick use when prepping meals.

Here is the meal I made in my youtube video, but remember that you can substitute any veggies or protein that you want.

Curry Chicken and rice with broccoli (Serves 1)

1 Tbls Curry powder(use store bought or above recipe)

3 Tbls Milk powder(coconut powder is the best, but whole milk powder is great too. Nido is the brand of whole milk I like.)

1/2 cup instant rice

1/4 cup dehydrated veggies(from Harmony House)

1/4 cup Chickenish Bits(Flavored TVP from Harmony House)

Optional additions:

More chili powder (for more heat)

1 Tbls dried jalapeños

2 Tbls dried currents or rasins(I like currents better).

Without any additional items, this will take about 1.5-2 cups of water, depending on how saucy you want it. I like mine with a bit more sauce and it helps to keep it from sticking to the bottom when you cook it.

I hope you enjoy and please leave a comment if you have questions or other ideas.

Gear Corner

One great way to reduce your fuel usage and keep food from burning on the bottom of your pot is to use a pot cozy. A pot cozy is an insulated cover for your pot or zip lock freezer bag. I make them out of Reflectix (foil covered bubble wrap). You can find it at your local hardware store. You can also use the reflective windshield screens that are usually used on hot summer days. In the video below you can see how I make my double walled version. It keeps food incredibly hot. I have had food in the cozy for 30 minutes and it is still too hot to eat! As you eat, you leave the bottom cozy part on and it keeps the food warm.

Tips and Tricks

Great breakfast trick. Instead of making breakfast in camp, you can add the water to your zip lock bag and start hiking. After an hour or so of hiking you can stop and cook up your meal. It cooks much faster and uses less fuel.

Enjoy! Dustin

Dehydrating Chicken

Curry chicken and rice with broccoli