Dutch Oven Garlic Potatoes
Sliced potatoes layered with garlic salt and baked under coals until the cream sets.
- calories
- 310
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 34
- protein
- 6 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 60 min
- total time
- 75 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
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Potatoes | 6 medium | russets slice cleanest |
|---|---|---|
| Garlic salt | to taste | about 2 tsp total across the layers |
| Heavy cream | 1/2 pint | rides in the cooler; shelf-stable boxed cream also works |
Method
- Build your fire early and let it burn down to coals. You want steady heat, not flame.
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices, about the thickness of a coin. Thin matters more than even.
- Lay a shallow layer of slices across the bottom of a 12-inch dutch oven. Dust with garlic salt. Repeat until all the potatoes are in, seasoning each layer as you go.
- Pour the cream over the top. It does not need to cover the potatoes.
- Lid on. Set coals for baking at around 325 degrees: most on the lid, a ring underneath. Bake one hour.
- Check with a knife at 50 minutes. If it slides through the middle layer, it is done.
This is a coals recipe, not a stove recipe. The heat has to come from above as well as below, or the top layer stays raw while the bottom scorches. Most of your coals go on the lid.
The cream does the work. There is no water in this dish, so the potatoes steam in their own moisture and the cream reduces around them into something that holds the layers together. Slice thin and the hour is enough; slice thick and it is not. Season every layer, because garlic salt on top only seasons the top.
Packing
Potatoes travel loose in a paper bag, not plastic. Cream stays in the cooler until the coals are ready. A 10-inch oven takes about two thirds of everything at the same heat and time.
Variations
- Boxed shelf-stable cream or reconstituted powdered milk with a spoon of butter replaces the fridge run.
- A handful of shredded hard cheese on the top layer browns under the lid coals.
- Sliced onion between layers if you want something besides potato.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/garlic_potatoes-1315.asp