Mulligan Stew
Ground beef, beans, tomatoes, and canned spaghetti in one pot. Strange on paper, gone by the second helping.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 16 oz
- cal / oz
- 39
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 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
- Liquid fuel
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 2 lb | 80/20; keep it in the cooler until it goes in the pot |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 1/2, chopped | chop it at home and bag it |
| Pork and beans | 2 cans (15 oz each) | |
| Diced tomatoes | 1 can (14.5 oz) | plain, no seasoning |
| Canned spaghetti | 2 cans (15 oz each) | the plain kind, not the meatball kind |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Set a large pot over the fire or a burner and brown the beef, breaking it apart as it goes.
- Pour off the fat. Two pounds of 80/20 gives up a lot of it, and the stew turns greasy if it stays.
- Add the onion and cook until it goes soft and clear, three or four minutes.
- Dump in the pork and beans, the tomatoes with their juice, and the canned spaghetti. Do not drain anything.
- Stir and let it come up to a simmer, then hold it there fifteen minutes so the flavors stop tasting like four separate cans.
- Salt and pepper at the end, after the canned goods have had their say.
This is a five-can dinner with a pound of protein stirred through it, and the canned spaghetti is the part people argue about. It earns its place: the noodles are already soft, the sauce is already thickened, and together they turn beans and tomatoes into something that coats a spoon instead of sloshing around a bowl. No pasta water, no second pot, no draining boiling water into the dirt.
It is not backpacking food. Six cans and two pounds of meat is a cooler and a car. What it is good at is feeding a crowded picnic table cheaply with one pot and one spoon, which is most of what a basecamp kitchen is asked to do. Draining the beef fat is the only step you cannot skip.
Packing
Cans are heavy and stack badly. Load them flat on the bottom of the bin and put the chopped onion in a bag alongside. Beef stays frozen in the cooler and thaws on the drive.
Variations
- Swap the beef for two pouches of shelf-stable cooked ground beef or a can of chili to make the whole thing cooler-free.
- A shake of chili powder and a squeeze of ketchup pushes it toward sloppy joe territory.
- Cook it in a dutch oven and top with cornbread batter for the last twenty minutes.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/mulligan-stew