The sun is rising over the cool waters of the gulf as the first fire of the day is prepared. First up, campfire coffee. It’s amazing how perfect and satisfying cheap, pre-ground coffee can be when prepared in a percolator over a fire. Whether we’d drink it at home over our whole bean, Starbucks, we’re not so sure, but at 6:30 am, when we’re far from civilization a 30 minute ferry ride from civilization, it can’t be beat.

This past weekend was spent enjoying the aqua blue waters of Cayo Costa, a small island on the west coast of Florida. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect and the waters were crystal clear; perfect for a day out fishing from the kayak or shelling on the beach.

As is tradition, breakfast burritos are in order. To ensure happy campers, we continued with the tradition. Twice. Breakfast burritos, although complex in flavor (think smoky, savory, crispy, chewy, cheesy, and spicy), are pretty simple to prepare. You can precook most of the ingredients and throw them together once you get the campfire started. On a side note: you don’t technically have to be camping to prepare breakfast burritos. You can also easily grill these in a slightly greased pan stove top. Just make sure to crisp all four sides of your burrito.

Step 1: Gather ingredients and cookware.

You’re gonna need:

Tortilla shells

Eggs

Onions & Peppers

Pulled Pork (or sausage, brisket, bacon, whatever leftovers you had from yesterday or frozen from last cookout)

Cheese

Sour Cream

Hot Sauce (Tabasco Chipotle or Tobasco Jalepeno are our goto’s)

Additional toppings (e.g., leftover guacamole, cilantro, sautéed mushrooms)

Tongs

Campfire

Step 1: Make the coffee.

What else did you expect?

Step 2: Start warming up the veggies.

I caramelized these a few days before we left and put them in a ziplock bag. Less hassle for the campsite. I used 1 large Yellow onion, 2 Poblano peppers, and about 6 Red Fresno chilies, all sliced and seeded.

Wrap all those up in an aluminum foil packet and set it off to the side over your fire. You don’t want this to get too hot, just warm up throughout.

Step 3: Cook your meat.

We had some leftover smoked pork from a cookout earlier in the month. Whenever we have leftover meats, I seal it up and save it in the freezer. (Never know when the camping bug will hit). Slice the pork up into big chunks and toss it in the skillet over direct heat. Be sure not to empty or wipe out any of that delicious grease out. Smoked pork fat makes for a great seasoning for the eggs, while ensuring for an easier cleanup later. After the pork warmed throughout, I pulled it apart with tongs and let it go until it started getting nice and crispy.

Step 4: Cook your eggs.

Since we had 6 people, I kept this batch pretty simple and scrambled the eggs. (If you are feeling adventurous, the best way is to cook them is over easy so that yolk is nice and runny in the burrito). Scramble the eggs (about 2 per person) in the skillet and put it over a decently hot section of your fire. Every once in a while give it a nice fold to move everything around.

Step 5: Burrito Assembly.

So this is probably the most important step. Make sure you get just the right amount of everything you want in your burrito. You can skip some things or add some more, we won’t judge, but it is VERY important not to over stuff your burrito.

Burrito folding is one of those learned skills that take a little bit to master, so no worries if you mess a few up along the way. If it starts to fall apart on you, just change the recipe to “Campfire Burrito Bowls” and no one will know a difference.

Step 6: Wrap it in foil.

The trick to a correctly wrapped burrito is to have as little air as possible between your aluminum foil and your burrito. If your burrito is rolled too loosely, the foil acts as insulation and you’ll be waiting forever until you get that nice golden color of crispiness. Also, make sure your foil is nice and flat and not crinkly. Roll up your burrito gently and twist up the ends to make handles for flipping.

Step 7: Wait for it.

This is the hard part… (waiting for breakfast burritos is quite grueling to the hungry. Some take their burritos off prematurely, because the wait is too intense). Depending on how hot your fire is, it may take 10-15 mins before the burrito shell gets toasted all around. Every so often feel the outside of the burrito. This can be done with tongs or you’re at the risk of a finger or two. Flip your burrito every 5-10 mins until finished. When the burrito is finished, you should feel a firmness or crunchiness on either side of your burrito. If all else fails, just take it off and check it. If it’s not ready, put it back on!