Dutch Oven Mexican Meatloaf
Spiced meatloaf with a cornbread lid, baked over coals in one pot.
- calories
- 640
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 58
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 7, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 50 min
- total time
- 65 min
- water
- none
- 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
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Hot breakfast sausage | 1 lb | |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef | 1 lb | |
| Small onion | 1 | chopped, split between the two layers |
| Jalapenos | 2 | seeded if your group is soft about heat |
| Eggs | 2 | one per layer; powdered egg works if the cooler is full |
| Canned diced tomatoes with green chilies | 1 can (10 oz) | drained hard, or the loaf goes soupy |
| Dry bread crumbs | 8 oz bag | |
| Corn muffin mix | 2 boxes (8.5 oz each) | |
| Shelf-stable milk | 2/3 cup | boxed whole milk, or powdered milk mixed with water |
| Creamed corn | 1 can (15 oz) |
Method
- Build a bed of coals and get a 12-inch dutch oven ready. You want about 350°F: roughly 8 coals under the oven and 17 on the lid.
- Chop the onion and jalapenos. Keep half the onion and all the jalapenos aside for the topping.
- Mix the sausage, beef, half the onion, one egg, the drained tomatoes, and the bread crumbs by hand until it is even. Do not knead it past that.
- Press the meat into the bottom of the oven in a flat, even layer. Lid on, bake about 30 minutes.
- While it bakes, stir the muffin mix, milk, and second egg together. Fold in the jalapenos, creamed corn, and remaining onion.
- Pour the batter over the cooked meat. The loaf shrinks as it cooks, so the batter will run down the sides. That is fine.
- Lid back on, another 20 minutes, until the top is set and a knife comes out of the cornbread clean. Rotate the oven and lid a quarter turn every 10 minutes so nothing scorches.
This is two recipes stacked in one pot. The meat layer bakes first because it needs the direct bottom heat and takes twice as long; the cornbread goes on top later and finishes in the steam trapped under the lid. Doing it in that order means one pot, one fire, and no juggling.
Draining the tomatoes is the step people skip and regret. Canned tomatoes carry enough liquid to keep the meat from setting, and a loose meat layer means the batter sinks into it instead of sitting on top. The bread crumbs and egg are structure, not filler. For the trail version, use boxed shelf-stable milk or powdered milk reconstituted at camp — this is a cooler recipe either way, since the meat and eggs need to stay cold until they hit the pot.
Packing
Mix the two muffin boxes into one zip bag at home and the bread crumbs into another. Meat, eggs, and the boxed milk ride in the cooler; cans and dry bags ride in the bin.
Variations
- Swap the beef for a second pound of sausage if you want more fat and less crumbling.
- No jalapenos: a tablespoon of pickled slices, drained, does the same job.
- Shredded cheese scattered on the batter before the last 20 minutes browns into a crust.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/mexican_meatloaf-2383.asp