Two-Pound Beef Chili, Trail Version
A week's worth of ground beef logic compressed into one pot: dehydrated beef, beans, and rice that rehydrate together.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 131
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 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
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated ground beef | 3 oz dry | 90/10 or leaner, rinsed hot after browning so it dries without going rancid |
|---|---|---|
| Instant refried bean flakes | 1/3 cup | |
| Instant white rice | 1/2 cup | the parcooked kind, not minute-adjacent imitations |
| Tomato powder | 2 tbsp | |
| Chili powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Cumin, garlic powder, onion powder | 1 tsp each | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | added at camp, not packed with the beef |
| Corn chips | 1 oz | optional, crushed on top |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the beef and let it sit at a bare simmer for five minutes before anything else goes in. It needs the head start.
- Dump in the rice, tomato powder, and spices. Stir, cover, and pull it off the heat.
- Wait ten minutes. Stir once at the halfway mark so the rice on the bottom does not weld itself down.
- Stir in the bean flakes last, a spoonful at a time, until it thickens. Pour the oil over and stir again.
- Crush the chips in on top if you brought them.
The source was a week of home chili made from two pounds of ground beef. That does not travel, so the beef gets browned, rinsed in hot water to strip the fat, and dried at home. Fat is what turns dried meat rancid in a pack, so the rinse is not optional — you add the fat back as oil at camp, where it keeps.
The bean flakes are the structural piece. Real beans take forty minutes and a lot of fuel; flakes thicken the pot in under a minute off the heat and bring most of the same protein. Add them last, because once they hydrate the pot stops moving heat around and the rice underneath quits cooking.
Packing
Everything dry except the oil and chips goes in one bag. The beef can share it — the spices are dry enough not to matter. Oil rides in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- Skip the beef and double the bean flakes for a vegan version.
- A packet of instant masa or a crushed corn tortilla thickens it further and adds calories.
- Freeze-dried corn and bell pepper rehydrate in the same ten minutes.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/ground-beef-recipes-meal-plan