Irish Lamb Stew, Packed Dry
Stout, thyme, and lamb, rebuilt from dried parts for a night in the cold.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 25 min
- water
- 600 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.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried lamb or beef | 2.5 oz | cooked, then dried at home; ground lamb dries faster than cubes |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated potato dices | 1/3 cup | |
| Dehydrated sweet potato dices | 3 tbsp | |
| Dried carrot slices | 3 tbsp | |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Beef bouillon | 1 cube or 1 tsp | |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 3 tbsp | the thickener |
| Dried thyme | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried parsley | 1 tsp | |
| Malt vinegar powder or a splash of stout syrup | 1 tsp | stands in for the beer |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste | stews need more than you think |
Method
- Put everything except the potato flakes, oil, and parsley in the pot with 600 ml of water. Let it sit five minutes cold so the vegetables start drinking.
- Bring it to a boil, then hold a low simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. Stir often; the sweet potato likes to stick.
- Check a carrot. If it still crunches, add a splash of water and give it another five minutes.
- Off the heat, rain in the potato flakes a little at a time until the broth coats the spoon.
- Stir in the oil and parsley. Salt hard, pepper harder, and let it stand two minutes before eating.
A real lamb stew leans on a long braise and a puree of its own vegetables for body. Neither of those survives a 20-minute window on a canister stove, so this version splits the difference: the meat and vegetables are cooked and dried at home, where the braising already happened, and the thickening comes from instant potato flakes instead of blending half the pot.
The stout is the other compromise. Carrying a bottle is absurd, and beer boiled down loses the bitterness that made it worth adding. Vinegar powder gives back the sharp edge that keeps the sweet potato from turning the whole pot into dessert. Soak the vegetables in cold water before lighting the stove and you cut real fuel off the simmer.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag except the oil and the bouillon cube. Meat and vegetables in the same bag is fine; they rehydrate on the same clock.
Variations
- Beef stew meat dries and rehydrates better than lamb and costs less. Nobody at camp will audit you.
- Skip the meat and double the vegetables with a scoop of soy curls for a vegan pot.
- A crushed rye cracker stirred in at the end thickens further and reads a little like soda bread.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/irish-lamb-and-potato-stew