Fast Camp Chili
Ground beef, canned tomatoes, and two cans of beans. Thirty minutes from cooler to bowl.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 16 oz
- cal / oz
- 33
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 5, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 30 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
- Campfire coals
- Dutch oven
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1 lb | rides in the cooler; browns faster than it thaws, so keep it near the ice |
|---|---|---|
| Canned diced tomatoes with green chiles | 2 cans (15 oz each) | petite dice breaks down better in a short simmer |
| Canned tomato sauce | 1 can (15 oz) | |
| Canned beans, drained and rinsed | 2 cans (15 oz each) | kidney, black, pinto, or a mix |
| White onion | 1 small | diced at home to skip the cutting board |
| Chili powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Cooking oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Shredded cheddar | optional, for the top |
Method
- Set a deep pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stove, or on a grate above a bed of coals. Add the oil and the onion and cook until it goes translucent.
- Add the beef. Break it up and stir until no pink is left, about six minutes. Pour off the grease into a can or foil pouch, not onto the ground.
- Dump in both cans of tomatoes with their liquid, the tomato sauce, the drained beans, and the chili powder. Stir once.
- Bring it to a boil, then pull it off the direct heat or slide the pot to the edge of the coals. Cover and hold at a low simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Taste for salt. Top with cheese if you brought it.
This is the chili you make when camp went up late and everyone is standing around the picnic table. The entire cook is one pot and about half an hour, and most of that is unattended simmer time while you deal with firewood.
The short simmer is the reason for the ingredient list. Canned beans are already cooked, canned tomatoes are already broken down, and diced tomatoes with green chiles bring the heat without a second spice jar. The onion is the only thing that actually needs those twenty minutes, so dice it small and it will be soft by the time the rest is hot. This one needs a cooler for the beef; if you have no cooler, use the crumbles from the variations and the whole meal becomes shelf-stable.
Packing
Dice the onion at home and bag it. Cans and chili powder live in the food bin; the beef stays in the cooler until the pot is already hot. Drain and rinse the beans at the spigot before you start so the pot never leaves the fire.
Variations
- Swap the tomato sauce for a small can of tomato paste if you want it thick enough to eat on a tortilla.
- Ground turkey or a bag of soy crumbles both work. Crumbles need no cooler.
- Start it an hour early and hold it at a bare simmer. The chili powder softens and the beans take on the tomato.
https://chuckwagoneer.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/chili-quick-and-simple