Coal-Buried Can Stew
Diced meat and root vegetables sealed in a can and left in the coals for an hour.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 14 oz
- cal / oz
- 44
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 55 min
- total time
- 70 min
- water
- 300 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
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Bacon | 2 strips | cut into squares |
|---|---|---|
| Stew beef, ground beef, or chicken thigh | 1/4 lb | cut small so it cooks through |
| Potato | 1/2 medium | diced |
| Carrot | 1 | diced |
| Celery | 1/2 stalk | diced |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | |
| Water | 1 to 1 1/2 cups |
Method
- Burn the fire down to a bed of coals. Flames will scorch the outside of the can and leave the middle raw.
- Dice the potato, carrot, and celery small. Cut the meat into pieces no bigger than the vegetable dice.
- Lay the bacon squares in the bottom of a clean, empty coffee can. The fat renders first and keeps everything else off the metal.
- Pile in the meat and vegetables. Season, then pour in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water.
- Crimp a lid of aluminum foil over the top and set the can upright in the coals.
- Cook 45 to 60 minutes. Lift it out with mitts, pull the foil back away from your face, and check that the potato is soft. If not, put it back for another ten.
This is the campfire version of a stew, one can per person, and the water is what separates it from a foil dinner. A dry packet steams and browns. A can with a cup of water in it simmers, which means tough cuts and hard root vegetables actually get tender in the same hour, and you end up with broth instead of scorched edges.
The bacon on the bottom is structural, not decorative. It renders into a layer of fat that keeps the rest from welding itself to the steel. Dice size is the other thing that matters: cut the meat to match the carrots, or the potatoes go to mush while the beef is still chewy. This one stays in the cooler and is not a backpacking meal, so nothing here is dried or substituted.
Packing
Dice everything at home into one zip bag per person, meat in its own bag, and keep both in the cooler. Each eater carries their own can, so nobody waits on a shared pot.
Variations
- Swap the bacon for a tablespoon of oil and the meat for a can of drained beans to make it vegetarian.
- A bouillon cube in the water gives it more body than salt alone.
- Foil-packet version: same filling, no water, wrapped in a double layer of heavy foil and set on the coals for 25 minutes.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/coffee_can_stew-231.asp