The crawfish etouffee from Bowl & Kettle is easy to make – just add hot water. Pam LeBlanc photo

Add this one to the “Things I Never Expected to Say” file: I just discovered a fantastic dehydrated version of crawfish etouffee that’s perfect for backpacking.

Even better? It’s made in Austin.

I tested the meal, made by Austin-based Bowl & Kettle, on a recent car camping trip. My husband Chris, who is Cajun, and I shared the meal. It looked different from the moment I tore the pouch open: visible-to-the-eye curls of green onion, real crawfish (sourced from Louisiana!), and seasonings the color of fall leaves.

We love to backpack and have long been fans of another Austin-based company that makes camp meals, PackIt Gourmet. I’ve repeatedly ranked their State Fair Chili as the best just-add-hot-water meal I’ve ever eaten.

But they’ve got competition. I’m now putting Bowl & Kettle’s crawfish etouffee in a tie with PackIt Gourmet’s chili as the two best options available. They’re both better than the salted cardboard that used to be the only choice out there.

Brett and Sarah Bowlin founded Bowl & Kettle, which makes dehydrated meals for backpackers. Pam LeBlanc photo

Sarah and Brett Bowlin, founders of Bowl & Kettle, started selling their meals in 2024. Before backpacking 2,300 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail two years ago, they bought a freeze-dryer and made 200 meals to test in the field. They mailed the food to points along the way, and when they got a shipment, they always reached for the etouffee first.

But why etouffee?

Sarah’s father grew up in Baton Rouge, and when she was a girl, her mother made an easy version of crawfish etouffee as a one-pot meal. Brett admired the simplicity of the recipe and how good it tasted. He loves to experiment in the kitchen, and he adapted it for backpacking.

“The key difference is we use a roux that gives more of a thickness,” he says.

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I’m here to tell you it’s good. My husband also gave it the thumbs up – although he suggests skipping the packet of Louisiana hot sauce that comes with the meal. “It’s an insult to the chef,” he says.

The crawfish etouffee has visible curls of green onion and crawfish from Louisiana. Pam LeBlanc photo

It’s flavorful and colorful and doesn’t taste too salty (my number one complaint with backpacking meals.) It tastes like actual food – from Louisiana. Plus, I like the John Muir quote on the bottom of the package: “Sheep, like people, are ungovernable when hungry.”

Bowl & Kettle’s crawfish etouffee gets a thumbs up from Pam LeBlanc. Pam LeBlanc photo

Sarah and Brett both have other full-time jobs but are hoping to make Bowl & Kettle their full-time business. They recently rented a larger space in a commercial kitchen and bought a larger freeze dryer, which will allow them to increase production from 350 to about 1,000 meals a month.

A John Muir quote is printed on the bottom of the package. Pam LeBlanc photo

The company also makes and sells a dehydrated version of chicken tikka masala (I haven’t tried it yet) and street corn grits (tried, also good.) The etouffee sells for $15.95, the tikka masala sells for $16.95, and the grits are $13.95.

Bowl & Kettle products are available directly from the website. They’re also sold Mountain Chalet in Colorado Springs; Mellow Moon Lodge in Del Norte, Colorado; the French Grocer in Marathon, Texas; Sad Monkey Mercantile in Canyon, Texas; The Grove in Franklin, North Carolina; and

Garage Grown Gear, online.

A section of the Butler Trail will close starting Nov. 26 as crews stabilize the bank. Photo courtesy The Trail Foundation

Heads up, trail users.

A section of the Ann and Roy Butler Trail along Barton Creek across from Lou Neff Point will be closed starting Nov. 26, as crews work to stabilize a 230-foot slope that partially collapsed in May 2018.

During the closure trail traffic will detour around the baseball fields and onto separated paths on Toomey Road. A crew member with a flag will periodically stop cyclists and pedestrians to allow construction traffic to cross.

The closure will last until sometime next summer.

The city of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department, the Austin Parks and Recreation Departments and the
Trail Conservancy are working together on the project, which is funded and managed by the Watershed Protection Department.