This recipe comes from my favorite backpacking cookbook, Recipes for Adventure, by Chef Glenn McAllister (ISBN 9781484861349). While I’ve tweaked a few of the recipes from this book to suit my taste, none of the ones I’ve tried have disappointed. As with all of the “homemade” recipes I’ll be mentioning, dehydrating will be required. With “off – the – shelf” recipes, the dehydrating has already been done for you, saving you time. But with homemade meals, you can control the contents and flavor.
Chili is a mainstay of my backcountry meal planning. After a long day on the trail, a warm and hearty dinner can be a real pick-me-up in the backcountry. I’ve tried other backcountry chili recipes that ranged from okay to crunchy and unappetizing, and unless I’m using crackers, crunchy is not something I look for in a chili. This one is my favorite backcountry chili so far. Chef Glenn gets it right by adding bread crumbs to the hamburger. This helps it rehydrate better on the trail and keeps it from being crunchy.
Ingredients for 3-5 servings:
1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs, finely ground
1 large onion, chopped small to fine
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
3 Tablespoons of chili powder
1 15-oz can of kidney or red beans, drained
1 10-oz can of tomato puree
1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes
At home:
Work the bread crumbs into the ground beef with your fingers and set aside. Sautee the onions and garlic in just enough olive oil to coat the pan. Add the ground beef (the less fat the better when dehydrating) and cook for about ten minutes until browned, stirring continuously. Add the chili powder and cook for one more minute. Add tomato puree, diced tomatoes, and drained beans. Cook until bubbling, then reduce heat and simmer for one hour.
Taste test, and add hot peppers and/or more onion if you’d like to spice it up. You can start dehydrating immediately or you can leave it in the fridge overnight to enhance the flavor.
Dehydrate:
Spread your chili out on dehydrator trays that are covered with non-stick sheets or parchment paper. Dehydrate at 125 degrees for 8 – 12 hours. After about four hours in the dehydrator, break up any meat and beans that are stuck together.
Let cool and store in an airtight jar or divide into plastic bags for individual servings. Properly dried chili will keep for several months if protected from air and moisture. To extend the shelf life, store it in the freezer until you are ready to leave for your trip, or vacuum seal it.
On the trail:
In a pot, combine the dried chili with equal amounts of water (1 cup each for regular serving, 1 1/2 cups each for large serving) and let it soak for 5 minutes. Light stove, bring to boil, and then cook for one more minute. Insulate pot and wait for ten minutes. Top with whatever: crackers, cheese, fresh peppers, cheddar flavored gold fish, etc.
Pro Tip: Bread crumbs mixed with your raw hamburger will help it rehydrate properly on the trail. Not dehydrating for backpacking? Then no need to add bread crumbs.
Nutritional Value:
Calories: 300 for regular serving, 450 for large serving
Protein: sure!
Carbohydrates: probably!
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