Smoky Chile Meatballs and Rice
Spiced beef meatballs simmered in tomato, over rice. One pot, no cooler.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 89
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 700 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
- Canoe / raft
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| White rice | 1 1/2 cups | instant rice cuts the cook time to 5 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef | 1 lb | frozen solid at home, it thaws over the first day in the cooler |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Ground cumin | 1 tsp | |
| Ground coriander | 1 tsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Cayenne pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | a generous pinch of each | |
| Canned diced tomatoes | 1 can (14 oz) | |
| Cooking oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Shelf-stable tortillas | 4 | optional, in place of rice |
Method
- Cover the rice with water in the pot, lid on, and boil until the water is gone, 12 to 15 minutes. Tip it into a bowl or a bag and cover it.
- Dump the spice mix into the beef and work it through with damp hands. Roll teaspoon-sized balls. Small is the point: they cook through before the outsides burn.
- Wipe the pot, add the oil, and brown the meatballs over medium heat, 3 to 4 minutes on the first side. Turn them once.
- Pour in the tomatoes and about 60 ml of water. Simmer 5 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce pulls together.
- Spoon the meatballs and sauce over the rice.
The spice mix does the work here, so mix it at home. Measuring cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne, and garlic powder separately in camp is five containers and five chances to spill one. Skip commercial taco seasoning: it carries starch and sugar that turn the pan sauce gummy.
Raw beef means this is a cooler meal, day one or two. Freeze it flat and it chills the rest of the cooler on the drive in. If you want the same dinner without a cooler, use precooked shelf-stable meatballs, bloom the spices in the oil for a minute, then add the tomatoes and let the meatballs heat through in the sauce.
Packing
Measure the five spices plus salt and pepper into one small jar or bag at home. Freeze the beef in a flat brick and it doubles as a cooler ice block for the first day.
Variations
- Ground pork works the same way.
- Swap the rice for tortillas or instant polenta and it becomes hand food.
- Instant rice and a foil pouch of precooked meatballs turns this into a 10-minute meal with no raw meat in the cooler.
https://www.advrider.com/mexican-inspired-meatballs