Expedition Sunday Roast
A Sunday roast is still a staple in many households in the UK. One day we were thinking how could we get the experience of a roast whilst on the trail, when we cannot sensibly roast anything. And we think we’ve finally got to a good approximation. This is more of a feeling of a roast dinner, than a meal that follows any strict definition of what should constitute a roast, which means the ingredients may sound a little odd, but trust us, it works… And you’re eating quickly, which is always a good thing.
Closest thing to a roast whilst being miles from an oven!
Ingredients
All ingredient amounts given are what we would use to serve 2 people, but a little more or less of each will still produce a good meal. As with most of our recipes there are a few core ingredients and some optional extras you can swap out depending on what you can get your hands on, or what your specific tastes are.
Core ingredients
The core ingredients for this recipe are where the magic happen:
200g Protein of choice - We tend to lean towards chicken. If we can find it, then the shelf stable chicken in packets, if not, then a can. This recipe also works well with shelf stable soy protein. If you select a shelf stable protein there is less chance of picking up food poisoning.
80g packet Powdered potato flake (our preferred is Smash) - An ingredient that has a bit of a bad reputation in the UK, but also a little bit of a cult following. It is one we use regularly on the trail as it is light, easy to make, and a good base for other flavours.
4x tablespoons Gravy granules - We try to match the flavour of the gravy with the protein. This is chosen to ramp up the flavour as the tinned meat can sometimes lack a bit of something.
170g packet Sage and onion stuffing mix - Stuffing is a little different between the UK and USA, but in this instance they both bring good flavour combos and a bit of extra texture.
Approx 500ml Clean drinking water - You are going to need enough water to make your potato and stuffing as per their instructions, as well as enough to rehydrate any vegetables and make gravy.
2 pinches Black pepper - A pinch on each plate at the end just before eating makes all the difference to lift the meal.
Optional Ingredients
(or experimental, however you want to think about them!) Here are the extras we have found work well, so we’ll add the following to the core ingredients:
Onion - Dehydrated in strips, or freshly chopped
Carrots - Diced or dehydrated, or freshly chopped
Sweetcorn - Freeze dried or a small tin
Garden peas - Freeze dried. It is important if you are using peas then they are freeze dried not dried, as dried peas take hours to rehydrate whereas freeze dried take seconds.
Vegetable oil - If you are using fresh vegetables then having a drop of oil to fry them off can make all the difference texture wise when it comes to eating.
Cooking equipment
This recipe, if you do it in the right order, can have very few bits of equipment. A word of warning: If you get this the wrong way round you can end up with a whole heap of washing up!
Camping stove - something that has a controllable heat is preferable. Although possible over a spirit burner it is a bit more of a challenge to not weld food to the bottom.
2x Saucepans with lid - 1 big enough to get the vegetables in and one big enough to make the powdered potato in.
Mixing spoon - we tend to use a flat ended wooden spoon.
Knife - almost anything that has an edge on will do.
Cutting surface - something that can be cut onto without damaging you or your knife blade.
2x Bowls or plates - basically, something you can eat out of.
Method
It might look like a lot of steps, but stick with it and you can have the comfort of a Sunday Dinner whilst enjoying the great outdoors.
Take one pan and fill with enough fresh water to rehydrate your dehydrated vegetables, make your powdered potato, make your stuffing, and make your gravy.
If using fresh vegetables, chop into strips or chunks approximately 3-5mm thick and put to one side.
Cut up your chicken into easily sporkable sized chunks, and divide equally between the two serving plates. You can heat this up if you want to, but we usually don’t want the extra effort.
Start your stove and boil your pan of water.
In another pan make your powdered potato using some of your boiling water; as per the packet instructions. Once made, serve on the plates.
Use the starchy pan and some more boiling water to make your stuffing mix; as per the packet instructions. Leave to stand and set in the pan. (We know the instructions usually say to bake your stuffing, but this isn’t necessary. Leaving it to set up by rehydrating is)
If you are using dehydrated or fresh vegetables add them to the pan of boiling water.
Wait for a few mins for them to rehydrate and or heat through.
Add the gravy granules to the water and vegetable mix, then stir until thick.
Divide your stuffing onto your two plates.
Pour the hot gravy vegetable mix over the two plates.
Top with a pinch of back pepper.
Enjoy!
Trail tips
If you have an insulated flask with hot water unused during your day then you can get a jump start on this recipe and reduce the time it takes to get it in your belly. Believe it or not we have turned out this meal in under 10 minutes with a fantastic flask!