Bacon and Potato Breakfast Skillet Pie
The quiche filling from a breakfast pie, rebuilt out of powdered egg and dried potato for a car-camping skillet.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5 oz
- cal / oz
- 124
- protein
- 28 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 400 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Whole egg powder | 1 cup | reconstitutes to about 8 eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk powder | 1/3 cup | |
| Dried hash brown potatoes | 2 cups | the shelf-stable carton kind, not frozen |
| Shelf-stable bacon | 6 oz | fully cooked, sold unrefrigerated |
| Hard cheddar | 4 oz | a waxed block keeps for days out of a fridge |
| Dried parsley | 1 tbsp | |
| Kosher salt | 1 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Oil or bacon fat | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Pour boiling water over the dried potatoes in a mug or bowl, just enough to cover. Let them sit ten minutes, then drain off anything loose.
- Whisk the egg powder, milk powder, parsley, salt, and pepper into 400 ml of warm water. Beat out the lumps now; they will not disappear later.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over low coals or a low flame. Crisp the bacon, then pull it out and chop it.
- Spread the potatoes in the skillet and let them brown for five minutes without stirring.
- Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes. Scatter the cheese and most of the bacon on top and lay the rest across the surface in strips.
- Cover and cook low for twelve to fifteen minutes, until the center stops sloshing when you shake the pan. Off the heat, let it stand five minutes before cutting.
The original is a pie: pastry crust, raw eggs and milk, frozen potatoes, a woven bacon lid, an hour in an oven. None of that travels. What survives is the filling, which is a crustless quiche and cooks fine in a covered skillet over coals.
The substitutions are the whole job. Powdered egg and powdered milk replace the fridge ingredients and rehydrate into something that sets the same way. Dried hash browns replace frozen and need a soak first, or they stay gritty in the middle. Shelf-stable bacon is precooked, so it is there for fat and salt rather than rendering. Keep the heat low; egg at a hard boil goes rubbery and weeps water.
Packing
Egg powder, milk powder, parsley, salt, and pepper premix into one bag at home. Potatoes in another. Bacon and cheese ride in the food bin, and both are fine at ambient temperature if the packaging says so.
Variations
- A can of green chiles stirred into the egg turns it into a different breakfast.
- No cover for the skillet? Slide it to indirect heat and put a plate or foil over the top.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/make-ahead-breakfast-pie-lattice-bacon-crust