Camp Swedish Meatballs Over Rice
Frozen meatballs, two cans, and a pot of rice. Dinner on the table before the tents are up.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 69
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 950 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
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Real dishes
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Frozen meatballs | 26 oz bag | they ride in the cooler and thaw on the way |
|---|---|---|
| Condensed cream of mushroom soup | 1 can | |
| Beef consommé | 1 can | |
| Long-grain white rice | 2 cups | uncooked |
| Water | 4 cups | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Bring the water and salt to a boil in a two-quart pot.
- Stir in the rice, drop the flame as low as it goes, and put the lid on. Leave it 15 to 20 minutes without lifting the lid.
- While the rice runs, put the meatballs, the soup, and the consommé in a skillet or second pot over medium heat.
- Cover and cook 20 to 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes so the sauce does not scorch on the bottom.
- Pull the rice off the heat and let it sit 5 minutes. Spoon rice into bowls, pile on meatballs, and cover with sauce.
This is a two-pot meal that runs on a clock, not on attention. The rice takes 15 to 20 minutes covered and the sauce takes 20 to 30, so if you start both at once they finish together and nobody stands over anything. That matters on arrival night, when the stove is the only thing working while everything else in camp is still in a bag.
The canned soup is the sauce. Condensed cream of mushroom brings the fat and the thickener, and the consommé thins it back out and adds beef flavor the frozen meatballs do not have on their own. Nothing gets browned and nothing gets a roux, which is why this works on a camp stove with one burner of real control. Frozen meatballs need a cooler, so this is a car trip, not a carry. The variations cover the shelf-stable version.
Packing
Meatballs stay frozen in the bottom of the cooler and act as an ice block until you cook them. Cans and rice live in the dry box. Bring a can opener.
Variations
- Egg noodles instead of rice. Boil eight minutes, drain, same sauce.
- No cooler: use two cans of meatballs in gravy and skip the consommé, or shelf-stable summer sausage cut into coins.
- A spoonful of mustard and a shake of dill in the sauce pushes it closer to the Swedish version.
https://chuckwagoneer.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/simple-swedish-meatballs