Venison Barley Stew
Freeze-dried venison, quick barley, and dried root vegetables. A slow camp dinner that earns the fuel.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 40 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
- Backpacking
- Winter / snow
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Freeze-dried venison or beef | 3 oz | jerky chopped small works if you cannot get freeze-dried |
|---|---|---|
| Quick-cooking pearl barley | 1/2 cup | parboiled, or it will run your stove dry |
| Dried onion | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried carrot | 1/4 cup | |
| Dried celery flakes | 1 tbsp | |
| Freeze-dried peas | 1/4 cup | |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Beef bouillon | 1 cube | |
| Salt and black pepper | 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Instant gravy powder | 1 tbsp | optional, for body |
Method
- Bring 700 ml of water to a boil. Add the barley, dried onion, garlic powder, oregano, bouillon, salt, and pepper.
- Drop to the lowest flame that keeps it moving. Lid on, 20 minutes. Stir every few minutes so the barley does not weld to the bottom.
- Add the venison, carrot, and celery. Another 10 minutes, still covered.
- Stir in the peas and the oil, cut the heat, and let it sit five minutes with the lid on. The peas only need the residual heat.
- If it is still thin, sprinkle in the gravy powder and stir until it thickens.
The original is an hour-long braise with fresh root vegetables. Neither the time nor the produce travels well, so this version leans on quick-cooking barley and dried vegetables that rehydrate in the same pot they cook in. Barley is the reason it still tastes like the original: it releases starch as it simmers and gives the broth weight that no instant starch quite matches.
Staging matters. Barley needs twenty minutes of real simmer, the dried carrot and celery need about ten, and the peas need almost none. Dump everything at once and you get mush around a hard center. Budget the fuel honestly — this is a thirty-five minute burn, which is a lot on a small canister. It is a stew for a night you are staying put.
Packing
Barley and hard aromatics in one bag, meat and vegetables in a second. Keeping them apart means you can stage the additions without measuring in the dark. Oil rides in a dropper bottle.
Variations
- A splash of boxed red wine in place of 100 ml of the water, if you are car camping and carrying it anyway.
- Swap the barley for instant couscous and cut the simmer to five minutes when fuel is tight.
- Freeze-dried mushrooms cover for the turnip and add more body than they weigh.
https://www.huntingpa.com/threads/venison-barley-soup.3239