This is the type of breakfast I enjoy any time but I always thought it would be great at camp. Especially on a cold morning. I just didn't want to haul around what was needed to make it. I'm not fond of the idea of making big cooking gear adjustments based simply on the menu. I also don't usually know what's on the menu until the day before when I hit the store and what I get is determined by what I've already packed. Not the other way around.
Camp ovens are available and I'm sure there are some pretty good ones. They're just bulky and somewhat of a limited use item to haul around. A dutch oven seems to be the way to go but I don't like the weight. My 10" Lodge 4 quart dutch oven is 12 lbs. It wasn't something I wanted to permanently add to my kitchen box and it only got packed for Appalachian Rendezvous Camp Cooking Competition. A shame really if you've tried some of the meals people have cooked during the event. It wasn't until GSI came out with an aluminum dutch oven with a weight of 3 lbs (there's a hard anodized aluminum dutch oven too) that one finally became a permanent part of the camp kitchen.
Buttermilk Biscuits
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening (or your butter, etc.) and a little bit of the buttermilk to the center. Blend the shortening into the dough.
With the shortening and flour thoroughly blended mix in the rest of the buttermilk. The dough should be a little bit on the moist side.
On a large surface like a kitchen counter lay out some wax paper and sprinkle flour on it.
Roll out the dough to about a half inch thick. Lightly spread some of the remaining shortening on one half of the dough. Then fold the other half over to cover the shortening. Repeat this step 3 to 4 times. Spread a little bit of buttermilk over the dough before the fold if the dough looks like it's drying out. Do not roll out on the last fold.
Cut out your biscuits. You can freeze them for your trip.
In a kitchen oven. Bake them at 400°F for about 12 minutes until lightly brown.
On a camp stove. Place the biscuits on the pressure cooker rack inside the dutch oven and cover with the lid. Keep the heat on low and let the dutch oven wall, base and lid radiant heat cook the biscuits. This only took slightly longer than the kitchen stove. Roughly 15 minutes. Of course this will depend on the stove you use.
These are the dough scraps that I tested on the deck with my Partner Steel stove and the GSI Dutch Oven. It's not a uniform heat. These will cook from the bottom so while they may look nice on the top the bottoms were pretty close to carbon. Just beginning to brown is the color you want to look for. You can see that in the last 2 pics.
While the biscuits are cooking make the gravy.
Sausage Gravy
Melt the bacon fat in the pan or cook up a bunch of bacon prior. Add the sausage to the fat and cook breaking it up to be mixed into the gravy later.
You will need an empty bowl large enough for all the sausage on standby for the next step.
Once the sausage is cooked remove it from the heat. You want to separate the meat from the fat. I tilt the pan and press the sausage with a spatula to the high side letting the fat drain to the low side. With the pan still tilted and the fat on the low side. Scoop out the sausage and place it aside in the bowl.
Place the fat back on the heat. You want if hot enough that when a little bit of flour is added it sizzles. Roux for gravy is next.
Once the fat is hot enough. Begin adding flour stirring constantly. You want roughly a 1:1 ratio of fat and flour but it's better to be under and add then add too much. When the roux is ready it should have the consistency of baby food and have a light brown color (roux blond).
The next step calls for a little bit of judgement. You want about 1 tablespoon of roux per cup of broth and milk. If you get too much the gravy will be watery. You can fix that by boiling off the extra but that takes time.
Lower the temperature then gradually add the broth to your roux whisking to break up any lumps. Then add the milk. Bring the temperature back up and continue whisking. The gravy will begin to thicken when it comes to a boil.
Once the gravy begins to thicken you can add the sausage back in. Mix thoroughly and remove from the heat. Grab the biscuits and get ready for the food coma.
Thanks for the pics @Dave . Got busy and forgot to take some.
