Classic Camp Oven Beef Stew

The classic Aussie beef stew — the one your grandparents made, the one that warms a campsite on a cold night, the one everyone goes back for seconds. Diced braising steak, slow-cooked with onion, garlic, carrots, celery + a touch of red wine, finished with the lid off to thicken into proper gravy.

Hearty, generous, family-friendly. Serve over boiled new potatoes.

Photo by Laura Ohlman on Unsplash

Serves: 4-6 · Prep: 15 minutes · Cook: 90 minutes · Equipment: camp oven OR Dutch oven on gas stove

Photo: Nathan Dumlao / Unsplash

• 1kg diced braising steak (chuck, blade, or gravy beef — 2cm cubes)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large brown onions, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed + chopped
• 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp dried mixed herbs (or 2 tbsp fresh thyme + parsley)
• 1 bay leaf
• Grated zest of ½ lemon
• 1 cup beef stock or gravy
• 400ml dry red wine
• Salt + cracked pepper

Optional add-ins: 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce; 100g chopped bacon; 200g mushrooms.

To serve: boiled new potatoes, mashed potato, crusty bread, OR pearl couscous.

1. Pre-heat camp oven over medium-hot coals.

2. Sauté the vegetables. Heat 2 tbsp oil in the camp oven. Add onion, cook 2 minutes. Add garlic, carrots + celery; cook a further 10 minutes until softened. Remove + set aside on a plate.

3. Brown the beef. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil in the camp oven. Brown the diced steak in batches — single layer, don't crowd. Each batch about 4-5 minutes total. The deep mahogany sear = flavour.

4. Build the stew. Return ALL meat to the camp oven, plus the cooked vegetables. Add the herbs, bay leaf, lemon zest, beef stock, red wine + salt + pepper to taste.

5. Bring to the boil over the coals.

6. Lid on, simmer for 1 hour. Reduce heat (fewer coals on top, fewer underneath). Check halfway — should be gently simmering, not vigorously boiling.

7. Lid OFF for the final 30 minutes. This reduces the liquid + thickens into proper gravy. Stir occasionally. Liquid should reduce to about ⅔ of starting volume.

8. Test: beef should be fork-tender (falling apart with light pressure); gravy should coat the back of a spoon.

9. Check liquid level as you go — if it reduces too much (sticking risk), add a splash more stock.

10. Serve generously over boiled new potatoes. Crusty bread to mop the gravy.

• Cut choice matters. Chuck, blade, gravy beef — all chosen for fat + connective tissue that breaks down beautifully over slow cooking. Lean cuts dry out
• Brown in BATCHES — don't crowd the pot. Crowded = steamed grey meat instead of deep brown sear. Brown sear = flavour
• Don't skip the lemon zest — adds a brightness that lifts the deep beef + wine flavour
• Without wine: use extra stock + 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar + 1 tbsp Worcestershire. Different but excellent
• Add veg variations — potatoes (in last 30 mins), mushrooms, parsnip, sweet potato, peas (last 5 mins)
• Make ahead: tastes BETTER the next day. Refrigerate overnight, reheat gently. Cookout 2L on day 1, eat half day 1, half day 2
• Freezes brilliantly — divide into ziplock bags, freeze flat, defrost on next trip
• Dumplings on top — last 20 minutes, drop spoonfuls of self-raising scone dough. Lid on. Soaks up the gravy. Pure heaven
• Without camp oven: Dutch oven on a butane stove on low for 90 mins; or kitchen oven 160°C for 2 hours; or pressure cooker 35 minutes

The dinner that brings everyone to the campfire. Beef stew is one of those universal dishes that just works — kids eat it, adults love it, leftovers reheat beautifully, the smell drifts through camp + brings everyone over.

Master this base recipe + you've got the framework for endless variations: lamb stew, chicken cassoulet, sausage + bean stew, even a vegetarian root-vegetable version. The slow-cook + lid-off-to-thicken technique is universal.