Chuck Roast and Potatoes, Dutch Oven
A cheap cut, a lot of potatoes, and four hours of coals. Feeds a crowd at basecamp.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 14 oz
- cal / oz
- 44
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 240 min
- total time
- 260 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Beef chuck roast | 3 lb | buy it marked down and freeze it flat; it thaws in the cooler on day one |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 3 lb | quartered, skin on |
| Carrots | 1 lb | cut in thick coins so they do not turn to mush |
| Onions | 2 large | quartered |
| Beef bouillon | 3 cubes or 3 tsp | |
| Tomato paste | 2 tbsp | the tube keeps without a fridge |
| Garlic powder, dried thyme, bay leaf | 1 tsp each, 2 leaves | |
| Salt and coarse pepper | to taste | |
| Oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Water | about 500 ml |
Method
- Build a fire early and let it burn down. You want a bed of coals, not flames. Budget an hour before you start cooking.
- Set the dutch oven over a shallow bed of coals with the oil in it. Salt and pepper the roast hard on all sides and sear it, four or five minutes per side, until it is brown and stops sticking.
- Pull the meat out. Drop the onions in and let them take on color in the fat.
- Return the roast. Add tomato paste, bouillon, garlic powder, thyme, and bay. Pour in enough water to come a third of the way up the meat, no more.
- Lid on. Shovel coals on top of the lid and keep about a third as many underneath. Aim for a slow bubble, not a boil. Refresh the coals roughly every 45 minutes.
- At the two and a half hour mark, lift the lid and pack the potatoes and carrots in around the meat. Add a splash of water if the pot has gone dry.
- Another hour to ninety minutes. It is done when a fork twists the meat apart with no resistance.
- Pull the bay leaves. Break the roast up in the pot and stir it through the vegetables and liquid before serving.
This started as a slow cooker recipe for feeding company on a small budget. The dutch oven does the same job over coals: a chuck roast is tough because it is full of connective tissue, and low heat over several hours turns that tissue into gelatin. That gelatin is what thickens the liquid at the end. There is no flour in here and none is needed.
Two things go wrong most often. Too much water makes soup instead of a braise, so keep the liquid low and let the meat and vegetables release their own. And potatoes added at the start will disintegrate by hour four, which is why they go in late. Coals on top matter more than coals underneath; heat from below scorches the bottom while the meat above it stays cold.
Packing
Trim and season the roast at home, then freeze it flat in a zip bag; it doubles as a cooler ice block and thaws by the time you cook. Scrub and quarter the potatoes and carrots at home too, in one bag with a wet paper towel. Bouillon, spices, and bay go in a small jar together so it is one thing to open at the fire.
Variations
- No dutch oven: a heavy pot with a tight lid on a grill grate works, but you have to watch it and turn it, and it will take longer.
- Swap the potatoes for two cups of dry rice added in the last 30 minutes with an extra 700 ml of water. Lighter to carry, but it can scorch.
- Meatless version: two cans of drained white beans in place of the roast, added at the end with the vegetables, and vegetable bouillon instead of beef. Total cook time drops to about 45 minutes.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/cheap-dinner-ideas-company