Southwestern Skillet Meatloaf Hash
Meatloaf logic without the loaf. Ground meat, roasted-then-dried vegetables, and cornmeal to hold it together in a pan.
- calories
- 430
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 61
- protein
- 26 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
- Grill grate
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef | 1/2 lb | rides in the cooler, cook on day one or two |
|---|---|---|
| Ground pork | 1/2 lb | all beef works, so does turkey |
| Dried sweet potato | 1 cup | diced small and dehydrated at home |
| Dried red bell pepper and onion | 1/2 cup total | |
| Freeze-dried corn | 1/3 cup | |
| Cornmeal | 1/4 cup | add more only if the pan looks wet |
| Chili powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Dried jalapeño flakes | 1 tsp | or leave them out |
| Kosher salt and black pepper | 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried cilantro | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Pour 300 ml of boiling water over the dried sweet potato, pepper, onion, and corn in a mug or bag. Let it sit fifteen minutes while you get the pan hot.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over the fire or on a grate. Brown both meats, breaking them apart with a spoon, about eight minutes.
- Drain off the fat if there is a pool of it. Add the rehydrated vegetables with whatever water they did not absorb.
- Stir in the chili powder, paprika, garlic, jalapeño, salt, and pepper. Cook until most of the liquid is gone.
- Sprinkle the cornmeal over the top and stir. Cook another five minutes until it thickens and the bottom starts to crust.
- Scrape up the crust, stir in the cilantro, and serve straight from the pan.
A meatloaf needs an oven, ninety minutes, and a wire rack. None of that travels. What does travel is the reason meatloaf works: fat, starch, and vegetables held together in one hot mass. Cooked flat in a skillet, it gets there in twenty-five minutes and gains a crust across the whole bottom instead of just the outside.
The vegetables are dehydrated at home rather than roasted at camp, which solves the same problem roasting does. Fresh sweet potato and pepper dump water into the pan and leave you with a stew. Dried ones take up only the water you give them. Cornmeal replaces the egg and breadcrumbs, soaking up the last of the liquid and binding the hash. Add it at the end, a little at a time, or it goes pasty.
Packing
Vacuum-seal or freeze the raw meat and pack it at the bottom of the cooler. Everything dry goes in one bag; spices and cornmeal in a second small bag so you can add cornmeal by feel.
Variations
- Spoon it into tortillas or over instant rice to stretch four servings into six.
- A handful of crushed corn chips in place of the cornmeal does the same binding job.
- Grated hard cheese melted over the top at the end if you are carrying a cooler anyway.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/southwestern-meatloaf