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Beef and potatoes stewed in a cauldron over a campfire

Beef and Potatoes Stewed in a Cauldron over a Campfire

Vibrant, uniquely delicious, juicy, with a hint of woodsmoke! Beef and potatoes stewed in a cauldron over a campfire, cooked out in the open, will win over absolutely everyone. The result is hearty, characterful, and incomparably tasty food! A perfect option for lunch or dinner.

Zhemchuzhinka

Recipe author

Beef and potatoes stewed in a cauldron over a campfire

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beef

1.5

Potatoes

Carrots (large, about 200 g)

Onion (large)

Bell pepper

Tomatoes

Garlic

Bay leaf

Salt

Ground pepper blend

Dried spices

Vegetable oil

150

Fresh herbs

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 35 % 8 g

Fats 26 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 39 % 9 g

118 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make beef and potato stew in a cauldron over a campfire? Gather all the ingredients listed in the recipe. You can adjust the amount of each to your taste. Cut the beef into medium-sized pieces.
Step 2:

Peel the potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic. Wash the potatoes and cover them with cold, clean water, so they don't darken. Of course, you can peel the tubers right before adding them to the cauldron, but when I'm out in the open it's easier for me to prep all the vegetables a bit ahead. Cut the bell peppers in half and remove the cores, seeds, and stems. If you can, choose peppers of different colors. Wash all the vegetables well.
Step 3:

Cut the carrots and bell peppers into sticks, and the onion into half-rings or a bit smaller. Leave the small garlic cloves whole and cut the larger ones into 2 or 4 pieces.
Step 4:

Set a clean, dry cauldron over the fire. Pour in odorless vegetable oil and heat it well. Using a slotted spoon, ladle hot oil over the sides of the cauldron — carefully, so you don't get burned! Add the onion, carrot, pepper, and garlic to fry. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the vegetables smell delicious and take on a golden tint.
Step 5:

Using a slotted spoon, remove the fried vegetables from the cauldron. The oil is now infused with the aromas of the vegetables, so you can move on to the next step.
Step 6:

Add the beef pieces to the cauldron. Stirring constantly, fry them until golden. Pour in enough water to cover the meat. After it boils, skim off the foam. Over high heat, the water boils very quickly. Cover the cauldron, remove a few logs from underneath so the flame becomes moderate, and simmer the meat until tender. It took me about an hour and a half.
Step 7:

Open the lid from time to time and check that there's enough liquid in the cauldron and that the beef isn't scorching. Add a little water as needed. Meanwhile, prepare everything else. Cut the tomatoes into 4–6 wedges (depending on their size). You can peel the tomatoes first; I leave the skin on, since the pieces hold their shape longer while cooking. You can use cherry tomatoes.
Step 8:

Wash and dry the herbs. Which herbs are best to use? Young green onion, dill, cilantro, parsley, garlic scapes, and so on all work well for this dish.
Step 9:

Finely chop the herbs and a couple of garlic cloves.
Step 10:

When the beef stew is almost done, add more wood under the cauldron. Add the potatoes and the fried vegetables to the meat.
Step 11:

Then add the tomatoes and bay leaf, salt to taste, and sprinkle in your favorite spices.
Step 12:

Pour in enough water to cover the potatoes. You can and should adjust the amount of water to taste, depending on how thick you want the dish.
Step 13:

Stir everything well, wait for it to come to a boil, then lower the flame and simmer the potatoes under a partly covered lid until done (about 20–30 minutes).
Step 14:

At the end of cooking, add the herbs to the cauldron. Leave the lid off and let the dish simmer over the nearly burned-down embers for a while. The potatoes and meat soak up the campfire aromas and become incredibly delicious!
Step 15:

Call your family and friends to the table before the dish cools down!

Serve fresh vegetables, salads, or pickles alongside a plate of this fragrant dish. Enjoy!
For this recipe, it doesn't matter which cut you choose, since the meat will turn tender during cooking anyway.
The beef can be replaced with any other meat you prefer. But keep in mind that the cooking time, as well as the flavor and calorie content, will change. Pork and lamb are usually fattier than beef, while chicken breast or turkey are leaner. And the cooking time depends not only on the type of meat but also on which cut is used and how old or young the meat is.
Use an oil with a high smoke point for frying! All oils are good only up to a certain temperature — the smoke point, at which the oil begins to burn and form toxic compounds, including carcinogens. Unrefined oils, with rare exceptions, have a low smoke point; they contain many unfiltered organic particles that quickly start to burn. Refined oils are more heat-stable and have a higher smoke point. If you're going to cook in the oven, in a skillet, or on the grill, make sure to use an oil with a high smoke point. The most common high-smoke-point oils are refined sunflower, olive, and grapeseed oil.