camp meals

Camp Beef Jerky Stew

Jerky, gravy mix, tomato powder, rehydrated vegetables. Fast dinner when you're tired and hungry.

calories
520
weight
5 oz
cal / oz
104
protein
45 g
serves
1, scales
prep
2 min
cook
12 min
total time
14 min
water
500 ml boiled
cost
$$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Dinner
  • Canister stove
  • Alcohol / Esbit
  • Backpacking
  • Basecamp
  • One pot
  • Grab and go
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Beef jerky 3 oz crumbled
Vegetable oil 1 tbsp
Ground black pepper 1/8 tsp
Brown gravy mix 1 packet standard 1 oz size
Tomato powder 2 tbsp
Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp in a dropper bottle
Dehydrated vegetables 1/2 cup freeze-dried stew vegetables

Method

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium heat.
  2. Add crumbled jerky and cook 1 minute.
  3. Sprinkle with pepper. Stir in gravy mix and 500 ml cold water until smooth.
  4. Stir in tomato powder, Worcestershire, and vegetables.
  5. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  6. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes until vegetables soften.
  7. Eat straight from the pot.

Gravy mix thickens everything here. The tomato powder and Worcestershire stop it from tasting like salt and cornstarch. They’re working hard to make jerky and freeze-dried vegetables taste intentional.

This swaps fresh beef and produce for jerky and dehydrated vegetables. Fresh would brown and taste better, but these pack light and don’t spoil. On a week-long trip without resupply, that tradeoff is easy to take.

Packing

Mix gravy mix, pepper, tomato powder, and vegetables into a quart freezer bag. Pack jerky and Worcestershire dropper separately to avoid grease transfer.

Variations

  • Canned beef works instead of jerky; drain it and add at the start rather than crumbling.
  • Instant potato flakes stirred in at the end thicken the broth into thick stew.

https://www.cookingbites.com/threads/easy-beef-stew.851