The mountain where I became an outdoor cooking man

The Mountain where I became an outdoor cooking man

By John Hayden

It was early September in Southern California, where the weather is always perfect, but especially in early September. We met in the parking lot of our church building where we loaded up trucks with tents and sleeping bags as we prepared to head in to the mountains for an overnighter. I can still remember the trepidation of heading out with the group. We had just moved to the area a few months before and this would be my first time out with the group. I road with Paul Norris in his Ford Bronco 2 out on I-8 to the turn off for Sunrise Highway which climbs up Mt Laguna. I didn’t know it at the time but this would become one of my favorite places. We camped there often during the two years my family lived in the San Diego area. There is even an observatory there run by San Diego State University that I can remember going to with my Dad on one of these camping trips to watch a massive meteor shower. Even now writing this more than 20 years later my mind is flooded with memories of that campground.

More than anything I’m reminded of the meals we ate around those firepits. It was on that first camping trip that I began my journey cooking outside. The next morning Paul made Mountain Man Breakfast in a dutch oven. It was, and really still is, one of the best things I have ever eaten. It’s not a fancy meal but the way the bacon, sausage, onions, eggs, and hashbrowns took on the flavor of the campfire and charcoal and engulfed my taste buds had me hooked. That trip started me on a lifelong journey of cooking outside.

At 12 years old I begged my parents for a dutch over for Christmas. It was all that I wanted and early that Christmas morning I got my first 10 quart Lodge dutch oven. I think it was even that next morning that I got up and started charcoal on our patio, yes my parents were thrilled, to make Mountain Man Breakfast. It was NOT what I had remembered or dreamt it would be. The flavors weren’t quite the same cooking with just charcoal in the suburbs of San Diego. I was just starting to learn about the impact of the environment you cook in and all the things that could impact the flavor of a meal.

It was a few weeks later we headed out on another camping trip. As camp got setup I got started on dinner with my trusty dutch oven. There was still some firewood from the last group in the firewood as I started the charcoal going. That firewood started to smoke a bit as the charcoal rubbed up against it. Being that it was January it was starting to get cold, yes even in California it gets cold in the mountains. We started a fire off to the side in the pit so folks could warm up and, as a result that unmistakable sent of piney smoke started to fill the area. That smoked sent along with the flavor of the best BBQ Beef, which I now realize was basically sloppy joes reaffirmed my love for cooking outdoors.

Over the next few years I continued to camp, a lot, and eat, even more, amazing food outside. At home I’d try to fake it the atmosphere of camping by burning some firewood while cooking but I never managed to get it right. Something about the floral sent of my mom’s buganvillas always seemed to get in the way. For years I would run off to the woods any chance I got to relive the experience of eating and cooking in the outdoors. As I grew up I time got shorter and trips to the hills got less frequent. While it’s still my favorite place to cook, other ways have come along making it easier to accomplish than before. But those are the topic for another day!

Recipe

Mountain Man Breakfast

Ingredients: (8 servings)

1 pound  bacon

1 package breakfast sausage

1 can diced green chilies

1  medium onion

2 1½-pound bag of hash brown potatoes

½ pound  grated cheddar

1 dozen  eggs

1 small jar  salsa (optional)

Procedure:

The following requires 6-9 bottom coals and 12-15 top coals:

Pre-heat Dutch oven.  Slice bacon, onion and sausage into small pieces and brown in the bottom of the Dutch oven until onions are clear.  Add in green chilies

Stir in the hash brown potatoes and cover; remove cover and stir occasionally to brown and heat potatoes (15-20 minutes).

Scramble the eggs in a separate container and pour the mixture over the hash browns.

Cover and cook until eggs start to set.(10-15 minutes).

Sprinkle grated cheese over egg mixture, cover and continue heating until eggs are completely set and cheese is melted.

Optional (should read required): Cover cheese/egg mixture with a small jar (1 cup) of SALSA.  Cover and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Slice and server like quiche. (Real men don’t eat quiche but I sure get lots of requests to cook up the Mountain Man.)

Cooking times will vary with the weather and your state of awake but its almost impossible to mess up.