Cowboy Beans with Steak Strips
A smoky bean pot from a chef's open-fire ribeye dinner, cut down to one pot and a bag of dry beans.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 45 min
- water
- 700 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
- Liquid fuel
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Instant refried or precooked dried pinto beans | 1 1/2 cups | flaked beans rehydrate in minutes; whole dry beans do not |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable bacon crumbles | 2 oz | the precooked kind in a foil pouch |
| Freeze-dried steak or beef strips | 3 oz | stands in for the ribeye |
| Dried onion flakes | 3 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Sun-dried tomato pieces | 1/3 cup | chopped small at home |
| Dried jalapeno or chipotle flakes | 1 tsp | seeded, so it reads smoky and not just hot |
| Taco seasoning | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Bay leaf | 1 | |
| Kosher salt and black pepper | 1 tsp total | |
| BBQ sauce | 2 tbsp | single-serve packets |
| Apple cider vinegar | 2 tsp | a small dropper bottle |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Lime juice | 1 tsp | powdered or a squeeze bottle |
| Dried cilantro | 1 tsp |
Method
- Pour the freeze-dried steak into the pot with 200 ml of water and let it sit while you get the fire or stove going. It needs a head start.
- Add 500 ml more water, the beans, onion, tomato, jalapeno, garlic, taco seasoning, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring it up to a simmer.
- Hold it at a low simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring often. Over a fire, keep the pot off to one side of the coals rather than over flame.
- Stir in the bacon, BBQ sauce, and vinegar. Simmer 5 more minutes until it thickens enough to hold a spoon track.
- Pull the bay leaf. Finish with the oil, lime, and cilantro off the heat.
The original is a chef’s open-fire ribeye with a cream-and-white-wine jalapeno emulsion and beans simmered in beer for hours. The steak and the emulsion do not travel: one needs a cooler and a grill grate, the other needs heavy cream. The beans do travel, and they were the better half anyway. Freeze-dried beef and precooked bacon carry the same smoke and fat into the pot without refrigeration.
What makes it work is the acid at the end. Beans, barbecue sauce, and taco seasoning all pull the same sweet-salty direction, and after twenty minutes in a pot they flatten out. The vinegar and lime go in last, off the heat, so they stay sharp. The dried jalapeno is seeded on purpose — you want the smoke, not a pot that only two people can eat.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag except the bacon and steak, which stay in their pouches. The oil, vinegar, and lime ride in dropper bottles; BBQ packets go in a side pocket so they do not burst against the pot.
Variations
- Skip the bacon and steak for a vegan pot; add 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast and a little more oil.
- A packet of instant rice cooked separately turns two servings into three.
- Scoop it into tortillas instead of eating it from the pot and there is nothing to wash.
https://www.overlandbound.com/off-road-kitchen-ribeye-with-jalapeno-emulsion-and-cowboy-beans