Australian Hiker

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Back Country Roast Chicken Review

The Back Country Cuisine range of outdoor meals is probably the best known in Australia. These meals are stocked by the majority of outdoor stores and many people consider them the staple meal choice for outdoor activities. Back Country has a huge range of meal choices and many stores seem to select a ‘top ten’ so you are unlikely to find the full range in any one store. The Roast Chicken offering is one you will find in just about every store nationwide. In addition to the large variety of twin serves, the company also has single serves (entrée size) although the single serve options don’t seem to have as large a variety at least as far as the stores I visit. 

I’m still working my way though the very large range but I am finding this adventure is a bit hit and miss. But then again, everyone’s tastes are different!

The Back Country Roast Chicken is one of those meal choices that may not make my top five but is definitely not one I would knock back if it was offered. Again like many other meal choices on the market this one comes with a seperate mashed potato pouch which I mix through before rehydration. The taste of this meal offering is OK, but not spectacular. Having said that it won’t offend anyone and will be appreciated by just about anyone at the end of a long day.

Like many of the Back Country Cusine freeze dried meals I would recommend reducing the amount of water added as the recommended amount of water leaves this meal a bit on the wet side. I would suggest reducing the water by about 20 millilitres.  In addition to reducing the water you add to this meal I would also suggest increasing the rehydration time to around 12 minutes rather than the recommended ten minutes.

The normal price sits around the AUD $21.99 RRP mark for a twin serve pack which works out to be more cost effective than the single serves at AUD $14.99 RRP. Most of the larger chain stores offer member discounts or have regular sales so its worthwhile looking around.  These products do have a long shelf life so you can stock up at the sales come in anticipation of an upcoming trip.

The meal comes in a bag that is well designed and the bottom opens out to provide a flat base for those minimalists who want to leave the bowl at home. The option exists to tear the top off the bag to allow easy access to the food but you if you have a long handled spork/fork/spoon you won’t need to tear the bag. My other reason for not tearing the top off the bag is that you minimise any mess and after you’re done, you can re-zip the zip lock for clean disposal.

So what is the final verdict? While not spectacular and not likely to make my top five the Roast Chicken is worthwhile adding on longer trips to reduce boredom at meal time.

We Like

• Three year warranty which means you can buy these when you see them discounted thereby reducing the price. You also know the meals will always be edible
• Minimal preparation time.  All you are doing is rehydrating these meals so once you add boiling water there’s only a 10-12 minute wait
• If you eat from the bag there is only your eating implement to clean up. In fact you may not even need to carry a bowl at all thereby limiting the weight you carry
• A very large variety of meals from which to choose both single and double serves so it’s unlikely you will become bored unless you are on a really long hike
• Freeze dried. This takes much of the weight out of the meals and helps to limit the impact on your body
• Single serve option provides just the right size for solo travellers on a short trip. Twin serves are great for couples or for big eaters

We Don't Like

• The main negative of any commercially preprepared dehydrated/freeze dried meal is the cost.  These meals are cheaper/serve when bought in the twin serve size than the single serve entree size
• Twin serves can be a bit big for many people but this meal offering comes as a single serve option. Having said that I will usually pack a mix of single and double meals on longer trips as my need for calories increases

Best Uses

An easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip for camping and hiking

Buy One

You can purchase the Back Country Roast Chicken meal online from Macpac, Snowys ,Wild Earth, or from Wildfire Sports

Disclosure:  We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!

Other Versions

Back Country Cuisine makes a large range of meals. See our top 5 here

Back Country Cuisine Roast Chicken as purchased

Meal bag with the base folded out

Back Country Cuisine Roast Chicken unrehydrated

Unopened potato sachet

Back Country Cuisine Roast Chicken rehydrated with the mashed potato mixed through. It may not look pretty but it tastes fine

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

Last updated

8 November 2024

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