Griddle Peameal Bacon and Eggs
Cornmeal-crusted back bacon browned hard, then eggs cooked in the fat it leaves behind.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 8 oz
- cal / oz
- 68
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 6 min
- cook
- 14 min
- total time
- 20 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
- Grill grate
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Peameal bacon | 6 oz | sliced thick, about 1/4 inch |
|---|---|---|
| Eggs | 4 large | hard-sided carrier, high in the cooler |
| Butter | 2 tbsp | |
| Maple syrup | 2 tbsp | decant into a small leakproof bottle |
| Black pepper | to taste |
Method
- Set a cast iron skillet on the grate over a bed of coals, not flames. You want steady medium heat, not a roar.
- Lay the bacon slices in dry. The cut is lean, so it needs the pan hot enough to color the cornmeal edge. Four to five minutes a side until golden.
- Move the cooked slices to a plate and cover them. Pull the skillet off direct heat for a minute to let it drop.
- Melt the butter in the pan and crack in the eggs. Cook gently until the whites set; hot cast iron will scorch the bottoms if you rush it.
- Plate the eggs on the bacon, spoon the syrup over, and grind pepper across the top. Eat now.
- Scrape the pan while it is still warm and wipe it out.
Peameal bacon is cured pork loin rolled in cornmeal, not belly, so it browns fast and gives up almost no fat. That drives the sequence: cook the meat first for the fond, then add butter for the eggs, because the pan will not give you enough grease on its own.
This one stays a cooler recipe. There is no shelf-stable swap for a fried egg that is worth writing down, and peameal keeps only a few days on ice. Cook it in the first day or two of the trip and eat every portion the morning it comes out of the pan.
Packing
Portion the bacon by breakfast into flat freezer bags and pack it on ice. Eggs go in a hard case near the top of the cooler. Syrup and pepper live in small bottles in the same bin so you are not hunting at dawn.
Variations
- Chop leftover bacon into a potato hash the next morning.
- Skip the syrup and hit the eggs with hot sauce instead.
- Swap the butter for oil if you are out; the pan fat is doing most of the work anyway.
https://camprecipes.com/canadian-campfire-peameal-bacon-and-eggs