Eggs are versatile and easy for cooking delicious and nutritious meals while camping out. Eggs for breakfast are our main go-to although pancakes, french toast (both of which use eggs), and oatmeal vary our fare. Protein-rich foods including eggs with an average of 6-7 grams will help to satisfy hunger and maintain energy for strenuous outdoor activities.
Hard-boiled eggs make a great snack whole or you can slice and add to toast. I make them ahead before leaving for our trip, pack them in a ziplock and carry a picnic-style salt shaker with them. If I’m too busy to peel the eggs ahead, the ziplock can contain the shells until I can properly dispose of them.
Fragile – handle with care
Transporting eggs while camping requires a few simple precautions. We have the luxury of a truck camper refrigerator and carry our eggs in the carton they come in, packing items around the carton to keep it from sliding and banging inside the fridge.
Another easy solution is to break how many raw eggs you need per meal ahead of time into a ziplock bag. Zip that bag inside of a 2nd ziplock for extra assurance the bag does not leak and make a mess. Keep your eggs cold in an ice chest (but don’t freeze) if you don’t have some type of fridge. Raw eggs that have been cracked open will not keep for as long as eggs kept refrigerated in their shell.
Eggs…how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…..
How far would you go on an egg hunt in the desert?
No, I don’t mean Easter eggs….rather shopping for eggs to make breakfast became a quest while camping near Death Valley while exploring the ghost town of Rhyolite. We extended our camping trip before heading home and ran out of eggs thinking we could pick up more at the market stores in Death Valley – and ALL 3 stores, many long miles apart, were OUT or no longer sell eggs.
Pres wasn’t willing to settle for a breakfast of cold cereal and while at Panamint Springs Resort he popped into their café to see if the cook would sell us 4 eggs offering a buck apiece. To our delight, a gal holding a dozen freshly collected eggs was just delivering her bounty to the remote restaurant.
With the barkeep’s approval, she was more than happy to let us pick from her assortment of lovely brown and blue eggs while chuckling at our amazement to stumble upon such a treasure in the middle of nowhere! Those eggs made the most fluffy, beautiful yellow and delicious scrambled eggs the next morning as Pres cooked them on our truck camper stove.
But wait – the egg hunt continued as we were certain to be able to pick up a dozen at the grocery store on Main St. in the high desert town of Lone Pine, California. The Lone Pine Market has a fabulous produce department and a great assortment of almost everything to stock your camp kitchen – but you guessed it, they were completely sold OUT of eggs.
We had been chatting with the charming fellow stocking the produce area and enjoyed using our limited Spanish as he explained how to use piloncillo – a cone-shaped sugar cane product. When this kind soul saw our disappointed faces that the store had no more eggs, his face lit up as he excitedly told us he had eggs at his home nearby and would bring us some.
In a jiffy, this dear treasure of a man returned holding a carton with 6 beautiful brown eggs and flatly refused to let us pay him as it was a “regalo de mi corazon” – a gift from his heart.
Feeling tears well up from such an act of incredible kindness, I blew him a kiss as we both said, “God bless and muchas gracias!” Our adventure in egg hunting resulted in discovering the delightful treasure of human kindness. During these tumultuous times a simple act of kindness can make facing despairing news reports a bit lighter and our hearts more hopeful.
Favorite ways to cook eggs while camping
Eggs McMeyers
- Toast English muffins in a skillet or griddle with butter and set aside
- Place a cooked sausage patty or ham slice on the muffin
- Plop a fried egg on top
- Cover with a slice of your favorite cheese
- Add avocado slices if available
Eggs with frozen hash browns or potatoes O’Brien
- Buy frozen hash brown “patties” (like at Trader Joe’s) or a bag of O’Brien style potatoes with everything chopped and ready to pour in a skillet
- Drizzle olive oil in your pan/ griddle or spray with avocado oil
- Heat up the ready-made potatoes until thawed and slightly crisp
- Fry eggs and serve beside the potatoes or on top
- Don’t forget your ketchup and hot sauce lovers
Cowboy eggs – a favorite of our grandkids
- Use a biscuit cutter and cut the center out of your favorite bread for toast
- Butter both sides and toast in a skillet
- While toasting crack an egg into the hole in your bread
- Turn your toast and finish cooking the egg
- Serve and enjoy
Omelets or Scrambled eggs – if you have never mastered scrambling eggs check out these simple instructions.
- I like to cook my eggs in avocado oil or butter. Pres is usually the morning chef while we’re waiting for our coffee to finish percolating. If he wants to cook the green onions/ mushrooms or heat the chili/ or ham he adds a bit more oil and cooks them FIRST before adding in the eggs.
- Pres likes to whisk the eggs with a little milk in a bowl or measuring cup
- I like to add garlic, basil, dill, salt and pepper
- Once the eggs are cooking add in your favorite ingredients (see our list below), stir in to cook, turn off the fire, add your cheese to melt and cover with a lid for a couple of minutes.
Mix and match fav ingredients:
- Grated cheese
- Can of chopped Ortega style green chilis
- Can of chili (with or without beans)
- Chopped green onions
- Sliced mushrooms
- Chopped ham
- Roasted bell peppers (buy in a jar)
- Can of black beans (yummy with grated cheddar cheese)
- Sliced avocado
Wake up and smell the coffee
For me, no breakfast is complete without a great cup of Joe percolated on the camp stove. Check out our review for our favorite coffee percolator. Serve your eggs with sausage links or patties and toast, muffins or scones for a hearty breakfast. Bon appetit!
