Dutch Oven Taco Stew
Ground beef, rice, beans, and a can of vegetable juice, simmered under coals until the rice gives up.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 13 oz
- cal / oz
- 40
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 120 min
- total time
- 130 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
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1 lb | rides in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Onion, chopped | 1/4 cup | |
| V-8 or other vegetable juice | one 24 oz can | this is the cooking liquid, not a garnish |
| Canned corn | 1 can | drained |
| Canned red kidney beans | one 15 oz can | drained |
| Sliced black olives | 1 small can | drained |
| Taco seasoning | 1 packet | |
| Long grain white rice, uncooked | 3/4 cup | |
| Tortilla chips | for serving |
Method
- Get a chimney of briquettes going. You want a working bed before you start.
- Set the 12-inch dutch oven over coals and brown the beef with the onion. Pour off the grease.
- Add the juice, the drained cans, the seasoning packet, and the dry rice. Stir once.
- Lid on. Six briquettes under, four on top, and hold it at a low simmer for two hours. Stir every 30 minutes so the rice does not weld to the bottom.
- Check that the rice is soft before you call it done. Serve with chips crushed over the top.
This is a car-camping dish, so it stays a car-camping dish. The vegetable juice is the whole trick — it is the cooking liquid, the salt, and the tomato body all at once, which is why no water goes in. The dry rice goes in raw and drinks it down over two hours until the pot turns from soup into stew.
Low and slow matters more than the exact coal count. Six under and four on top holds a simmer rather than a boil; a hard boil scorches rice against cast iron long before the middle of the pot is done. Stir on a schedule and keep the lid on the rest of the time.
Packing
Cans and the seasoning packet travel in one box. Beef stays in the cooler until the coals are ready. Chips go somewhere nothing can sit on them.
Variations
- Swap the beef for a second can of beans and a cup of TVP rehydrated in the juice.
- A 10-inch oven takes about two thirds of everything, same coals and same time.
- Short on daylight: use instant rice and add it in the last 15 minutes instead.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/mexican_stew-1235.asp