Shepherd's Pie in a Pot
Stout-braised beef and vegetables under a lid of instant potatoes, built without an oven.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Winter / snow
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried ground beef | 3 oz | or two foil pouches of roast beef |
|---|---|---|
| Dried mixed vegetables | 3/4 cup | peas, carrots, onion |
| Garlic, minced and dried | 1 tsp | |
| Tomato paste | 2 tbsp | the toothpaste-style tube travels well |
| Beef bouillon | 2 cubes | |
| Worcestershire powder | 1 tsp | or 1 tbsp of the liquid in a leakproof dropper |
| Dried thyme and rosemary | 1 tsp total | |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1 cup | |
| Powdered whole milk | 3 tbsp | |
| Butter powder | 2 tbsp | or 1 tbsp olive oil |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | for the potato layer |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Bring 400 ml of water to a boil. Stir in the beef, vegetables, garlic, bouillon, tomato paste, Worcestershire, and herbs.
- Cover and hold at a bare simmer for about ten minutes, stirring now and then. The dried vegetables need the full time to soften.
- Let it cook down until the liquid is a thick gravy rather than a broth. Pull it off the heat.
- Boil 200 ml of water separately, or use a second pot if you have one. Whisk in the milk powder, butter powder, and garlic powder, then the potato flakes.
- Spoon the potatoes over the meat in an even layer. Put the lid back on for two minutes so it sets, then eat straight from the pot.
Shepherd’s pie is an oven dish: a braise under a potato crust, browned under heat from above. None of that survives a backpack, so this version keeps the two layers and drops the oven. The filling simmers down to a gravy in the pot. The potatoes go on top at the end and set from residual heat instead of browning.
The stout and the beef broth in the original are both there for depth, and bouillon plus tomato paste covers most of that ground at a fraction of the weight. Cook the filling down further than feels right. If it is still soupy when the potatoes land, the layers merge and you have soup with flakes in it.
Packing
Two bags. Filling ingredients in one, potato-layer ingredients in the other. Tomato paste tube rides upright in a side pocket.
Variations
- Freeze-dried lamb in place of beef if you can find it, which is the original animal.
- A splash of stout at car camp, replacing half the water in the filling.
- Skip the milk and butter powders and use olive oil for a dairy-free version.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/shepherds-pie