Pork Chops with Chili Bean Stew
Seared shelf-stable pork and a pot of chili beans and dried vegetables. Two pans at a car-camp table.
- calories
- 760
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 84
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 300 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
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Real dishes
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Pork shoulder chops | 4 chops | vacuum-sealed, carried frozen in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Neutral oil | 3 tbsp | 1 for the chops, 2 for the vegetables |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground black pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Canned chili beans | 2 cans | drain nothing, the liquid is the sauce |
| Dried onion | 1/4 cup | or one fresh onion in rough chunks |
| Dried bell pepper | 1/2 cup | yellow if you can find it |
| Dried celery | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried parsley | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Cover the dried onion, pepper, and celery with about 300 ml of hot water. Leave them ten minutes while you set up.
- Drain the vegetables and cook them in a pot with 2 tbsp oil until the edges take on color.
- Pour in both cans of beans with their liquid. Set the pot at the edge of the fire or on a low flame to hold a bare simmer.
- Cut two or three notches through the fat rim of each chop so it does not curl. Salt and pepper both sides.
- Heat the remaining oil in a skillet until it shimmers. Brown the chops two to three minutes per side, then move them off the direct heat and let them finish through, about five minutes.
- Stir the parsley into the beans and spoon them over the chops.
This started as a Norwegian home dinner: pork neck chops seared in a pan, beans and vegetables stewed alongside. The bones of it travel well because the stew is canned beans, which need no fridge and bring their own sauce. Fresh onion, pepper, and celery become dried ones — rehydrate them in hot water first or they stay crunchy in the beans and never catch up.
The notches in the fat rim matter more than they sound. Pork shoulder has a thick band of fat along one edge that shrinks faster than the meat, so an unnotched chop domes up and only touches the pan in the middle. Cut it and the chop stays flat. Brown hard, then move it off the direct heat; over a campfire that means the edge of the grate, where it finishes without burning.
Packing
Chops stay vacuum-sealed and frozen in the bottom of the cooler; they thaw by day two and act as ice until then. Dried vegetables and parsley go in one bag. Cans are heavy but they carry their own sauce, so nothing else is needed.
Variations
- Swap the chops for a pouch of pulled pork and stir it straight into the beans. One pot, no skillet.
- A canned chipotle or a spoon of adobo in the beans if the chili beans are mild.
- Cornbread from a mix in a foil pan over coals if the fire is already going.
https://www.matprat.no/oppskrifter/familien/nakkekoteletter-med-chilibonnegryte