HamDog Skillet Beans
Ground beef, sliced hot dogs, and baked beans in one skillet. Scout camp fuel that scales to a crowd.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 49
- protein
- 27 g
- serves
- 7, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 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
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1 lb | 80/20; the fat is the sauce |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-cooked hot dogs | 1 package of 8 | already cooked, so they only need heating |
| Canned baked beans | 1 large can | about 28 oz, sauce and all |
| Pita bread or sliced bread | 8 pieces | pita pockets hold more |
Method
- Set the skillet over the fire or grate and brown the beef, breaking it up as it goes. Pour off the grease only if it pools.
- Slice the hot dogs into coins while the beef cooks.
- Add the hot dog slices and the whole can of beans, sauce included. Do not drain it.
- Stir over moderate heat until it steams through, roughly five minutes. It should be thick, not soupy.
- Spoon into pita pockets, or into bowls with a slice of bread to mop up what is left.
This is a group-feeding recipe pretending to be a skillet dinner. One pound of beef alone would not feed eight people; the hot dogs and the beans are what stretch it, and both arrive already cooked, so the only real cooking is browning the meat. Everything after that is just getting the pan hot.
The bean sauce is doing the binding, which is why the can goes in undrained. Drain it and you get dry meat with beans rattling around in it. Bread is not a side here either — it is the plate, and it is how the skillet gets most of the way to clean before you touch it with water.
Packing
Beef and hot dogs ride in the cooler; the can and the bread do not. Bring a can opener unless the can has a pull tab. One skillet, one spoon, one spatula.
Variations
- Swap the beef for a second package of hot dogs to skip the cooler-sensitive raw meat.
- A squeeze of mustard and a shake of chili powder cuts the sweetness of the bean sauce.
- Backpacking version: dehydrated refried beans, freeze-dried ground beef, and a foil packet of summer sausage, rehydrated with 400 ml of boiling water.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/hamdogs_and_beans-547.asp