Cornmeal Waffle Chili Bake
Cornbread batter poured over chili and cooked in a dutch oven at the pull-off.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 69
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 5, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 45 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
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| All purpose flour | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow cornmeal | 1 cup | |
| Baking powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Granulated sugar | 2 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Powdered whole milk | 1/3 cup | reconstitutes into the 300 ml of water |
| Powdered whole egg | 3 tbsp | equals two eggs |
| Oil | 1/4 cup | any neutral oil, plus a little for the pot |
| Canned chili | 2 cans, 15 oz each | whatever kind you like |
| Shredded hard cheese | 3 oz | optional, rides in the cooler or gets skipped |
Method
- Oil the inside of a 10-inch dutch oven and dump both cans of chili in. Set it over coals or low flame until it starts to bubble.
- Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, salt, milk powder, and egg powder in a bag or bowl.
- Add 300 ml of water and the oil. Stir until it just comes together. Lumps are fine, overmixing is not.
- Pour the batter over the chili in an even layer. Do not stir it in.
- Lid on. Put about eight coals under the oven and sixteen on the lid. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a stick poked into the cornbread comes out clean.
- Scatter the cheese on top, put the lid back for two minutes, then scoop straight from the pot.
The source made these as waffles with chili ladled over. In camp a waffle iron is dead weight, so the same batter goes straight on top of the chili and bakes in one pot. Cornbread over a wet base is forgiving: the chili steams the bottom while the coals on the lid brown the top.
Milk powder and egg powder do the work of the fridge ingredients, and neither needs any special handling. Keep the batter thick and pour it in a single sheet. If it sinks into the chili it will turn to mush instead of setting up as a crust.
Packing
Combine all the dry ingredients, milk powder, and egg powder in one zip bag at home. Oil goes in a bottle. Cans ride wherever there is space.
Variations
- Skip the chili and bake the batter alone as a pan of cornbread for breakfast.
- A can of drained corn stirred into the chili adds bulk for cheap.
- Cook the batter as waffles at home, freeze them, and reheat on a grill grate over the chili if you would rather not bake in camp.
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/cornbread-waffles-with-chili