Keg Pot Hobo Stew
Sausage, cabbage, and corn boiled down in beer over a fire. Feeds six out of one pot.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 18 oz
- cal / oz
- 34
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 60 min
- total time
- 80 min
- water
- 1400 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
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Smoked or Polish sausage | 2 lb | fully cooked rings, sliced into coins |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 6 medium | skin on, quartered |
| Carrots | 1 lb | baby carrots save a knife step |
| Onion | 1 large | rough chopped |
| Cabbage | 2 small heads | cut into wedges through the core |
| Corn | 6 ears | husked, snapped in half |
| Beer | 1 can | lager, nothing hoppy |
| Water | 5-6 cups | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to coals. You want an hour of steady heat, not flames.
- Put the potatoes, carrots, onion, and sausage in the bottom of a large pot. Pour in the beer and enough water to nearly cover.
- Hang the pot on a tripod or set it on a grate over the coals. Bring it to a boil, then let it hold a low rolling boil for about 25 minutes.
- Lay the cabbage wedges and corn on top. Cover and cook another 25 to 35 minutes.
- Test a cabbage wedge with a fork. When the core gives, everything under it is done.
- Salt and pepper hard at the end. The vegetables absorb more than you expect.
This is a keg-pot recipe: everything goes in at once and the fire does the rest. The one change worth making is order. Potatoes and carrots take twice as long as cabbage, so they go in first and the cabbage and corn ride on top as a steam layer. Dump it all in together and you get mush on top of raw potato.
The beer is not there for flavor so much as for salt and body. Sausage fat renders into the liquid and the starch off the potatoes thickens it, which is why the broth at the bottom is worth eating with a cup. This one does not travel — it is heavy, wet, and cooler-dependent, so it belongs at a car camp or a basecamp with a fire ring.
Packing
Sausage, cabbage, and corn ride in the cooler. Potatoes, carrots, and onion go in a mesh bag outside it so they do not sweat. Cut the cabbage at camp, not at home.
Variations
- Skip the beer and use all water. You lose some bitterness and gain nothing else.
- Kielbasa, andouille, or leftover ham hock all work in place of the smoked sausage.
- Halve everything and it fits a 6 qt pot on a two-burner stove.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/hobo-stew-2