Chimichurri Steak and Eggs, Car Camp Version
Seared strip steak, fried eggs, and a vinegar-and-herb sauce mixed in the cup you carry it in.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 65
- protein
- 52 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 25 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
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| New York strip steak | 12 oz | one steak, cut in half after cooking |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 2 large | carried in a hard egg case |
| Olive oil | 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp | most of it goes in the sauce |
| Butter | 2 tsp | |
| Dried parsley | 2 tbsp | stands in for 1/4 cup fresh |
| Vinegar | 2 tsp | red wine or plain white |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | 1/4 tsp for the steak, 1/4 tsp for the sauce |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Crushed red pepper | 1 tsp | |
| Cumin | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt and pepper | 1/2 tsp each |
Method
- Twenty minutes before you cook, stir the parsley, oregano, red pepper, cumin, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, salt, pepper, vinegar, and 1/4 cup olive oil together in a cup. Set it aside. The dried herbs need that time to soften.
- Set a cast iron skillet on the grate over a bed of coals or a steady flame. Give it five minutes to come up to heat.
- Rub the steak with 2 tsp olive oil, then season all sides with salt, pepper, and the remaining garlic powder.
- Lay the steak in the dry skillet. Three to four minutes a side for medium rare on a hot pan, longer over a cooler fire. Pull it onto a plate and leave it alone.
- Drop the butter into the same skillet and crack in the eggs. Cook until the whites set, two minutes or so.
- Slice the steak against the grain, split it between two plates with an egg each, and spoon the sauce over everything.
Chimichurri is mostly acid, oil, and herbs, which means it survives a cooler better than most sauces. Fresh parsley wilts to slime in two days, so this uses dried and lets it sit in the vinegar and oil for twenty minutes before serving. That rehydration step is the whole trick; skipped, the sauce tastes like dust.
Everything happens in one skillet, in order. The steak leaves fat and browned bits behind, and the eggs cook in that with a little butter. Rest the steak while the eggs go, and both land on the plate hot.
Packing
Mix the dry sauce ingredients at home in a small jar; add oil and vinegar in camp. Steak stays in the cooler on ice, vacuum sealed or double bagged. Eggs go in a hard case or they will not survive the drive.
Variations
- Skip the eggs and put the steak and sauce in tortillas.
- A splash of the sauce over fried potatoes uses up whatever is left in the cup.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/chimichurri-steak-and-eggs