Skillet Breakfast Potatoes
Dehydrated hash browns, dried peppers and onion, oil, and a hot pan.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 3.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 149
- protein
- 8 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 22 min
- water
- 300 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
- Canister stove
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated hash brown potatoes | 1 cup | the shelf-stable carton kind, not frozen |
|---|---|---|
| Dried diced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried bell pepper flakes | 2 tbsp | green is cheapest, color makes no difference |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | a dropper bottle keeps it out of your pack |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Put the potatoes, onion, and pepper flakes in the pot and pour 300 ml of boiled water over them. Let them sit ten minutes with the lid on.
- Drain hard. Tip the pot and press the potatoes with your spoon until no more water runs out. Wet potatoes steam and never brown.
- Wipe the pot dry, add the oil, and set it over a low flame. Wait until the oil thins out and moves easily.
- Spread the potatoes in one layer and leave them alone for four minutes. Stir once, press flat, and give them another four.
- Add the salt, pepper, and garlic powder off the heat and stir. Salt early pulls water back out.
The oven version relies on dry heat and forty minutes of it. On a stove you have one small pot and a flame that only heats the middle, so the browning has to come from oil and patience instead. Fresh potatoes are also two pounds of water you carried up a hill, which is why this uses the dehydrated kind and the fresh onion and pepper became dried flakes.
The drain step is the one that decides how this turns out. Rehydrated potatoes hold far more water than they look like they do, and anything left in the pot boils off against the oil instead of crisping. Press them dry, then resist stirring. Contact time with hot metal is the only thing making a crust.
Packing
Potatoes, onion, pepper, and the seasonings go in one bag at home. Oil rides in its own bottle inside a second bag.
Variations
- Smoked paprika and red pepper flakes in the mix cost nothing and change the whole dish.
- A foil packet of bacon crumbles or a shelf-stable sausage stick fries in the same oil first.
- Stir in a scoop of powdered eggs at the end if you want this to be the whole meal.
https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/oven-roasted-hash-brown-recipe