Aussie Bush Damper with Grilled Bacon, Eggs and Smoky Beans

Aussie Bush Damper with Grilled Bacon, Eggs and Smoky Beans

Build a steady campfire and let it burn down to glowing coals; set a cast-iron camp oven or heavy skillet with a lid in the embers to heat.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 2 cups self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 60g cold butter, cubed
  • 3/4 cup milk, plus a splash more if needed
  • 8 rashers smoky bacon
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1 can (400g) baked beans
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • Butter, for serving
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Build a steady campfire and let it burn down to glowing coals; set a cast-iron camp oven or heavy skillet with a lid in the embers to heat.
  2. Rub the butter into the flour and salt with your fingertips until crumbly, then stir in the milk to form a soft, shaggy dough; shape into a round, dust with flour and score a cross on top.
  3. Bake the damper in the lidded camp oven, with a few coals on the lid, until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped, about 25 to 30 minutes.
  4. While the bread bakes, lay the bacon in a hot skillet over the coals and cook until crisp; lift out and keep warm.
  5. In the bacon fat, soften the onion with the smoked paprika, then tip in the baked beans and simmer at the edge of the fire until thick and glossy.
  6. Fry the eggs in the oil on the hottest part of the griddle until the whites are set and the edges lacy.
  7. Tear the warm damper into hunks, slather with butter, and serve with the bacon, beans and fried eggs.
  8. Damper is the bushman's bread of the Australian outback, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire by drovers and swagmen with nothing more than flour, water and a fire. Pairing it with grilled bacon, eggs and smoky beans turns that frontier staple into a proper camp breakfast - the kind that fuels a long morning on the trail and fills the campsite with the smell of woodsmoke and toasting bread.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

  • Calories: 610 kcal
  • Protein: 27g
  • Fat: 32g
  • Carbohydrates: 55g
  • Fiber: 7g
  • Sugar: 9g
  • Sodium: 1180mg

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