Camp Steak and Skillet Potatoes
Strip steak seared over the fire with garlic potatoes cooked in the same pan.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 14 oz
- cal / oz
- 56
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 40 min
- water
- 500 ml cold
- cost
- $$$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Boneless New York strip steaks | 2, about 1 1/4 in thick | thick cuts survive an uneven fire |
|---|---|---|
| Russet potatoes | 4 medium | |
| Cooking oil | 1/2 cup | enough to coat the pan, not deep fry |
| Garlic, minced | 1 1/2 tbsp | jarred is fine |
| Dried parsley | 1 1/2 tbsp | |
| Salt | 2 tsp | divided between potatoes and steak |
| Black pepper | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Flaky salt | 1 tsp | for finishing |
| Steak sauce | 1 tsp | single-serve packets travel best |
Method
- Cut the potatoes into 1/3-inch sticks. Rinse them in a pot of cold water until it runs clear, then dry them on a bandana or towel. Wet potatoes spit in hot oil.
- Build the fire down to steady coals and set the skillet on the grate. Add the oil and the potatoes together and cook about 25 minutes, turning every few minutes, until they are browned and stiff.
- Pull the potatoes onto a plate. Toss them with 1 tsp salt, half the garlic, and half the parsley while they are still hot.
- Pour off most of the oil. Season the steaks with the remaining salt, the pepper, and the garlic powder, then sear them in the hot pan, roughly 4 minutes a side for medium-rare. Press the rest of the garlic and parsley onto the meat in the last minute.
- Rest the steaks 5 minutes off the heat, then cut across the grain. Finish with flaky salt and the steak sauce.
This is a brasserie dish rebuilt around one pan and a fire. The original deep-fries the potatoes in a quart and a half of oil, which is a bad idea in a campsite: it is heavy to carry, dangerous to move once hot, and impossible to dispose of responsibly. Half a cup of oil in a hot skillet gets most of the same crust if you keep the sticks moving and give them the full 25 minutes.
Order matters. Potatoes first, steak second, in the same fat. The pan is already seasoned with starch and oil by the time the meat hits it, and the steak’s rest time is exactly long enough to keep the potatoes from going cold. Thick steaks are worth the money here because coals run hot and uneven, and a thin cut is grey through before the crust forms.
Packing
Steaks go in the cooler, vacuum-sealed and frozen flat so they thaw over the drive. Potatoes ride in the food bin. Salt, pepper, garlic powder, and parsley premixed in one small tin saves digging.
Variations
- No cast iron: cook the potatoes in a foil packet in the coals and grill the steaks straight on the grate.
- Swap the potatoes for a bag of frozen crinkle-cut fries on night one, before they thaw.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/steak-frites