Iron Skillet Lentils and Beef
Dried lentils, beef jerky, and dried spinach in one pot. Built for people who are short on iron.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 42 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
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Red lentils | 1/2 cup | split red, not green; they cook in 15 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Beef jerky | 2 oz | chopped small at home |
| Dried spinach or kale flakes | 1/4 cup | |
| Tomato powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried onion and garlic | 1 tbsp | |
| Cumin, coriander, black pepper | 1 tsp total | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Lemon juice powder or a citric acid pinch | 1 tsp | add at the end, not during the boil |
| Salt | to taste |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the lentils, jerky, dried onion and garlic, and the spices.
- Simmer on the lowest flame that still bubbles, stirring every couple of minutes so the lentils do not weld to the pot. Fifteen minutes.
- Stir in the tomato powder and the greens. Two more minutes, off heat with the lid on, is enough to bring the greens back.
- Kill the heat. Add the oil and the lemon powder, stir, and salt it at the table.
This one is built around iron, not flavor theory. Lentils, jerky, and dried greens are three of the densest shelf-stable sources you can carry, and they happen to cook in the same pot on the same timer. The jerky rehydrates into something closer to stew meat than it has any right to.
The acid at the end is the part people skip. Plant iron absorbs poorly on its own, and a sour hit at the finish helps it along — which is why the lemon powder goes in off heat, where a long boil will not flatten it. Tomato powder is doing double duty here as body and as more acid. Cook the lentils in plain water first; acid early makes them stubborn.
Packing
Everything dry except the oil goes in one bag. The lemon powder rides in a separate corner twist so it does not go in early. Oil in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- A packet of tuna in place of the jerky, stirred in at the end, keeps the iron and cuts the chew.
- Swap the lentils for instant refried beans if you want it done in five minutes instead of twenty.
https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/best-iron-foods-and-iron-food-fortification