Skillet Crunchwrap, Camp Version
Taco Bell's folded pocket rebuilt on a griddle with shelf-stable fillings.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 80
- protein
- 30 g
- serves
- 5, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 80 ml cold
- 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
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Large flour tortillas | 5 | burrito size, 10 inch or bigger |
|---|---|---|
| Tostada shells | 4 | |
| Ground beef | 1 lb | cooler item; canned or freeze-dried beef crumbles work stoveside |
| Taco seasoning | 3 tbsp | |
| Water | 1/3 cup | |
| Shelf-stable nacho cheese sauce | 2/3 cup | the jarred kind, no refrigeration until opened |
| Sour cream | 2/3 cup | cooler item; powdered sour cream mixed thick is the no-cooler swap |
| Shredded Mexican cheese blend | 2 cups | |
| Iceberg lettuce | 1 cup | shredded; a quarter head travels better than a bag |
| Tomatoes | 1 cup | diced |
| Cooking oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Cut one tortilla into quarters and trim the corners round. These are the patches that plug the middle of each wrap.
- Brown the beef in a skillet over the fire or a grate, breaking it apart as it goes. Pour off the fat.
- Add the seasoning and 1/3 cup water. Simmer about 5 minutes until it thickens and stops sloshing.
- Scrape the beef into a mug or bowl and wipe the skillet. Warm the four remaining tortillas one at a time, ten seconds a side, so they fold without cracking.
- Build each one on a plate: a quarter cup of beef in the center, cheese sauce over it, a whole tostada on top, then sour cream, lettuce, tomato, and shredded cheese.
- Lay a tortilla quarter over the pile and fold the big tortilla up over it in pleats, working around the circle until it seals.
- Oil the skillet, set it over medium heat, and lay each wrap seam side down. Three to four minutes a side, until the outside is brown and stiff. Cook in batches and don't crowd them.
The seal is what makes this work, and the seal depends on two things: a tortilla warm enough to pleat without splitting, and a skillet hot enough to set the seam before the folds relax. Cook seam side down first, always. Everything else is stacking.
The tostada in the middle is structural, not decorative. It keeps the wet layer above from soaking into the beef layer below, which is why this holds together in a hand at a picnic table instead of collapsing. Camp changes here are minor: jarred nacho cheese instead of anything refrigerated, and the vegetables prepped at home so you are not cutting lettuce on a tailgate.
Packing
Beef, sour cream, and shredded cheese ride in the cooler. Tortillas and tostadas go in a hard-sided bin or they arrive as gravel. Pre-shred the lettuce and dice the tomatoes at home into one container so camp assembly is stacking, not chopping.
Variations
- Swap the beef for two cans of drained black beans and skip the browning step entirely.
- Powdered sour cream and freeze-dried beef make this a backpacking dinner, though the tostadas still need a rigid container.
- A diced bell pepper in the beef adds crunch that survives the griddling.
https://morefood.org/fast-food-at-home-crunchwrap