An easy way to cook gammon in the slow cooker. Campfire stew is a tasty, comforting one-pot dish that can be portioned and frozen for a quick and effortless midweek meal.
There are many recipes for slow cooker campfire stew out there. I believe it originated over at Slimming World - this is my slightly spicy version, which you can adjust to suit your taste.
I know we like a bit of spice in this house, but this isn't overly spicy, so fear not. In fact, the next time I make it, I'll add more spice, so there!
So, what exactly is campfire stew?
Technically, it is a stew you cook over a campfire, but this recipe has become very popular to cook at home, thanks to Slimming World.
Campfire stew can be cooked in a few ways - slow cooker, oven, or, if you are in a hurry, you can cook it in an Instant Pot or Multicooker under pressure.
This is a good job since I wouldn't fancy cooking this actually around a campfire, thank goodness for slow cookers!
While there isn’t a definitive recipe for this stew, most versions include meat, usually pork, and sometimes beef, beans of some kind, tomatoes and peppers.
When cooked in a slow cooker, it's a great dump recipe - just dump the ingredients in, stir and leave it to cook!
Before making it, is important to read my recipe top tips!
Recipe top tips!
- If you’re in the UK, most gammon joints, even smoked ones, are not too salty. Although I still recommend soaking the gammon in fresh cold water in the fridge for a couple of hours. Then rinse before adding it to the slow cooker. This will avoid a disappointing, salty-tasting end result.
- In the US, gammon is often quite salty, so it’s a good idea to soak it overnight. Check the packaging for instructions to see if soaking is recommended.
- Check your gammon joint packaging. Here in the UK, underneath the outer wrapping, most gammon is wrapped in a see-through casing that, for this recipe, you will need to remove it even though the packaging tells you to keep it on.
- Halve your gammon joint horizontally before adding it to the slow cooker; this ensures the flavours really get into it.
Peppers
Don't add the peppers to the slow cooker until about an hour before the stew is finished cooking - this way, they will end up just nicely soft and not mushy.
Of course, if you’re not at home, you can add them at the start of cooking, but they’ll mostly fall apart.. 😐 So for that reason, if you're not home, I suggest you pop the sliced peppers into a covered bowl and into the microwave for 1-2 minutes and then stir them into your stew at the end of cooking.
That way, the peppers will keep their colour and make the finished dish a lot more appetising, plus they won't be mushy.
Beans
Most campfire stew recipes call for a can of UK baked beans, but I prefer using cannellini beans. Of course, you can use any type of cooked beans you prefer.
Make ahead and batch cooking
With the ever-rising cost of electricity and gas here in the UK, it makes good sense to batch cook. Using a slow cooker to cook meals is the cheapest form of indoor cooking.
If you’re busy with work, cook on the weekend and freeze meals in portions. That way, you’ll have a freezer stocked with easy, healthy dishes ready to heat up when you get home.
Plus, you could have saved money on your energy bill by cooking them all at once. 😉
You can buy a simple and cheap slow cooker for as little as £25 on Amazon or in any electrical store. My advice, though, would be to buy one that automatically switches to 'keep warm' once the time is up.
If possible, choose one with a ceramic pot, as they’re super easy to clean.
I love my slow cooker, fantastic for making dishes like this and chicken casserole. Campfire stew is absolutely perfect for making the day before and actually tastes even better!
Just reheat in the microwave or over very low heat on the stovetop until hot and steaming.
This is a great batch cooking recipe that serves six. Once it's cooked, let it cool completely before dividing it into portions and storing them in freezer-safe containers for later use.
Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Campfire stew ingredients
- 1 x 750g - 1Kg smoked or unsmoked gammon joint - halved horizontally
- 3 bell peppers (one of each colour, red, yellow, and green) - sliced
- 1 large onion - diced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced or finely chopped
- 1 400g tin good-quality plum tomatoes
- 1 400g tin cannellini beans - drained well from their water
- 1 400g tin red kidney beans in chilli sauce
- 2 sticks of celery - chopped
- 2 large carrots - chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree (paste in the US)
- 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika (be sure to use sweet and not hot)!
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons chilli flakes
- 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- Optional: ¼ teaspoon of your favourite hot sauce - such as Frank's hot sauce, Tabasco or Sriracha
- Flat-leaf parsley
Cooking in a slow cooker
I cooked mine on slow cooker mode in my Ninja Foodi 15-1 Multi-Cooker. But of course, you can use any slow cooker.
Here’s a handy tip: if you have a Ninja multicooker, the slow cook mode automatically defaults to “keep warm,” so be sure to press the right button or your food won’t start cooking.
It's strange, but every multi-cooker I've owned automatically defaults to the keep warm setting.
Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker, except for the bell peppers - check the recipe top tips note above.
Add the halved gammon. Halving the gammon ensures the flavours really get into the meat.
Give it all a good stir to cover the gammon completely.
The mixture might seem a little dry at first, but all those delicious veggies and beans will release their juices as they cook in the slow cooker, so there’s no need to add extra liquid.
If, once cooked, it needs thickening (mine did), I always use McDougalls Thickening Granules - they’re a game-changer in the kitchen.
You can find them on Amazon or in most good supermarkets, but they’re much cheaper at Sainsbury’s or Tesco than on Amazon - just saying!
Set the slow cooker to HIGH and cook for 6-8 hours. Try not to open the lid, or you will affect the cooking time.
One hour before the end of cooking, stir in the peppers, put the lid back on and leave it to finish cooking. Or, if you're not going to be home, see the recipe top tips above.
Once the gammon is cooked, it should easily shred with two forks. Taste, adjust the seasoning if needed, and serve.
What to serve with campfire stew?
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
Campfire Stew Recipe
Number of servings depends on the size of your gammon and what you serve it with.
Ingredients
- 1 x 750g - 1Kg smoked or unsmoked gammon joint - all packaging removed and halved horizontally
- 3 bell peppers (one of each colour, red, yellow, and green) - sliced
- 1 large onion - peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced or finely chopped
- 1 400g (14 oz) tin good-quality plum tomatoes
- 1 400g (14 oz) tin cannellini beans - drained well from their water
- 1 400g (14 oz) tin red kidney beans in chilli sauce - including the sauce
- 2 sticks of celery - stringy bits removed and sliced
- 2 large carrots - peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree (paste in the US)
- 2 teaspoons sweet smoked paprika (be sure to use sweet and not hot)!
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons chilli flakes
- 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon of your favourite hot sauce - such as Frank's hot sauce, Tabasco or Sriracha
- flat-leaf parsley to serve
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker except for the bell peppers, and don’t forget to check the recipe top tips in my post for more details.
- Add the gammon and stir it, ensuring it’s fully coated with all the other ingredients.
- Set the slow cooker to HIGH and cook for 6 to 8 hours. Avoid opening the lid, as it can affect the cooking time.
- About an hour before the cooking is done, stir in the peppers, cover, and let it finish. If you won’t be home, you can add them at the start, but they’ll likely fall apart. A better option is to microwave them in a covered bowl for 1–2 minutes, then stir them into the stew right at the end.
- Once cooked, the gammon should shred easily with two forks.
- If it needs to thicken, leave the lid off the slow cooker and keep it on high until it reaches the desired consistency. I just add a tablespoon or so of McDougall’s thickening granules - see the post for more details.
- Check and adjust the seasoning and serve.
Notes
- In the UK, most gammon joints are fairly mild in salt these days, but it still helps to soak the gammon in fresh cold water in the fridge for a couple of hours, then give it a good rinse before adding into the slow cooker.
- If you are in the US, I believe gammon is very salty. I highly recommend soaking it overnight.
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