Smashed Potatoes with Hot Bacon Dressing
Boil, smash, crisp over the fire, then pour bacon fat and vinegar over the whole pan.
- calories
- 480
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 53
- protein
- 13 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 60 min
- water
- 2000 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.
- Dinner
- Breakfast
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Red potatoes | 1 1/2 lb | small ones, so they cook through fast |
|---|---|---|
| Bacon | 8 oz | thick cut holds up to the fire |
| Red wine vinegar | 1/4 cup | |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Dijon mustard | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic | 2 cloves | minced, or 1 tsp granulated |
| Honey | 1 tbsp | |
| Salt | 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp | the tablespoon goes in the boiling water |
| Black pepper | 1 1/4 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp |
Method
- Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with water by an inch, and set it on the grate. Once it boils, add the tablespoon of salt and pull the pot to a cooler spot so it simmers.
- Simmer 12 to 15 minutes. A fork should go in with no argument. Drain the water off and keep it if you want a warm rinse for dishes later.
- Wipe the pot, set it back over the fire, and cook the bacon until crisp. Pull the bacon out and pour off the grease into a mug. You need 2 tbsp of it later.
- Lay the potatoes in the pot or in a skillet on the grate, press each one flat with the bottom of a mug, and season with the remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Crisp both sides, 6 to 8 minutes each, moving the pan if the fire runs hot.
- Whisk the vinegar, olive oil, reserved bacon grease, mustard, garlic, and honey in the mug while it is still warm. It will not stay mixed for long, so make it last.
- Pour it over the potatoes, crumble the bacon on top, and serve straight out of the pan.
Camp cooking usually fails at potatoes because people try to do the whole thing over flame. Boiling first is the fix. The simmer cooks the inside where the fire cannot reach, and the smash gives you flat faces that go crisp in a few minutes instead of twenty.
The dressing exists because bacon grease is a free ingredient you already made. Vinegar and mustard cut it, honey rounds it off, and pouring it on warm means it soaks in rather than sitting on top. Everything but the potatoes and bacon is shelf-stable, so the cooler only has one job.
Packing
Potatoes travel loose in a mesh bag. Bacon stays in the cooler. Vinegar, oil, mustard, and honey go in small squeeze bottles; measure them at home so camp is pouring, not spooning.
Variations
- Fry an egg in the leftover bacon fat and put it on top for breakfast.
- No fire pit: a two-burner stove does this fine, one burner for the boil and one for the crisping.
- Swap the bacon for a can of drained white beans and use olive oil in place of the grease. That version is vegan; skip the honey or use maple syrup.
https://www.lodgecastiron.com/blogs/recipe/grilled-smashed-potatoes-with-warm-bacon-vinaigrette