Maple Bacon Sweet Potatoes in the Coals
Sliced sweet potatoes, bacon, and maple sugar, cooked in a foil packet at the fire's edge.
- calories
- 480
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 44
- protein
- 7 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 60 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
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Foil packet
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Sweet potatoes | 4 medium | they keep for a week unrefrigerated |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable bacon | 4 slices | precooked, sold unrefrigerated |
| Olive oil | 4 tbsp | stands in for the butter |
| Brown sugar | 3 tbsp | |
| Maple syrup | 2 tbsp | small squeeze bottle |
| Pecans | 1/2 cup | chopped at home |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp | |
| Nutmeg | 1/2 tsp | |
| Kosher salt | 1 tsp |
Method
- Build a fire and let it burn down. You want a bed of coals, not flames.
- Slice each sweet potato crosswise every quarter inch, stopping short of the bottom so it stays in one piece.
- Set each potato on a doubled square of foil. Drizzle with oil, work some into the cuts, and salt it.
- Close each packet loosely at the top. Set them on a grate over the coals, or nestle them directly in the edge of the coal bed.
- Cook 35 to 45 minutes, turning the packets once. A knife should slide in with no resistance.
- While they cook, stir the sugar, syrup, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and remaining oil together in a mug.
- Open the packets, spoon the maple mix over the tops so it runs into the slices, and crumble the bacon on.
- Reclose and give them five more minutes at the coals to melt everything down.
The original is an oven dish with a stick of butter and a cast iron pan. Neither travels well, so this runs in foil at the fire’s edge, and olive oil replaces the butter. Shelf-stable precooked bacon takes the place of raw bacon, which needs a cold box and a real pan to render.
The cuts matter more than the topping. Slicing most of the way through opens up the potato so heat gets to the middle and the sugar and oil run down into it instead of sitting on the skin. Cut all the way through and you have a pile of coins; leave it whole and it takes an hour.
Packing
Mix sugar, pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt into one bag at home. Potatoes are heavy and bulky; this is a car or boat meal, not a pack meal.
Variations
- Skip the bacon and it is vegan, assuming your syrup is real maple.
- No pecans in camp, no problem. The sugar and syrup do most of the work.
- Cube the potatoes instead of slicing if you want it done in 20 minutes.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/maple-bacon-hasselback-sweet-potatoes