Farmer's Skillet Camp Breakfast
Eggs, sausage, potatoes, and cheese baked in one cast iron pan over coals.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 27 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 35 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- 120 ml cold
- 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
- Dutch oven
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Eggs | 6 large | carry in a rigid egg case, or use 1 cup rehydrated whole egg powder |
|---|---|---|
| Bacon or bulk breakfast sausage | 1 lb | |
| Red onion | 1/2 large | chopped |
| Bell peppers | 1 red and 1 green | seeded and diced |
| Russet potatoes | 2 large | cubed small, about 1/2 inch |
| Shredded cheese | 1 cup | cheddar or jack |
| Evaporated milk | 1/2 cup | shelf-stable, no cooler space needed |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down to a solid bed of coals. You want steady heat, not flame.
- Beat the eggs with the evaporated milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl or a wide-mouth bottle. Set it aside.
- Set a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet on the grate. Cook the bacon or sausage until crisp, then lift it out and crumble it into the egg mixture.
- Cook the potatoes in the rendered fat first, covered, about 10 minutes. Add the onion and peppers and keep going until the potatoes take a fork.
- Level the vegetables, pour the egg mixture over, and scatter the cheese on top.
- Cover the skillet and shovel a shallow layer of coals onto the lid. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the center is set and no longer wet when you tilt the pan.
- Pull the coals off, lift the lid away from you, and let it sit five minutes before cutting.
The original was an oven recipe, which most camps do not have. A lidded cast iron skillet with coals piled on top is the same thing: heat from below, heat from above, eggs that set instead of scramble. That is the only real trick here.
Two shelf-stable swaps. Evaporated milk replaces fresh milk and holds indefinitely until the can is opened, and it is richer, so the custard sets firmer. Cook the potatoes fully before the eggs go in, because once the eggs are in the pan the heat is set by what the eggs need, and undercooked potato stays undercooked.
Packing
Cube the potatoes at home and cover them with cold water in a sealed jar so they do not brown; drain before cooking. Eggs and meat ride in the cooler, everything else in the food bin.
Variations
- Swap the fresh eggs for whole egg powder and the potatoes for dehydrated hash browns and the whole thing becomes shelf-stable.
- A can of diced green chiles added with the peppers is worth the weight.
- No lid? Cook it uncovered on low coals and finish the top by holding the skillet close to a hot rock or a second pan of coals.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/farmers-skillet