Mountain Man Potato and Bacon Hash
Bacon, spuds, and peppers in one pan over coals, with eggs finished on top.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 56
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 5, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 45 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
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Bacon | 1 lb | diced at home, kept cold |
|---|---|---|
| Potatoes | 4-6 medium | cut in half-inch cubes |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Yellow onion | 1, diced | |
| Red bell pepper | 1, diced | |
| Green bell pepper | 1, diced | |
| Garlic | 2 tbsp minced | jarred is fine |
| Jalapeno | 1, sliced | |
| Eggs | 4 | carried in a hard case |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Rake a flat bed of coals and set a cast iron skillet on it, or use a grill grate over the fire. Let the pan get hot before anything goes in.
- Cook the diced bacon about three to five minutes, until the fat has rendered but the meat is still soft. Lift it out and set it aside.
- Add the potatoes to the bacon fat with the olive oil. Stir every few minutes. Twelve to fifteen minutes gets you browned edges.
- Add the onion, both peppers, the jalapeno, and the garlic. Cook another ten minutes until everything is soft. Salt and pepper now.
- Stir the bacon back in and spread the hash flat. Crack the eggs over the top, spaced out.
- Cover with a lid, a second pan, or foil and cook until the whites set. Five minutes for runny yolks, longer if you want them firm.
This is a cooler breakfast, not a pack-weight breakfast, so it stays close to the original. The order matters more than anything else: bacon first because its fat is the cooking medium, potatoes second because they take the longest and want direct contact with the pan, vegetables last because they release water and will steam the potatoes soft if they go in early.
Eggs on top are the one part that gets fussy over a fire. Coals throw uneven heat, so cover the pan and let steam do the work instead of trying to fry them. If the pan runs hot, pull it off the coals entirely after the eggs go on. Residual heat in cast iron will finish them.
Packing
Cube the potatoes and dice the bacon, onion, and peppers at home and bag them separately. Potatoes hold better if you rinse the starch off and pat them dry. Eggs go in a rigid case near the top of the cooler.
Variations
- Swap the bacon for a summer sausage or precooked chorizo and skip the rendering step. You will need more oil.
- Add a bag of frozen hash browns instead of fresh potatoes. They thaw in the cooler and cut ten minutes off the cook.
- For a shelf-stable version, use freeze-dried potato dice, a foil pouch of bacon crumbles, and dried pepper flakes, then rehydrate with hot water.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/mountain-man-potato-bacon-hash