Bubbly rich goodness
If the thought of another PB&J or more than two dehydrated meals on a single trip makes you cringe, then maybe it’s time to think about a fresh, hearty meal as something that you can have anywhere, anytime … as long as you’re willing to put a little effort into preparation. One of my all-time favorite meals is Hungarian Goulash, and regardless of the season, the craving for this rich stew hits me with force and eventually leads to submission.
With the goal for our running Camp Chef recipes being easy, filling, and rejuvenating food you can take anywhere, it goes without saying that a little prep at home can make all the difference in what you eat when you’re miles from civilization. A half hour spent slicing, chopping, and spicing leads to more time to chat around the campfire, provides a single-serving, quick-fix meal for an overnight ski tour, or lets you reserve the dehydrated meals for the latter half of a multi-day backpacking adventure. Here’s what it takes for one person to get a little taste of Eastern European culinary culture, which you can adjust accordingly for multiple stomachs.
A little prep goes a long way
A little prep goes a long way
Ingredients:
- ½ lb of flank or skirt steak (because it’s cheap)
- 1 Small red pepper (or ½ of a large one)
- 1 Small potato
- 1 Super-small yellow onion
- 1 tbsp Hungarian paprika
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 Beef bouillon cube
- 1 5.5-oz can V8 juice (if you like)
- Pinch caraway seed
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil
Meat Prep:
- Throw the sliced steak into a resealable plastic bag
- Sprinkle the steak with a little s&p and douse with the Hungarian paprika
- Shake it up to generously coat the meat (don’t be afraid to add more paprika for extra richness)
- Douse steak with the flour, and shake bag again to lightly coat
- Crumble the beef bouillon cube with your finger, and sprinkle over the meat
- Roll it up tightly, and toss the bag into the freezer overnight
Veggie Prep:
- Dice pepper and onion into small chunks
- Dice potato into even smaller chunks
- Finely chop caraway seed
- Combine all into a plastic bag and add a teaspoon of oil (just enough to lightly coat)
- Roll the bag up tight, wrap in plastic to prevent any oil leaks, and toss in the fridge
Cooking:
- Turn on your portable stove, drop the prepped veggies into the pot, and simmer over medium to high for a few minutes (but don’t brown)
- Make a well in center of veggies, drop prepped meat in middle, and brown for a few minutes
- Whether the meat is still a little frozen or totally defrosted doesn’t matter; as long as you keep it in your pack and out of direct sunlight it’ll be great
- The moisture from thawing is just right to start the stew, but you’ll need to add about 8-ounces of water after initial browning of the meat
- Stir, turn down to low, and just relax
- Let simmer for at least 30 minutes (give a stir every 5-10 minutes), but more cooking time means a richer flavor (add more water as needed to get it to the consistency you like)
Don’t forget to rinse out the bags and put them back into your bear-proof container.
Enjoy!
Veggie bag first
Meat next
Brown meat
Water & V8 last
Related Posts:
Tags: Camp Chef, camping recipes, cooking, food