Cowboy Egg-in-the-Hole French Toast
A slice of egg bread with a hole punched through it and an egg fried into the gap. One skillet, one flip.
- calories
- 470
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 85
- protein
- 13 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 7 min
- total time
- 10 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
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Real dishes
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Thick-sliced egg bread | 1 slice | brioche or challah, cut at least 3/4 inch |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large | rides in the cooler in a hard case |
| Butter | 1 tbsp | |
| Maple or pancake syrup | 2 tbsp | decant into a small squeeze bottle |
| Salt and pepper | a pinch each |
Method
- Cut a hole in the middle of the slice. A shot glass or the mouth of a wide water bottle works; keep the punched-out round.
- Melt the butter in a skillet over a bed of coals or a low stove flame. Medium heat, not high, or the bread scorches before the egg sets.
- Lay the bread down and crack the egg straight into the hole. Season it.
- Cook two to three minutes until the white is opaque and the underside of the bread is brown. Slide a spatula fully under the whole slice and flip in one motion.
- Another minute or two for a runny yolk, three for a firm one. Toast the punched-out round in the leftover butter alongside.
- Plate it and pour syrup over the bread, not the egg.
This is one slice of bread doing two jobs. The hole gives the egg a wall to set against, so it cooks flat and stays put through the flip instead of sliding around a bare skillet. Sweet egg bread is the right choice because it is dense enough to hold together when you turn it over, and enriched enough to brown fast.
Heat control is the whole game. Coals raked flat or a stove on low give the egg time to set while the bread browns. Rip-roaring heat gives you a black slice with raw white in the middle. Eggs and butter mean this one needs a cooler, so it belongs at a car camp or a basecamp, not in a pack.
Packing
Bread in a rigid container or it arrives as crumbs. Eggs in a hard-sided carrier in the cooler. Butter and syrup in small screw-top bottles.
Variations
- A slice of hard cheese laid on the bread just before the flip melts into the egg.
- Cook a strip of bacon first and use the fat instead of butter.
- No syrup, no sweet bread: same trick with sourdough is a savory breakfast.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/cowboy-french-toast