Overnight Sausage and Egg Camp Casserole
Dutch oven breakfast built on powdered eggs and bread that has already gone stale.
- calories
- 390
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 87
- protein
- 19 g
- serves
- 8, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 50 min
- total time
- 65 min
- water
- 700 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| White sandwich bread | 8 slices | day-old is better than fresh |
|---|---|---|
| Shelf-stable summer sausage or precooked pork sausage crumbles | 12 oz | vacuum packed |
| Whole egg powder | 1 1/2 cups | equivalent to about 12 eggs |
| Whole milk powder | 3/4 cup | |
| Colby jack cheese | 8 oz | block, not shredded; shredded dries out |
| Dried onion flakes | 1/4 cup | |
| Dried red bell pepper | 1/4 cup | |
| Canned diced green chiles | 4 oz can | |
| Kosher salt | 1 1/2 tsp | |
| Paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Dry mustard | 1/2 tsp | |
| Ground black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Oil or butter for the pot | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Night before: pour 1 cup of hot water over the onion flakes and dried bell pepper in a cup. Let them sit ten minutes, then drain off anything left.
- Grease a 12-inch dutch oven. Line the bottom with the bread, torn to fit. Grate or chop the cheese over it, then scatter the sausage, rehydrated vegetables, and the drained chiles.
- Whisk the egg powder, milk powder, salt, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, dry mustard, and black pepper into about 600 ml of cool water until no lumps remain. Pour it evenly over the pot.
- Lid on. Leave it in the cooler overnight, or at least four hours in cold weather.
- Morning: bake at roughly 350°F, about 8 coals under and 16 on the lid, for 45 to 55 minutes. Rotate the pot and the lid a quarter turn every 15 minutes.
- It is done when the middle no longer jiggles and a knife comes out clean. Pull the coals off and let it sit 10 minutes before cutting.
This is the standard make-ahead brunch casserole with the refrigerator taken out of it. Fresh eggs and a half gallon of milk are the two things that fail first in a cooler, so both come from powder here, mixed to the same ratio the original used. Powdered egg sets a little firmer than fresh, which is an advantage in a dutch oven where the edges cook faster than the middle.
The overnight soak is not optional. Dry bread needs hours to absorb the custard, and skipping it leaves you with a wet layer under a browned top. Onion and bell pepper get rehydrated and drained first so they do not release water into the eggs. Cheese still has to ride in the cooler, so this one stays a car camping or basecamp recipe.
Packing
Combine egg powder, milk powder, and all the spices in one quart bag at home so the morning is one pour. Bread, sausage, and the chile can travel in the food bin; the cheese goes in the cooler.
Variations
- Swap the chiles for a small jar of salsa, drained.
- Freeze-dried mushrooms or spinach rehydrate alongside the onion and pepper.
- No dutch oven: bake it in a foil pan inside a covered kettle grill over indirect coals.
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/overnight-sausage-and-egg-breakfast-casserole