Meatza Slab, Camp Version
A pizza with a ground meat base instead of dough. Bakes in a dutch oven at camp, and the cold leftovers ride flat in a pack.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 69
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 50 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
- Lunch
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1 lb | |
|---|---|---|
| Ground pork | 1/2 lb | the fat keeps the base from going dry |
| Egg | 1 | binder; carry it in a small hard container |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Sea salt and black pepper | a pinch of each | |
| Tomato passata | 1/2 cup | a shelf-stable carton or pouch, not a jar |
| Mushrooms | 4 oz | fresh sliced, or 1/2 oz dried rehydrated in a splash of hot water |
| Bacon lardons or bacon bits | 3 oz | precooked and vacuum sealed keeps in a cooler for days |
| Mature cheddar | 5 oz | grate it at home |
Method
- Get a bed of coals going, or light a full chimney of charcoal. You want steady moderate heat, not flames.
- Mix the beef, pork, egg, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl or a gallon bag until it is uniform. Do not work it longer than that.
- Press the meat into the bottom of a 10 or 12 inch dutch oven in an even layer, about half an inch thick, right to the edges.
- Lid on. Bake with coals under and on top, roughly a third below and two thirds above, for 20 minutes. The base should be firm and pulling away from the sides.
- Tip off the rendered fat. This step decides whether you get a crust or a puddle.
- Spread the passata over the meat, then scatter the mushrooms and bacon, then the cheddar.
- Lid back on, most of the coals moved to the top, 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and browning at the edges.
- Let it sit five minutes before cutting or it falls apart. Cut in wedges.
This started as a home oven dish and mostly survives the move outdoors, because the only real requirement is even heat from above and below. A dutch oven in coals does that. The base is ground meat and egg pressed flat, which behaves like a crust once the protein sets, and unlike dough it does not care whether your temperature was 375 or 425.
Two things go wrong. The meat renders a lot of fat during the first bake, and if you leave it in, the passata thins out and the whole slab sits in grease. Pour it off. Second, meat shrinks as it cooks, so press the base wider than you think you need. Cold wedges the next day are the real payoff here: dense, flat, and they do not get crushed in a pack.
Dietary note: the tags cover gluten and nuts only. It is meat and cheese throughout.
Packing
Mix the oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into one small bag at home and grate the cheddar into another. Meat, egg, bacon, and cheese all live in the cooler. Wrap cold leftover wedges in foil for the next day's lunch.
Variations
- Swap the pork for another half pound of beef if that is what the store has. The base gets leaner and slightly tougher.
- Sliced pepperoni or salami in place of the bacon needs no cooler discipline at all.
- No dutch oven: press the base into a heavy skillet, cover with foil, and cook over low coals, though the top browns less.
https://www.baldhiker.com/a-meatza-recipe-topped-with-bacon-and-cheese