Backpacking food is one of the most important elements of a trek. And this delicious backpacking meal of Persian beef kebab and saffron rice is not your ordinary dehydrated food.
I love being outdoors — even if my allergies don’t. (Thanks a lot, pollen and grass!)
Our family’s been all-in with scouting for over a decade. Between my three kids and countless camping trips, we know our way around a campfire. Good food was always a must, so I upgraded our scout meals… and even wrote a camping cookbook along the way!
Backpacking? I’ll pass. I love the idea, but I’m not built for high adventure.
Both my boys tackled Philmont and came back 5–10 pounds lighter — and not just from hiking. Spam and tuna pouches only go so far with teenage appetites.
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Recipe highlights
- Economical: If you ever purchased those ready made dehydrated meal packs, you can see how expensive they are. One pouch is $10 and it serves one hearty appetite. The flavor is hit or miss. But for the same price, you can feed a group of 5 or more.
- Simple: The meal itself is quite simple, ground beef jerky and rice. But add some sumac and dehydrated tomatoes and you’ll swear it tastes just like a real koobideh kebab dinner.
- Light weight: With all the backpacking my boys did, I learned what they needed to prepare and plan their backpacking food. It needs to be light weight, jam packed with calories and of course, non-perishable.
- Flavor: Since we are Persian and love Persian food, my family loves the ground beef kebab jerky we made. We tested this meal out at home and the kids agreed that it tasted like a real Persian kabob dinner. Our scout family tried it on a backpacking trip and loved this dish so much that they have added it to their backpacking arsenal of recipes.
Ingredients you need
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- Ground beef (kebab koobideh) jerky: My recipe for ground beef kebab jerky tastes just like Persian koobideh kebab. We use this as our base meat for this dish. Ground beef jerky is also less expensive than it’s steak jerky counterpart.
- Instant rice: You can use Minute Rice or Uncle Ben’s or any other instant rice. Since we are Persian, we are partial to basmati rice, so we found Ben’s Ready Rice basmati rice pictured above as well as Tasty Rice. Both are pre-cooked then vacuum packed and do not require much water to rehydrate and cook. They are heavier than a box of Minute Rice and each pouch makes a hearty one serving. If weight is more important than authenticity, then go with the lighter instant rice.
- Dehydrated tomatoes: If you have ever eaten the real kabob meal then you know it is typically served with grilled tomatoes. You can dehydrate your own tomatoes or purchase already dehydrated tomatoes.
- Ground saffron: Persian rice wouldn’t be Persian rice without saffron. Grind the threads at home and take a small pouch with you for easy use.
- Salt: We found the rice to be rather bland, so add a dash of salt if you need it.
- Sumac: Ground sumac is always sprinkled over Persian kebab and rice. It is a little tart and full of flavor. A small way to add zing to your meal.
Step-by-step directions
- Hydrate meat. Cut or tear ground beef jerky into 1-inch pieces and add to a pot. Cover with water and heat for 5 minutes to rehydrate meat to personal preference. Strain meat and use water to cook the rice, if needed.
- Make the rice. If using instant rice that needs to cook in water, cook per package directions. If using rice like what is pictured in this post, already cooked and vacuum packed, no water will be needed to rehydrate. Again follow, your package directions.
- Season the rice. Add salt and saffron to rice while it reheats. If using dehydrated tomatoes, add them to the rice. Stir in meat with the rice and season with sumac.
- Serve. If you are carrying fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, you can make a shirazi salad. For my boys and their crew, this was the first meal on their trek so they took along fresh veggies.
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Recipe tips and FAQs
Here in California you can find herbs growing in the wild. Foraging for food does take some education, so don’t go sampling unknown vegetation. Onions and chives bloom their iconic purple puff ball flowers, and of course smell like onions, too.
You can also find sage growing rampant here in SoCal. You can kick up the flavor in any kind of backpacking meal with the addition of fresh herbs.
I don’t usually write about backpacking food, so this post is little of an experiment for this blog. If you want to see more gourmet foods you can pack and eat on a trek, let me know.
Remember, if you do this a lot, invest in a food dehydrator. You eat a lot healthier and tastier meals if you prepare them yourselves. This is true on the trail and at home.
The money you spend on a dehydrator will save you in the long run from all the expensive pouches of dried meats and meals you would normally be purchasing. We purchased one on Craigslist and use it for a number of different foods.
You can use my oven beef jerky recipe, but the flavor will be different because of the marinade used. It will still make a wonderful meal with rice and any veggies you add to it.
Stay safe on the trek and happy trails, my friends!
Storing Instructions
Typically homemade beef jerky should last 1-2 months depending on the amount of fat and moisture your jerky has. Both affects spoilage, so make sure you use lean meat (90% or leaner) and the meat is completely dry before storage.
Oxygen is also a factor in the shelf life of beef jerky. You can store your ground beef jerky in air tight containers. You can also add food grade oxygen absorbers in the container which helps prevent bacteria growth. Another option is to use vacuum sealers to remove all oxygen.
We store our beef jerky in resealable bags with a paper towel in it inside our pantry. You know your beef jerky has gone bad as it has darkened in color, hardened and changed in smell.
I’ve never tested the theory because our homemade beef jerky (both the traditional and ground beef version) gets eaten up by the family way before turning rancid!
Absolutely! Beef jerky makes a wonderful source of protein whether you are home, backpacking or just walking on a trail. You can easily rehydrate it in hot water to make a meal like this ground beef jerky for kabob and rice. Even steak jerky can be rehydrated.
Backpacking Meal: Persian Beef Kebab and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 1- foot strips of ground beef kebab jerky
- 8.5 oz instant basmati rice
- 3-4 slices of dehydrated tomatoes
- ⅛ teaspoon ground saffron
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon sumac
- Water
Instructions
- Cut or tear jerky into 1-inch pieces and add to a pot. Cover with water and heat for 5 minutes to rehydrate meat to personal preference. Strain meat and use water to cook the rice, if needed.
- If using instant rice that needs to cook in water, cook per package directions. If using rice like what is pictured in this post, already cooked and vacuum packed, no water will be needed to rehydrate. Again follow, your package directions.
- Add salt and saffron to rice while it reheats. If using dehydrated tomatoes, add them to the rice.
- Stir in meat with the rice and season with sumac.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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Written by Laura Bashar
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
Wow, what an awesome post! This is a really, really ingenious recipe — you’ve made a traditional dish that doesn’t really seem all that appropriate for camping, into something that totally works. Kudos!