There comes a point on every winter trip when the sandwich rotation starts to feel like a punishment. Cold bread, cold meat, cold everything. This hash is the cure: one skillet, one burner, and twenty minutes to a plate of crispy beef mince, sweet potato and a fried egg that makes the blokes in the next campsite walk over to ask what's cooking.
It earns its spot in the camp menu because it forgives everything. The sweet potato can be pre-chopped at home, the mince can live in the Engel for a week, and if the egg splits, nobody cares. It is a lunch you can cook in the dark, in the rain, or while half your attention is on the kids.
What you need
Ingredients
- 500 g beef mince
- 1 large sweet potato (about 400 g), diced into 1 cm cubes
- 1 brown onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 eggs
- Hot sauce or tomato sauce, to serve
- Optional: 1 capsicum, diced, and a handful of baby spinach at the end
Gear
- Cast-iron skillet or heavy frypan with a lid
- Camp gas stove or hotplate
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Enamel plates and forks
- Esky or 12V fridge for the mince and eggs
How to make it
- Get the burner going on medium-high and add the olive oil to the skillet. When the oil shimmers, add the sweet potato cubes in a single layer.
- Leave them alone for 3-4 minutes to develop a golden crust on the first side, then stir and cook for another 4-5 minutes until they are nearly tender and bronzed at the edges.
- Push the sweet potato to one side of the pan and add the diced onion. Cook for 2 minutes until it softens, then add the beef mince.
- Break the mince up with the spoon and let it brown properly — resist stirring constantly. You want some colour, not grey steam. Cook for 5-6 minutes until browned.
- Stir in the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. If you are using capsicum, add it now and cook for 2 minutes.
- Fold everything together, flatten the hash into an even layer and make four shallow wells in the surface.
- Crack an egg into each well, season lightly, then pop the lid on and turn the heat down to medium-low.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes until the whites are set but the yolks are still runny. If you like your eggs firmer, give it an extra minute.
- Slide the whole skillet onto the table (protect the surface with a folded tea towel). Sprinkle with baby spinach if using, and serve straight from the pan with hot sauce.
Camp tips
- Prep at home: dice the sweet potato and onion the night before, seal in a container or ziplock bag, and they will keep in the Engel for days. Mince stays good at fridge temperature for up to 5 days.
- Swap the sweet potato for regular spuds, pumpkin or even parsnips — whatever is in the bottom of the fridge. Cooking times stay about the same for 1 cm cubes.
- No eggs on hand? Serve the hash with a squeeze of tomato sauce and call it done. The fried egg is a bonus, not a requirement.
- Use a lid if you have one. Steam sets the eggs evenly without flipping anything, and it cuts the cook time by a couple of minutes.
- Leftovers reheat beautifully. Warmed in the skillet with a splash of water the next morning, it becomes a breakfast hash — just add another egg.
- Pairs well with grilled damper or a slab of toast, and a pot of billy tea.
The verdict
This is the kind of lunch that keeps winter trips moving — filling, fast and built from ingredients you can buy in any decent regional town. The only real requirement is a skillet and a burner that behaves itself. If you are running your camp kitchen off a 12V setup, a solid power supply and a good fridge make meals like this easy to pull together even on multi-day trips — check out the 12V Accessories collection for the bits that keep your camp kitchen running. Cook it once and it will earn a permanent spot in the menu plan.
