Are you looking for a hearty breakfast idea for your next camping trip? This Mountain Man Dutch Oven Breakfast needs to be added to your list. Keep reading and I will tell you why!
What Makes This The Perfect Dutch Oven Breakfast For Camping?
Something that I love about this dutch oven breakfast is how hearty it is. This meal will keep you going for a long time, no matter what your adventures are for the day. It's super delicious, and a meal my family loves and you will too.
This breakfast is also super simple to make in the dutch oven. Everything is prepped ahead of time, so you don't have to waste a lot of time getting it ready in the morning.
All you have to do is throw it into the dutch oven and bake it. Cleaning is also really quick if you use a disposable pan, which I will explain later.
Ingredients
- Eggs
- Sausage, bacon, or other breakfast meat
- Hashbrowns or tater tots
- Veggies
- Cheese
What Do You Need?
- Dutch oven
- Heat Proof Gloves- optional, but very handy
- Lid lifter- Again, optional, but very handy
- Shovel or tongs to move coals around
How Do You Make The Mountain Man Dutch Oven Breakfast?
- Start your heat source- it doesn't matter if it is wood or charcoal, both work really well. They do take time to start, so make sure and start them early. I will discuss this later on in the post.
- I used a disposable pan for baking this breakfast. Honestly, eggs are the worst to clean out of a dutch oven!
- Layer the bottom of your pan with the tater tots or hashbrowns.
- Add in your eggs, veggies, and sausage.
- Place your pan in the dutch oven and put the lid on top.
- If your coals are ready to go, spread about 20 briquets in a round circle the size of your dutch oven.
- Set the dutch oven on the coals, and then place another 20 on the top of the dutch oven.
- Bake for about 15-30 minutes, depending on how hot your coals are.
- To check the breakfast, carefully lift the lid off the dutch oven. With a fork, test the center to see if it has cooked all the way through.
- Sit back and enjoy!
Other Ingredient Ideas
If you don't like sausage or are looking to change this recipe up, there are plenty of other meat options. We love to use bacon, chorizo, or ham, but any other breakfast meats would be delicious in this recipe.
You can also add any vegetables you would like. Onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and zucchini are all super tasty in this recipe.
If you aren't into tater tots and hashbrowns, you can easily switch those out. Baked or boiled potatoes would be super tasty in this recipe as well.
How Does Cooking In A Dutch Oven Work?
In this case, it works like an oven. Just as you would bake a breakfast casserole in the oven, we are baking it in the dutch oven.
With the coals spread across the top and bottom, you have even and consistent heat. If you haven't used a dutch oven before, you will be surprised at how well it bakes.
As a note, if your oven is heating too fast, remove some coals. If it isn't as hot as you want, add more. It is a simple adjustment.
Dutch Oven Recommendations
The 2 brands I use more than any other are Lodge Cast Iron and Camp Chef. They are brands I have used many times, I trust them, and they come at a decent price. Both these brands are also easy to find at most major stores and of course sporting goods stores.
The size of the dutch oven depends on how many people you are feeding. I only have 2 children, my hubby, and I. But...I have 2 teenage boys, so I generally plan pretty big meals. The 12-14-inch dutch oven works well.
- Here are some Lodge Dutch Ovens, I have the 10 and 12 quart. These are nice with the feet on them and the flat top. They are perfect for stacking if you are cooking multiple things at one time.
- I also use skillets for sauteeing over the open fire as well.
- If you are looking for a less expensive option, Camp Chef also makes a great Dutch Oven. I use the 14-inch classic in Camp Chef.
Charcoal Or Wood?
I have used both and like both. Let me explain a few differences.
Wood- This is my standby. We generally keep a fire going when we are camping unless it is too hot. I mean come on, a campsite needs a fire. Because we already have it started, we always have plenty of hot coals to use.
Depending on the type of wood you are burning, wood charcoal is a great heat source that holds the heat well.
Charcoal Briquets are easier to use. You start them in a chimney, more on that further down. Then you put on a certain number of briquets and under the pan to achieve the heat you want.
If you use charcoal, I recommend the quick light. I never use this when cooking food directly over charcoal, but I love it for dutch ovens.
While charcoal is simple to use, it is just one more thing to pack, so I don't always use it.
The choice really is personal, as both work well for cooking in dutch ovens.
Starting Charcoal In The Chimney
Charcoal is the perfect way to cook dutch oven meals, but for a first-timer, it might seem a little daunting to get the perfect coals for cooking. A chimney is a great way to do this, and easy to use.
To start, fill the top of the chimney with however many briquets you need for the recipe (In this case, 30-40). I used quick-light charcoal for mine, so you just light to it with a lighter. Then let it heat for about 10 minutes and the charcoal will be ready to go.
If you used regular charcoal, the process is a little different. Add paper or something that will light easily into the bottom of the chimney. Add the charcoal on top.
Now, light the chimney from the bottom with your lighter. I have torches I use as it is really quick. Once the paper catches on fire, it will start burning the charcoal on the bottom. From here, the other charcoal will also heat.
It will be ready in about 15 minutes.
How To Care For And Clean Dutch Ovens
Keeping your dutch ovens in good condition is very important. This isn't hard, but you do need to clean them right away.
One important thing to stay away from when taking care of your dutch oven pans is to not let them soak in water. When washing it, rinse with warm water and then scrape off any dirt or food with a plastic scraper. After this, let it dry completely with paper towels or cloth towels. When it is totally dry put a little bit of grapeseed oil in it and wipe the whole interior of the pan with that.
Be careful when you are cleaning not to take off the seasoning. Stay away from metal scrapers that will take too many layers off your pan, I use a plastic spatula.
FAQ Dutch Oven Cooking
You sure can. When I said they were versatile, I meant it! This recipe should be cooked over coals though, as you want this to work like an oven.
Yes, I always do this to conserve on coals.
Mine sit out on a shelf in our garage. They are sturdy and don't need pampering. The most important thing to remember is to keep them away from moisture. That is the one thing that will give you problems.
Other Dutch Oven Recipes
- Campfire Nachos
- Dutch Oven Hash with ham
- Ham and Cheese Pull-Apart Sandwiches
- Cheesy garlic pull-apart bread
- Dutch Oven Chili and Cornbread
- Brookie Dutch Oven Style
Mountain Man Dutch Oven Breakfast
Equipment
- dutch oven
- small bowl
- disposable 10-inch round pan, I couldn't find one, so I bought a square on and squished it in.
- 40-50 coals if using briquets
Ingredients
- 1 pound tater tots or hashbrowns
- 4 ounces ground breakfast sausage, cooked. or other breakfast meat of course. I precook mine at home and chill it. Then at the campsite, I just add it, no extra time and fuel for this.
- 12-16 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup grated cheese
Instructions
- Start your charcoal or wood for cooking. This takes awhile to heat it, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to start it.
- I used a disposable pan. If you don't want to do this, place the ingredients right in the dutch oven.
- line the bottom with your tater tots or hashbrowns.
- Add your sausage on top.
- Mix your eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Pour it over the hashbrowns and sausage.
- Top it with cheese.
- Place your pan into the dutch oven. The cover with the lid.
- Add 20 coals to the bottom of the fire pit. Spread them evenly to the size of your dutch oven.
- Place the dutch oven directly on the coals.
- Then add the remaining 20 coals on top.
- Let this cook for about 25 minutes and check.
- If it needs to continue cooking, replace the lid and add more coals as needed.
- When it is done, remove from the fire.
- Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it!