Ham Stock Bean Soup Powder
A dehydrated ham-stock and white bean soup that drinks from a mug or thickens into dinner.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 134
- protein
- 21 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 8 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- 400 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.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Dehydrated ham stock powder | 3 tbsp | stock simmered with a ham hock, chilled, fat lifted off, then dried |
|---|---|---|
| Dried cooked white beans | 1/2 cup | cannellini or navy, cooked soft then dehydrated |
| Dried carrot, onion, and leek | 1/4 cup total | |
| Dried mushroom pieces | 1 tbsp | optional, adds depth |
| Tomato powder | 1 tsp | |
| Dried thyme and a crushed bay leaf | 1/2 tsp | |
| Chili flakes | 1/4 tsp | or more |
| Black pepper and salt | to taste | stock is already salty, taste before adding |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | the fat you removed at home, carried back separately |
Method
- Boil 400 ml of water. Dump the bag in and stir once.
- Simmer two minutes, then kill the heat and put the lid on. Wait five. The beans and vegetables need that soak more than they need flame.
- Stir in the oil. Taste before salting.
- For a cup-a-soup, blitz the mix to powder at home and use 500 ml instead. It hydrates in about three minutes with no simmer.
The trick here is the stock. A ham hock is too fatty to dehydrate safely, but the liquid it gives up is not — simmer the hock with vegetables and wine, chill the stock overnight, lift the solid fat off the top, and what remains is gelatin and flavor that dries into a clean powder. The meat stays home and gets eaten in sandwiches. You carry the taste of it at a fraction of the weight.
Beans instead of split peas is a protein decision, not a flavor one. Dried cooked beans rehydrate in minutes and land near 20 g per serving, where peas leave you short. Powdered, the same mix becomes a lunch you drink standing up; left chunky, it is dinner. Carry olive oil separately and stir it in at the end — the fat you took out at home has to go back in somewhere, and it is the difference between broth and a meal.
Packing
One bag per serving, oil in a dropper bottle. Powdered and chunky versions look identical in the bag, so label them or you will pour 500 ml onto whole beans.
Variations
- Swap the beans for dried split peas for the older, sweeter version. Less protein.
- Add a handful of instant potato flakes at the end to push it from soup toward casserole.
- A crumbled parmesan rind simmered into the stock at home deepens it, though it stops being dairy-free.
https://slowerhiking.com/recipes/ham-and-bean-cup-a-soup