Wild Game Stew, Trail Version
Dried meat, tomato powder, and marjoram simmered into a thick stew in one pot.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 30 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Winter / snow
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated cooked stew meat | 2 oz | venison, bear, beef, or elk, cooked then dried and shredded |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 1 tbsp | the thickener, carried dry |
| Dried marjoram | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/8 tsp | |
| Bay leaf | 1 | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | stands in for two fresh cloves |
| Tomato powder | 3 tbsp | replaces a can of whole tomatoes |
| Dried celery | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried onion | 2 tbsp | |
| Instant mashed potato flakes | 1/3 cup | in place of cubed baking potatoes |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Red wine vinegar | 1 tsp | a small dropper bottle, or a splash of cider vinegar |
Method
- Bring 600 ml of water to a boil. Add the meat, tomato powder, celery, onion, bay leaf, and all the seasoning.
- Drop to the lowest simmer your stove will hold. Twenty minutes with the lid on. Stir now and then so the tomato does not scorch on the bottom.
- Whisk the flour into a few tablespoons of cool water in your mug, then stir that slurry into the pot. Two more minutes to cook the raw taste off.
- Cut the heat. Stir in the potato flakes a spoonful at a time until it thickens to stew.
- Add the oil and the vinegar last. Fish out the bay leaf.
Tough game meat is why the original recipe simmers for two hours. Drying it at home does that work early: the meat is already cooked through, so camp is just rehydration and twenty minutes of holding heat. Cook it, shred it, dry it, and it comes back soft instead of chewy.
The canned tomatoes, fresh onion, celery, and baking potatoes all became dry equivalents, which is most of the weight savings. Flour still thickens the broth the way it does at home, but potato flakes finish the job without the extra hour that real potato chunks demand. The vinegar at the end stands in for the wine and cuts the fat.
Packing
Everything dry except the meat goes in one bag. Meat rides in its own bag so you can check it for moisture. Oil and vinegar in dropper bottles.
Variations
- Skip the flour and lean harder on potato flakes if you want a shorter cook.
- A crumbled bouillon cube in place of the salt gives the broth more depth.
- Freeze-dried ground beef rehydrates faster than dried whole-muscle meat if you are low on fuel.
https://www.huntingpa.com/threads/bear-recipes.1305