Dutch Oven Camp Potatoes
Sliced potatoes, bacon, and peas baked under coals until the cheese fuses it together.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 47
- protein
- 15 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 50 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.
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Bacon | 8 slices | |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 4 medium | russets or yukons, sliced thin |
| Onion | 1 | |
| Bell pepper | 1/2 | |
| Shredded cheddar | 1 cup | |
| Frozen green peas | 1 package | they go in still frozen |
Method
- Build a fire early and let it burn down. You want coals, not flame.
- Fry the bacon in the dutch oven until crisp. Pull it out and set it on the lid to cool, then crumble it.
- Slice the potatoes thin, about a coin's thickness. Thick slices will not cook through in 35 minutes. Chop the onion and the pepper.
- Layer everything back into the pot: potatoes, onion, pepper, peas, bacon, cheese on top. Leave the bacon grease in there.
- Lid on. Cook 35 minutes at 325 degrees. On a 12-inch oven that is roughly 11 coals under and 17 on the lid.
- Rotate the pot a third turn every ten minutes, and the lid the other way, or one side burns.
- Check a potato slice with a knife before you serve. If it fights back, give it another ten minutes.
This is a side dish that eats like a dinner, which is why it earns the fuel. The bacon grease is the cooking medium. Nothing else in the pot brings fat, and without it the potatoes stick and scorch before the middle softens.
The frozen peas do double duty. They go in still frozen and release enough water as they thaw to steam the potatoes, so no liquid gets added. Thin slices matter more than anything else here. Coal heat is uneven and 35 minutes is not long, so thickness decides whether this works.
Packing
Bacon, cheese, and peas ride in the cooler. Potatoes, onion, and pepper keep fine in a bag outside it. Slice the vegetables at home if you want to skip the cutting board in camp.
Variations
- Swap the bacon for a few tablespoons of oil and skip it entirely for a vegetarian version. You lose the fat, so be generous with the cheese.
- A 10-inch oven takes about three-quarters of everything, same temperature, same time.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/hearty_potatoes-1230.asp