I ate this magical meal at Girl Scout camp and then thought about it for the next thirty-odd years until we went camping in the mountains near Joe’s. It’s a full breakfast in a paper bag, easy to make if you already have a campfire burning (or hot embers in a charcoal grill or fireplace), portable, and delicious. As the bacon in the bottom of the paper bag renders and becomes crispy-chewy, the fat protects the paper from burning and gently steams the egg. This cannot be prepared in advance: after the eggs are cracked, the bags should be dangling over the hot coals within a minute. If your mess hall prefers scrambled eggs, they work well, too.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6

　　6 lunch-size paper bags

　　6 thick slices bacon, cut in half crosswise

　　6 large eggs

　　Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Prepare a campfire or a fire in a fireplace or charcoal grill. Let the flames die down and the coals become completely covered with ash. (Don’t attempt this on a gas grill—it doesn’t have the firepower to render the bacon before the eggs soak the bags.)

　　

Step 2

Lay 2 bacon halves across the bottom of each bag so that it is completely covered. Reach into each bag and carefully crack an egg over the bacon. Season with salt and pepper. Securely fold down the top of each bag three times and poke a hole through the fold with a sharp skewer. Thread a long, green stick through the hole and hold each bag so that the bottom is as close to the hot embers as possible—but without touching them and nowhere near any open flame. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the egg white is cooked all the way through.

　　Cooking in the Moment