hello all. would anyone kindly share their experiences cooking bulghar on the trail. does it require a full day to rehydrate itself (like beans or lentils) in a nalgene before cooking? have you any ideas of blends to make that are healthy and hearty? thanks! peace!
leslie
leslie
Emeril – bulgur is cracked wheat.
Leslie – I think you could cook bulgur without soaking it, but it would take too long and use too much fuel. Presoaking it in a Nalgene would cut down on cooking time. You might also try cooking it and dehydrating it first – one of my friends has done this and says it really cuts down on cooking time. I haven’t tried it myself.
My favorite bulgur recipe is a bulgar pilaf using bulgar, spinach, pine nuts and dried cherries or cranberries and spices (cinnamon and nutmeg, I think, but I don’t have the recipe in front of me), but the possibilities are endless.
Kanga
I haven’t done this on the trail, but you could try making tabouli. Mix one cup bulgar with two cups boiling water in a water-tight container, then let it sit in your pack for the day. At supper time add salt, olive oil, lemon juice (maybe a couple of those little packets you get in restaurants), dried onion, dried parsley, dried mint. Off the trail I’d add chopped tomato, fresh onion, and zucchini (others use cucumber). But if you don’t mind a little additional pack weight, you could certainly bring along a zucchini and onion. Enjoy!
Rainbow
Hi Leslie,
This was one of my favorite breakfasts on the trail when I thru-hiked.
1/2 C. bulgur wheat
1 T. dried onion
1/4 t. each salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, and garlic
Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag.
In the evening I would add a cup of water to the bag, rezip it, and let it sit overnight in my pot, covered to keep it safe from nocturnal nibblers. In the morning, I’d heat up a little olive oil, dump the bulgur mix into the pot, and scramble it up. While still hot, I would top it with small chunks of cheddar cheese that I usually had as part of lunch. It was the best. So good, I may have it for breakfast tomorrow even if I’m not on the trail anymore.
I haven’t tried dehydrating bulgur beforehand either, mainly because I had it for breakfast and soaking overnight worked great. But, I have cooked and dehydrated other things, like pasta to save cooking time. Kanga your bulgur burger recipe sounds good. Is there an ingredient needed to get it to stick into a patty? I’m going to try it.
Early Bird
Folks-
Bulgur is cooked and dehydrated cracked wheat. It does not actually REQUIRE further cooking. Use it like a breakfast cereal, hot or cold, a lunch salad like rice or couscous (tabouleh is a good example), or in place of rice for a dinner base. It is similar to brown rice, nutritionally.
Using it cold will require longer soaking, maybe a half hour. Hot-just add boiling water and wait maybe 10 minutes.
Tip for the tabouleh fans-I’ve been rather happy with substituting a bit of plain Koolaide lemonade powder for lemon juice, and sun-dried tomatoes and dehydrated cucumber or pickle relish packets for the cukes.
Hope some of you can enjoy my contribution.
Rosaleen
Rosaleen
Hi Leslie. I love to make Tabouli & have made it both by cooking it for a bit of time & without cooking it. You can easily make it by soaking for a while; & this is usually what I do. It works best starting it out by soaking it in very hot water. But you don’t really have to cook it per se. If you don’t want to carry all the extra stuff for homemade tabouli you can easily buy a pre made mix; it’s not as good as homemade, bu it is easy & pretty good.
leah