Camp Breakfast Sausage Patties
Ground pork, sage, and a spoonful of maple, mixed at home and fried in a skillet at the site.
- calories
- 320
- weight
- 4 oz
- cal / oz
- 80
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- none
- 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground pork | 2 lbs | 80/20 or fattier; lean pork turns dry |
|---|---|---|
| Dried sage | 2 tsp | |
| Dried thyme | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1 tsp | |
| Nutmeg | 1/4 tsp | more than that and it reads like dessert |
| Maple syrup | 2 tbsp | brown sugar works and packs smaller |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | for the pan, added as needed |
Method
- At home, work the pork, sage, thyme, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and nutmeg together with your hands until the seasoning is even. Stir in the maple syrup.
- Portion into 1/4 cup lumps and press each into a flat patty about half an inch thick. Twelve patties, give or take.
- Stack them with parchment or wax paper between layers, bag them, and freeze. They travel as their own ice block.
- In camp, burn the fire down to coals and set the cast iron on a grate over them. Flames scorch the outside and leave the middle raw.
- Add a tablespoon of oil. Cook four patties at a time, 3 to 4 minutes a side, until browned through and the center hits 145 F.
- Wipe the pan between batches if the fond starts to burn, and add oil as needed.
This is a make-at-home job with a cook-at-camp payoff. Store sausage is fine, but mixing your own means you control the fat and the salt, and two pounds of ground pork costs less than the equivalent in patties. The maple is there to caramelize on the pan surface, not to sweeten the meat.
Freezing the patties flat does double duty: they’re part of your cooler ice on the drive in, and they thaw on their own schedule. Cook over coals, not flame. Half-inch patties need about seven minutes total, and a fire that’s still flaming will blacken them before the center is safe.
Packing
Freeze the patties flat in a zip bag with paper between them. They keep the cooler cold on day one and are thawed by day two. Cooked leftovers hold about a week in a cold cooler.
Variations
- Ground turkey swaps in one for one, but add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.
- Skip the maple and add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a hot breakfast sausage.
- Crumble the raw mix into the skillet instead of forming patties and fold it into eggs or potatoes.
https://campfirefoodie.com/skillet-breakfast-sausage-recipe