Chorizo Potato Breakfast Pitas
Cured chorizo, hash potatoes, and eggs from powder, folded into pita at the picnic table.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 120
- protein
- 29 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 15 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- 350 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
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Pita breads | 2 large | pocket style, packed flat in a rigid bag |
|---|---|---|
| Dried hash brown potatoes | 1 cup | the boxed shelf-stable kind, not fresh |
| Cured Spanish chorizo | 4 oz | the dry-cured link, not fresh raw chorizo |
| Powdered whole egg | 6 tbsp | equals about 3 eggs |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Jarred roasted red peppers | 1/4 cup | drained, or use dried bell pepper flakes |
| Hard aged cheese | 1.5 oz | manchego or a dry cheddar |
| Smoked paprika | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Cover the dried potatoes with hot water in your pot and let them sit ten minutes. Drain them well and press out the water with your spoon. Wet potatoes steam instead of browning.
- Whisk the egg powder with 150 ml of cool water in a mug or bag. Let it stand while the potatoes soak so it hydrates fully.
- Heat the oil in the pot over medium. Slice the chorizo into coins and cook two minutes until the fat runs red.
- Add the drained potatoes and the paprika. Spread them flat and leave them alone for four or five minutes, then turn. Repeat until the edges are brown.
- Stir in the chopped peppers, then pour in the egg. Move it slowly with the spoon until it just sets. Kill the heat.
- Grate or crumble the cheese over the top and let it melt under a lid.
- Warm the pitas one at a time on the lid or a rock near the fire, split them, and fill. Let the filling sit a minute first so the steam settles.
The original of this is a cooler recipe with fresh diced potatoes and real eggs. Both are replaced here: boxed dried hash browns rehydrate in ten minutes and brown better than fresh ones do on a camp stove, and powdered egg means no shells, no carton, no worry about heat. Cured chorizo is the one thing not to substitute. It is shelf-stable by design, and the fat it renders is what the potatoes cook in.
The soak-and-drain step is the whole recipe. Potatoes carrying water will sit there and steam gray no matter how hot the pot gets, so press them dry and then give them a few undisturbed minutes on each side. Eggs go in last and off heat quickly, because in a thin camp pot they go from set to rubber in about thirty seconds.
Packing
Potatoes, egg powder, and paprika each in their own bag. Chorizo and cheese are both cured and ride at ambient temperature for several days, but keep them out of direct sun. Pitas go on top of the food bag or they come out as crumbs.
Variations
- Swap the jarred peppers for a tablespoon of dried bell pepper flakes and rehydrate them with the potatoes. Saves the weight and the jar.
- No pita, no problem. Eat it out of the pot with a tortilla for scooping.
- A spoonful of tomato paste from a tube in with the paprika gets you closer to a Spanish hash.
https://camprecipes.com/chorizo-potato-breakfast-pitas