Making a simple tin foil dinner is just that…simple! First, lay out sizable sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil (or double up on thinner foil). If you are making multiple dinners, wash, chop, trim, and slice all of the meat and vegetables first and lay out in buffet fashion. We like onions, green beans, ground beef and potatoes in our dinners. We’ve been putting this classic combination to use for years now.
Place a small portion of ground beef on the foil, and then pile several onions on top of the meat. Lay out sliced potatoes on top of the onions and then scatter green beans all over.
Add your favorite fresh or dried herbs, spices, and a few cubes of butter. Our favorite dried herb mixes for tin foil dinners are: Greek seasoning, Herbes de Provence, Italian seasoning, lemon pepper, and Tony Chacheres creole seasoning. Use more herbs and spices than you might think needed to season the dinner. I always find that what appears to be “over seasoning” ends up being the perfect amount of flavor when camping.
Once you have a beautiful pile of meat, vegetables, butter and herbs, toss good sea salt and fresh ground pepper into the mix. Also, if you want to keep it lighter, use olive oil instead of butter.
Now it’s time to seal the deal. First pull up two sides of the foil and fold together. Lay flat. Then begin folding in the sides. Keep the folds tight…you don’t want any of those delicious juices leaking out into the fire. They belong in your stomach! After your package is sealed, place it in a Ziploc bag. Now it’s ready to be stored in your cooler. When it’s dinnertime, prepare a nice hot fire and once the coals are hot, hot, hot, place your tin foil dinners on top of the coals. Cook for about an hour, or until cooked through entirely. Of course, the larger the dinner, the longer it will take to cook.
Have a great camping trip and enjoy these last weeks of summer to the fullest!
Soooo… is there any good way to tell when your dinner is done? (if you happen to be greedy and make a generous tinfoil dinner, like I might, perhaps, could maybe make)?
Or do you just have to open it up and hope for the best?
You can try adding some fresh mushrooms to the mix– they turn out *delicious*!
We just had these on an island in the middle of the Mississippi. The kids played in the sand while we assembled (should have done so ahead of time – great tip!). You are right – they taste great while camping.
Interestingly….my friend brought along canned potatoes. We cut them in slices and they actually tasted terrific in the foil dinners.
I love tin foil dinners. I learned a trick from my mother to put a piece of green cabbage at the bottom- it helps it cook even so none of the vegetables get burned, plus it is delicious to eat!
Instead of using butter or olive oil try substituting Cream of Chicken soup. It adds moisture and flavor. Very very delicious and super easy. Just scoop right out of the can.
This is genius. I can’t wait to try it on my next camping trip!!
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