Backpacker's Black Beans and Rice

Black beans and rice is a great meal for the trail. It has a lot of calories, protien, and it tastes delicous! You will enjoy this spicy take on black beans and rice that will leave you feeling full after a long day on the trail or in the backcountry. This recipe requires all the ingredients to be prepared and cooked ahead of time at home and then placed in a dehydrator to dehydrate for the trail. If you choose to cook and dehydrate your rice before putting it into the mylar bags, great! If you don't, that is great too! I opted to use Minute Rice instead of dyhrating precooked rice because I thought this would save me some time in assembling my final ingredients together.

Below is the recipe for 4 servings, however I tripled the recipe so I can make many meals for thru hiking and other backpacking endevours. The recipe below is very easy to double or triple if you would like to cater to your specific needs!

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List of Ingredients to assemble in ziplock or mylar bags:

• ¾ cup Minute Rice or dehydrated rice

• ¾ cup black bean mixture (Recipe below)

• ¾ cup dehydrated chicken (optional)

Black Bean mixture ingredients:

• 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 can of diced tomatoes

• 1 medium onion

• 1-2 bell peppers

• 1 stalk of celery

• 3 cloves of garlic

• 1-2 jalapenos (de-seeded, if you want spicy leave seeds!)

• 1 cup diced mushrooms

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1 tsp chicken bouillon

• 1 tbsp butter

Step 1: Let’s Get Started

If you are going to use dehydrated chicken in you recipe, then we need to start this first since it will take 8 hours to dehydrate. Here is how to do it:

• Drain liquid from the can. If there is any fat adhering to the chicken, rinse away under hot water.

• Pull chunks apart into smaller pieces and spread out on a dehydrator tray.

• Dry at 145 degrees for approximately eight hours.

I will dehydrate a ton of chicken ahead for some many different recipes. Canned chicken, when dehydrated, seems to be the best when rehydrated from the other ways of cooking and dehydrating chicken. It also will save time since the chicken is already cooked! I do not season the chicken at all before dehydrating.

Mise en Place! The first step is to get everything ready. Get started with the rice. If you are going to cook your rice ahead of time, cook rice per the directions on the bag. If you are electing to use Minute Rice instead, we will add that rice to the mylar bags later.

While the rice is cooking, get all of our other ingredients together for the black beans. Prepare by dicing your onions, bell peppers, celery, garlic, jalpenos, and mushrooms. Place each ingredient in a separte bowl so all are ready to go when the time comes to add that ingredient to the pot. At this time, drain and rinse the black beans.

Step 2: Making the black beans

In a saucepan set on medium - med/high heat, melt the butter and saute the onion and celery. Saute for a couple of minutes, until the onion and celery become translucent.

Now add diced bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic. Saute until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Open the can of diced tomatoes and add them to the pot, and then after a couple of minutes add the diced mushrooms. Once all the vegetables are soft, add the drained and rinsed black beans.

Season with the cumin, chili powder, and chicken bouillon. Simmer for a few minutes and taste. Add more seasoning accordingly. If the seasoning level is good, allow the black beans to simmer for a couple of hours to marry all of those flavors together.

Once cooking is done, let the black beans cool in order to prepare for dehydration.

Step 3: Dehydrating the black beans

To Dehydrate, spread a thin even layer of black bean mixture over four dehydrator fruit lether trays. Dehydrate on 135 degrees for about 10-12 hours, or until the entire mixture is completely dry and crispy.

After dehydration, this is what the black beans will look like. They look like crispy chips!

Step 4: Assembling the meal in mylar bags

Assemble ¾ dehydrated rice or Minute Rice, ¾ cup dehydrated black bean mixture, and ¾ cup dehydrated chicken in a mylar bag and seal. I love using my Wallaby Goods impulse sealer! Don't forget to add an oxygen absorber for longer storage.

When on the trail, boil 2 cups of water and pour into mylar black bean bag. Stir and let soak for 10 minutes. Stir once more, let cool, and enjoy! If you have made the backpacker meal koozie, awesome! Place you meal bag in the koozie before adding your boiling water to maintain heat longer, allowing your meal to "cook" quicker!

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The only thing left to do, is to enjoy it with a veiw!

Now all that is left is to enjoy! This recipe is going to hit the spot after a long day hiking on the trail. It will replenish those much needed calories and protein, while making you feel full. Feel free to leave a comment on how it tastes and send pictures of your view while enjoying it on the trail!

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