Three Things You Need to Make the Perfect Camp Breakfast

Camp cooking is somewhat of an art. When the right person in camp does the cooking, the meal can seem like one of the best you have ever tasted. Breakfast is no exception, as a great camp breakfast will rank right up there with your favorite breakfast restaurant or omelet bar. If you want to cook the perfect camp meal to start the day, here are three things you’ll need to make it happen.

Camp Stove

Nothing is quite as important to a great camp breakfast than just the right camp stove. If you’re happy with instant breakfast that can be made by adding some freeze-dried ingredients to a pan of boiling water, a tiny, backpacking-type stove will be fine for your purposes. But if you want to cook a really nice breakfast, replete with eggs, hash browns, and bacon or sausage, you’re going to need a larger stove that will handle a couple of pots and/or pans at the same time. Some things to consider when shopping for camp stoves include the number of burners, cooking power (typically measured in BTUs), and run time on a single propane cylinder. Run time is important because stoves that burn more gas require you to haul more gas cylinders to camp. You don’t want to end up eating cold food the last day or two.

Cast Iron Skillet

A good cast iron frying pan or skillet is one of the most versatile pieces of cooking equipment you can own. That goes double if you enjoy cooking in camp. With a good, pre-seasoned skillet, you can cook virtually every ingredient that comprises a good camp breakfast, from fried eggs and potatoes to bacon, biscuits, and more. A skillet with a top is more versatile than one without, although that’s not necessarily a deal breaker. One note of caution: be sure to get a heat-resistant silicon holder for your cast iron skillet. Those dirty rags you typically use to grab hot things in camp likely won’t offer much protection when grabbing a hot cast iron handle.

Cooler

Another key piece of gear for making a great camp breakfast is a good cooler. Depending on how long you intend to camp, you might need one that keeps ice frozen and food cold for several days. If that’s the case, you’ll need one of the newer rotomolded coolers, instead of the old camping ice chests your father and grandfather used decades ago. The process used to make rotomolded coolers increases the insulation power of the coolers since there is no air between layers of interior and exterior plastic. Many such coolers will not only keep your food cold for a good, long time, they’re also nearly indestructible.

Written by The Editors for Field & Stream and legally licensed through the Matcha publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@getmatcha.com.