Camp Huevos Rancheros
Eggs poached in canned tomato and chile, spooned over fried corn tortillas.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 47
- protein
- 17 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 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
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Eggs | 6 | carried in a rigid egg case in the cooler |
|---|---|---|
| Corn tortillas | 8 | |
| Canned whole tomatoes | 1 large can (28 oz) | juice included, it is the poaching liquid |
| White onion | 1/2 small | chopped at home and bagged |
| Garlic | 3 cloves | chopped |
| Cooking oil | 1 1/2 inches in the pan | plus a few tbsp kept back for the onion |
| Cilantro | 1 bunch | leaves only, stems tossed |
| Hot sauce | several dashes | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Heat about an inch and a half of oil in a deep frying pan over medium-high until a tortilla edge bubbles on contact.
- Fry the tortillas one at a time. Pull each one when it stiffens but before it snaps. Drain on a rag or paper towel and stack them off to the side.
- Pour the hot oil into an empty can to cool for packing out. Leave a few tablespoons in the pan.
- Cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until they turn gold at the edges.
- Add the whole tomatoes with all the juice. Break them apart against the pan with your spatula and bring it to a simmer.
- Stir in the cilantro and the hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
- Crack the eggs straight into the simmering tomato. Cover and let them poach five to eight minutes, until the whites set and the yolks are how you want them.
- Lay two tortillas on each plate and spoon eggs and sauce over the top.
This is a cooler breakfast, not a trail one. Eggs and a 28 oz can of tomatoes are heavy and neither one packs down, so it belongs at a car campsite or a basecamp where weight is somebody else’s problem.
The method is worth knowing anyway. Poaching eggs directly in the tomato means no second pan and no water to boil, and the sauce insulates the eggs so they set evenly over an uneven fire. Fry the tortillas first while the oil is clean, then pour most of it off — cooking the onion in three tablespoons instead of an inch and a half is the difference between breakfast and a grease slick. The used oil cools in a can and goes home with you.
Packing
Onion and garlic get chopped and bagged at home so the only knife work in camp is nothing. Eggs ride in a hard case, tortillas flat in a gallon bag under something light. The can of tomatoes is heavy and that is the price of this breakfast.
Variations
- Swap the fried tortillas for ones warmed dry on the grate if you do not want to deal with hot oil.
- A handful of crumbled cotija or queso fresco over the top holds up a day or two in the cooler.
- Rinsed canned black beans stirred into the sauce push this toward a full meal.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/huevos-rancheros