Beef Roast in a Camp Oven
Beef roast in a camp oven.
In this recipe post we show you how easy it is to make a beef roast in a camp oven. This is another simple recipe that requires little effort or time with fantastic results that will keep everyone happy. Cooking great food while camping does not need to be difficult or need a whole lot of gear. This beef roast in the camp oven is so easy, tastes great, and will provide the perfect ingredient for an amazing weekend.
Gear We Use
- 12-inch spun steel Aussie camp oven with roasting trivet
- Sharp knife
- Chopping board
- Heat resistant gloves
- Hot coals
Ingredients
When it comes to the quantities of ingredients required for cooking a beef roast in a camp oven, simply follow what you would normally use if cooking a beef roast at home. In the below recipe we have used 1.2kg of beef which is enough to four people depending on their appetite. Most beef roasts that you buy from the supermarket will be between 1-2kgs. We usually allow between 300-350grams per person. When it comes to cut of beef for this roast in the camp oven, use whatever cut you prefer but buy good quality beef from a butcher rather than a large supermarket.
- Serves 4 people.
- 1.2kg x beef roast cut of your choice.
- 4 x sprigs of rosemary.
- 4-6 x garlic cloves.
- 2 x brown onions cut in halves.
- 3-4 x carrots cut into 2-3cm pieces.
- 3-4 x potatoes cut into 3cm pieces or a can of washed potatoes*.
- Salt and pepper.
- Dried oregano and thyme or other herbs of your choice.
- Olive oil.
- Gravy powder.
* If you are on the road for a long period of time and it is more difficult to carry fresh vegetables such as potatoes, we find using canned washed potatoes a real good substitute. Canned washed potatoes last for a very long time and do not get bruised. They are a great option in all sorts of other meals, like curries, casseroles, and stews. When touring we usually carry a few cans of these and use our fresh potatoes at the start of the trip.
Preparation
The first step is to get your fire going to have a good bunch of hot coals ready when you finish the below meal preparation. If using charcoal or briquettes, then get them going in your charcoal starter.
We find meal preparation before we leave on a trip a huge time saver when we are camping and touring. This includes vacuum sealing and freezing all our meat before we leave. However, you can do the below when at camp if you prefer and have the time.
Prepare the beef as you would normally for a roast. Make small incisions into the meat and insert the four to six garlic gloves into these incisions. Rub the beef generously with olive oil using your hands. Then season the beef with salt and pepper. Now add the beef to your camp oven sitting it on top of a roasting trivet. You should use a roasting trivet to stop the bottom of the beef burning from the heat of the coals and to provide better heat distribution.
Now chop the onions, carrots, and potatoes. Chop the onions into halves. Chop the carrots into 2-3cm pieces. Chop the potatoes into 3cm pieces. If using a can of washed potatoes, you won’t need to chop these. Add all the vegetables into a bowl and then add a generous amount of olive oil. Mix the vegetables so that they are all covered in the olive oil. Then season with salt and your choice of herbs, we usually use dried oregano and thyme flakes as we always have these in our camper trailer. Once oiled and seasoned, place the vegetables around the beef inside in the camp oven. Finally, add the sprigs of rosemary on top of the beef and vegetables for extra flavour. Now add the lid and close the camp oven.
Cooking
By now you should have a good number of hot coals ready to start cooking your beef roast in the camp oven. As we are cooking a roast, we want to get an even distribution of coals on the top and bottom. Some say a 50/50 distribution however, we usually do a 40/60 distribution with more on top than the bottom. We find having more coals on top ensures the bottom of the roast does not burn and cooks more evenly. But do whatever works best for you. Add the camp oven to your coals on the ground and then add the coals to the camp oven lid.
When it comes to cook times, it is best to work off the same times that you would when cooking a beef roast at home. Of course, the heat from your coals is going to play a big part here, so these times are just a guide. We work off 25 minutes per 500 grams for medium-rare to medium. In this recipe we are cooking 1.2kgs so our cook time is just over an hour. We do recommend checking how your beef roast is cooking in the camp oven halfway through. If more coals need to be added, then you can add them as required. Once the beef roast is cooked, in this instance it was just over an hour, remove the camp oven from the coals. Then remove the beef roast from your camp oven, cover loosely with alfoil and lest rest for 15 minutes. Check the veggies are cooked by poking with a knife. If your veggies are not cooked, you can leave them in the camp oven and add to the coals again. We then lay out some alfoil and place the cooked vegies onto the alfoil and seal to keep warm.
While waiting for the beef roast to rest, start to make your gravy. We use gravy powder as it is easy to pack and simple to make. There will be lots of juices in the bottom of the camp oven that you can use when making your gravy. Boil up some water and mix a little water with your gravy powder, less than what the instructions as you will have lots of juices to add to this mixture. Then remove the roasting trivet from your camp oven and then using a spoon remove the juices and add them to your gravy mixture. Stir the gravy with a fork until it combines well.
Beef Roast In The Camp Oven Is So Easy & Tasty
Once your beef roast has rested for 15 minutes, you can now carve up to serve. The beef roast should be pink in the middle if cooked perfectly. Serve with veggies on the side and the gravy. The gravy should be super tasty if you added all the juices from the camp oven. This is an extremely easy meal to cook and tastes amazing. Feel free to vary the vegetables and herbs depending on what you prefer or have in your setup.
Give this simple beef roast in the camp oven recipe a try on your next camping adventure. If you have any recommendations or variations let us know in the comments below. For more camping recipes check them out here.
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Thanks for reading our beef roast in the camp oven recipe.
Recipe by Peter.