Camp ovens are available and I'm sure there are some pretty good ones. They're just bulky and somewhat of a limited use item to haul around. A dutch oven seems to be the way to go but I don't like the weight. My 10" Lodge 4 quart dutch oven is 12 lbs. It wasn't something I wanted to permanently add to my kitchen box and it only got packed for Appalachian Rendezvous Camp Cooking Competition. A shame really if you've tried some of the meals people have cooked during the event. It wasn't until GSI came out with an aluminum dutch oven with a weight of 3 lbs (there's a hard anodized aluminum dutch oven too) that one finally became a permanent part of the camp kitchen.
Buttermilk Biscuits
- 2 cups self rising flour (Bisquick)
- 1 cup buttermilk (you'll need a little extra if the dough begins to dry out)
- 4 room temperature tablespoons of eiher:
- Vegetable shortening
- Real butter
- Margarine
- Lard
- Reserve 2 tablespoons of shortening.
- Do not use a soft dairy spread.
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable shortening (or your butter, etc.) and a little bit of the buttermilk to the center. Blend the shortening into the dough.
With the shortening and flour thoroughly blended mix in the rest of the buttermilk. The dough should be a little bit on the moist side.
On a large surface like a kitchen counter lay out some wax paper and sprinkle flour on it.
Roll out the dough to about a half inch thick. Lightly spread some of the remaining shortening on one half of the dough. Then fold the other half over to cover the shortening. Repeat this step 3 to 4 times. Spread a little bit of buttermilk over the dough before the fold if the dough looks like it's drying out. Do not roll out on the last fold.
Cut out your biscuits. You can freeze them for your trip.
In a kitchen oven. Bake them at 400°F for about 12 minutes until lightly brown.
On a camp stove. Place the biscuits on the pressure cooker rack inside the dutch oven and cover with the lid. Keep the heat on low and let the dutch oven wall, base and lid radiant heat cook the biscuits. This only took slightly longer than the kitchen stove. Roughly 15 minutes. Of course this will depend on the stove you use.
These are the dough scraps that I tested on the deck with my Partner Steel stove and the GSI Dutch Oven. It's not a uniform heat. These will cook from the bottom so while they may look nice on the top the bottoms were pretty close to carbon. Just beginning to brown is the color you want to look for. You can see that in the last 2 pics.
While the biscuits are cooking make the gravy.
Sausage Gravy
- 1lb breakfast sausage (loose)
- 2 cup of chicken broth.
- 1 cup of milk
- About 3 tablespoons of flour (have extra)
- 2 tablespoons of bacon fat. (More or less depending on how much fat is in the sausage)
Melt the bacon fat in the pan or cook up a bunch of bacon prior. Add the sausage to the fat and cook breaking it up to be mixed into the gravy later.
You will need an empty bowl large enough for all the sausage on standby for the next step.
Once the sausage is cooked remove it from the heat. You want to separate the meat from the fat. I tilt the pan and press the sausage with a spatula to the high side letting the fat drain to the low side. With the pan still tilted and the fat on the low side. Scoop out the sausage and place it aside in the bowl.
Place the fat back on the heat. You want if hot enough that when a little bit of flour is added it sizzles. Roux for gravy is next.
Once the fat is hot enough. Begin adding flour stirring constantly. You want roughly a 1:1 ratio of fat and flour but it's better to be under and add then add too much. When the roux is ready it should have the consistency of baby food and have a light brown color (roux blond).
The next step calls for a little bit of judgement. You want about 1 tablespoon of roux per cup of broth and milk. If you get too much the gravy will be watery. You can fix that by boiling off the extra but that takes time.
Lower the temperature then gradually add the broth to your roux whisking to break up any lumps. Then add the milk. Bring the temperature back up and continue whisking. The gravy will begin to thicken when it comes to a boil.
Once the gravy begins to thicken you can add the sausage back in. Mix thoroughly and remove from the heat. Grab the biscuits and get ready for the food coma.
Thanks for the pics @Dave . Got busy and forgot to take some.
