Campfire Dutch Oven Chili
Ground beef, onion, and a dutch oven over coals. The pot does the work while you sit.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 69
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 55 min
- water
- 400 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1 lb | 80/20; keep it in the cooler bottom until it goes in the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1 large | diced at home to skip the cutting board |
| Garlic | 1 clove | or 1/2 tsp granulated garlic, which travels better |
| Yellow mustard | 1 tbsp | |
| Worcestershire sauce | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Canned diced tomatoes | 1 can (14 oz) | |
| Canned beans | 1 can (15 oz) | kidney or pinto, drained |
| Chili powder and cumin | 2 tbsp total | |
| Mayonnaise | 1 tbsp | optional, stirred in at the end |
Method
- Burn a fire down to coals. You want a bed of embers, not flames. Set the dutch oven directly on them.
- Brown the beef with the onion, breaking it up as it goes. Ten minutes, until no pink shows and the onion has gone soft.
- Stir in the garlic, mustard, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin. Thirty seconds, no longer, or the spices scorch on cast iron.
- Add the tomatoes with their liquid, the drained beans, and 400 ml of water. Stir the bottom of the pot clean.
- Lid on. Pull a few coals onto the lid and let it go 30 minutes, stirring every ten so it does not stick.
- Taste for salt. Stir in the mayonnaise if you want it richer and slightly thicker. Eat out of the pot.
Cast iron over coals holds heat far better than it takes it, which is the whole reason this works. Once the pot is hot it stays hot without you feeding the fire, so the chili simmers unattended while the fire dies down. Coals on the lid turn it into an oven and keep the top from going cold.
Mustard and Worcestershire are doing more than they look like they are. Both are acidic and salty, and they give a camp chili the depth that a long stovetop simmer would otherwise supply. The mayonnaise at the end is unusual but sound: it is oil and egg, so it thickens and enriches without needing cream you cannot carry.
Packing
Measure the dry spices, salt, and pepper into one small jar at home and dice the onion into a bag. Cans and the beef ride in the cooler. Mustard and Worcestershire go in small squeeze bottles, not full-size.
Variations
- Skip the beef and double the beans for a meatless pot. Add a spoon of oil so it still carries fat.
- A handful of instant potato flakes at the end thickens it fast if the chili came out soupy.
- Cook it over a grill grate in a regular pot if you left the dutch oven at home.
https://www.mygrandrv.com/threads/what-are-your-camp-cooking-favorites.28406