I never bother with an extravegant breakfast on the playa, this year I think I want to. What experieince to people have with how long eggs will last in a well ice-stocked cooler. What about bacon, anyone try freezing it?
Damnit, now I'm hungry.
Breakfast?
About a month or more, I know some people who sail and who say that they just keep the eggs in a cool part of the boat for several weeks. Don't crack them when they start to float. Regular bacon I don't know, some places you can find canned bacon and my grandfather used to buy smoked bacon that he would hang in the pantry (you have to slice it yourself).how long eggs will last in a well ice-stocked cooler
My grandfather tried to raise me as a Southern gentleman, that means that I can be a real SOB some of the time.
Eggs are fine as long as you keep the ice fresh and don't drop a case of beer on top of them. As a general rule, I would recommend physically protecting them AND keeping them in a ziplock bag. I'm against casual raw meat usage on the Playa, so either precook the bacon or watch ice levels very carefully.
Pre-shelled hard boiled eggs are quite tasty in the morning, so if you aren't sure you'll be up for cooking that might be an option.
Pre-shelled hard boiled eggs are quite tasty in the morning, so if you aren't sure you'll be up for cooking that might be an option.
I don't eat meat either, but I have this tip (from a fellow campmate that does).
Freeze the bacon and put in a ziplock bag in your dry ice cooler. If it's still frozen say the night before you want to use it (yes this does take some pre-planning) put in your regular ice chest.
Also, you don't need to defrost it enough to pull the strips of bacon apart, just throw the whole slab o' bacon into the frying pan and it will come apart. I didn't believe it until I saw it.
Freeze the bacon and put in a ziplock bag in your dry ice cooler. If it's still frozen say the night before you want to use it (yes this does take some pre-planning) put in your regular ice chest.
Also, you don't need to defrost it enough to pull the strips of bacon apart, just throw the whole slab o' bacon into the frying pan and it will come apart. I didn't believe it until I saw it.
-
diane o'thirst
- Posts: 2092
- Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 5:04 pm
- Location: Eugene, OR
- Contact:
Didn't really like the Costco bacon, it was a little too salty for my taste. Then again, bacon is generally salty.
On eggs: you can keep eggs in oil in a terracotta pot, <i><b>so long as the pot stays relatively cool.</i></b> Personally haven't tried it. The key to egg spoilage is air: keep them away from air and they'll last a surprisingly long time.
On butter: you can make your own ghee, but it's time intensive. You melt butter and skim off the milk solids (the white stuff that floats to the top). It's room-temp stable, though: no refrigeration required.
Every year, I've had Krusteaz pancakes which you can have no end of fun with. I've heard of camps that do nothing except pancake breakfasts. In 2001, we had pancakes with fresh organic fruit toppings every morning. I also have a number of samples from Amoretti which I like to mix in with Malt-o-Meal — porridge ain't too much fun by itself but grace it with Bigelow orange honey spread and rosewater or raspberry essence raisins and we're talking decadence
Another note to consider from Costco: my local warehouse sold 15-count cases of Horizon organic chocolate milk cartons, shelf-stable, for about $13 last year. It's chocolate milk but I'm looking into getting the non-chocolate as well as another of the chocolate variety (one case for myself, one to gift out). Saves a little more room in the cooler for good things like scallions, mushrooms, peaches, blueberries, jicama, wine, gianduja, yoghurt, mozzarella di bufala...
On eggs: you can keep eggs in oil in a terracotta pot, <i><b>so long as the pot stays relatively cool.</i></b> Personally haven't tried it. The key to egg spoilage is air: keep them away from air and they'll last a surprisingly long time.
On butter: you can make your own ghee, but it's time intensive. You melt butter and skim off the milk solids (the white stuff that floats to the top). It's room-temp stable, though: no refrigeration required.
Every year, I've had Krusteaz pancakes which you can have no end of fun with. I've heard of camps that do nothing except pancake breakfasts. In 2001, we had pancakes with fresh organic fruit toppings every morning. I also have a number of samples from Amoretti which I like to mix in with Malt-o-Meal — porridge ain't too much fun by itself but grace it with Bigelow orange honey spread and rosewater or raspberry essence raisins and we're talking decadence
Another note to consider from Costco: my local warehouse sold 15-count cases of Horizon organic chocolate milk cartons, shelf-stable, for about $13 last year. It's chocolate milk but I'm looking into getting the non-chocolate as well as another of the chocolate variety (one case for myself, one to gift out). Saves a little more room in the cooler for good things like scallions, mushrooms, peaches, blueberries, jicama, wine, gianduja, yoghurt, mozzarella di bufala...
[url=http://tinyurl.com/245sagf][img]http://tinyurl.com/2bbr28j/.gif[/img][/url][url=http://tinyurl.com/23753ws][img]http://tinyurl.com/2auqebj/.gif[/img][/url][url=http://tinyurl.com/m4y82q][img]http://tinyurl.com/l56rdn/.gif[/img][/url]
If you are going to scramble or "omelette" the eggs, I reccomend precracking them into ziplock bags then you don't have to deal with shells or breakage on the playa. I'd double bag them for maximum non-leakage. I've kept eggs, well iced several days (4-5) on the playa without problem. I've switched to the carton style "better than eggs" stuff though the last few years since it's just more convenient. I freeze the cartons and then keep the cartons in ziplocks just to ensure no leakage.
I like the pre-cooked, shelf stable bacon -- although I do keep it in the cooler. I must say that the bacon fanatics in my group don't love the shelf stable stuff though.
Cooky
I like the pre-cooked, shelf stable bacon -- although I do keep it in the cooler. I must say that the bacon fanatics in my group don't love the shelf stable stuff though.
Cooky
eggs
I've heard that eggshells burn pretty well in the fire. Why not just add them to your burnable trash?Cooky wrote:If you are going to scramble or "omelette" the eggs, I reccomend precracking them into ziplock bags then you don't have to deal with shells or breakage on the playa. I'd double bag them for maximum non-leakage. I've kept eggs, well iced several days (4-5) on the playa without problem. I've switched to the carton style "better than eggs" stuff though the last few years since it's just more convenient. I freeze the cartons and then keep the cartons in ziplocks just to ensure no leakage.
I like the pre-cooked, shelf stable bacon -- although I do keep it in the cooler. I must say that the bacon fanatics in my group don't love the shelf stable stuff though.
Cooky
Do the "better than eggs" stuff contain milk products? I was under the impression that they did.
Icepack
[email protected]
[email protected]
I'm a big fan of the egg-product-in-a-carton option too. You can freeze them to help keep your cooler chilled, they won't crack, and squares are easier for me to fit together when I'm trying to maximize cooler storage.
Pancakes can be amazingly simple. Just pre-measure pancake mix into a liquid-friendly container with lid. Mark on the side how much water is needed to mix in. On pancake morning, add the water, shake the container, and pour the batter onto the grill.
Pancakes can be amazingly simple. Just pre-measure pancake mix into a liquid-friendly container with lid. Mark on the side how much water is needed to mix in. On pancake morning, add the water, shake the container, and pour the batter onto the grill.