Camp Beef Stew
Freeze-dried beef and dried vegetables rebuilt into stew in one pot, thickened with cornstarch.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 600 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
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried cooked beef | 3 oz | or a shelf-stable pouch of roast beef |
|---|---|---|
| Dried potato dices | 3/4 cup | dices, not flakes, so they hold shape |
| Dried carrots | 1/3 cup | |
| Dried peas | 1/3 cup | |
| Dried onion and celery flakes | 2 tbsp total | |
| Beef bouillon | 2 cubes or 2 tsp | |
| Tomato powder | 2 tbsp | stands in for the can of tomato sauce |
| Worcestershire powder | 1 tsp | or a small dropper of the liquid |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Sugar | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | 3/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper | |
| Cornstarch | 2 tbsp | carried in its own small bag |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add everything except the cornstarch.
- Stir once, cover, and hold it at a low simmer for 12 minutes. Stir every few minutes so the potato does not weld to the bottom.
- Pull it off the heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes. The carrots finish rehydrating here.
- Mix the cornstarch with about 50 ml of cool water in your mug until there are no lumps.
- Return the pot to low heat, pour the slurry in while stirring, and cook one more minute until it thickens.
- Check for salt. Dried vegetables soak up more than you expect.
A slow cooker runs seven hours because raw chuck needs that long to break down. Nothing on the trail has seven hours or a wall outlet, so the beef comes pre-cooked and freeze-dried and the vegetables come dried in dices. That turns a long braise into a twenty-minute simmer, and the flavor that would have built over an afternoon comes from bouillon, tomato powder, and Worcestershire instead.
The cornstarch is the part people get wrong. Dumped in dry it seizes into lumps that never dissolve, so it has to go in as a cold slurry at the end, after the pot is off a hard boil. Dried potato dices also matter more than they look: flakes would dissolve and turn the whole pot into gravy, while dices stay solid and give the stew something to chew.
Packing
Everything but the cornstarch goes in one bag. The cornstarch rides in its own small bag, because it has to be slurried separately or it turns into gum.
Variations
- Swap the beef for a foil pouch of chicken and use chicken bouillon.
- Instant mashed potato flakes can replace the cornstarch if you want it thicker and heavier.
- A few dried mushrooms add body to the broth.
https://domesticsuperhero.com/slow-cooker-beef-stew