Bacon Grease Fried Honeybuns

There is no better tasting breakfast than one cooked in a deer camp or a duck blind. Something about being outside, being in the woods or on the water, stirs a hunger that only a good late-morning breakfast can quench.

Fry the honeybuns in bacon grease for 1-2 minutes per side.

When we do camp breakfast, we usually go the standard routes: bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, Dutch oven biscuits, slow cooker steel cut oats. But at least once per camp, we splurge on calories for one of our favorite treats, honeybuns fried in bacon grease. I can hear the cardiologists among you gasping for air and grabbing a nearby solid surface for support, but hear me out—we work hard hiking into remote hunting spots, setting duck decoys, hopefully slogging out a limit of waterfowl or dragging a big buck. It doesn’t hurt to go crazy every now and then.

A few tips on picking the perfect honeybun. As all bun connoisseurs know, modern times and inflation have shrunk our favorite treats to a mere fraction of their original size. Fear not, though. If you look around, you can still find full-sized buns. Next, go with the glazed variety over the frosted. The frosting tends to melt into the bacon grease, making a mess and slowing the cooking of upcoming batches. Make sure you have plenty of bacon grease. I like at least ¼ inch in the skillet. Frying a pound or two of bacon is generally sufficient. Don’t worry about the tiny bits of crispy bacon left in the pan. They stick to the buns as they cook, adding a touch of salty flavor and a bit of crunch for an interesting texture.

Choose a large honeybun that is glazed but coated in icing.

I generally fry my camp bacon in a 12-inch cast-iron or carbon-steel skillet. Either is perfect for honeybuns. Once your bacon has finished, turn the temperature down a bit for a medium flame on your camp stove.

To fry anything in bacon grease, you need to start with a skillet of bacon.

Don’t overcrowd the skillet. Fry the buns in batches of 3-4, whatever fits. They don’t take long, just a minute or two per side. Once the buns have finished cooking, lift with a set of tongs and allow them to drain, then move to a plastic or paper plate or a baking sheet while you continue with the next batch. Avoid foam plates because they melt from the hot grease, and definitely don’t use a paper towel-lined plate or dish. The paper towel and honeybun will fuse into a single unit, never to be separated again.

Don’t overcrowd the skillet, so you have room to gently flip the honeybuns.

You’re going to want to use a fork to eat this one. They are a little messy and soft to pick up and eat by hand.

Next time you find yourself in charge of camp or duck blind breakfast, give these a shot. Your fellow hunters will thank you, even if their doctors and gym trainers don’t. I bet they’ll become a favorite of your camps as well.