This weekend was my first official Boy Scout camp out. The boys planned out all their meals and the choice for Friday night was tin foil dinners. I had never before had tun foil dinners so a little research was in order. The Internet was a wealth of knowledge about how to wrap up a bland piece of hamburger meat with some potatoes. This was not exactly what I was looking for, if I wanted charred pot roast, I could just make it before hand and take it with me. But, part of this calling is the experience, so I decided to participate whole heartily
The one thing that was stressed in my research was that they had to be well lubricated. Butter and oil were your ally, do not be sparing with them. I kept that it mind as I made my two tin foil dinners; I figured if one failed there would still be another.
First:
The Classic tinfoil dinner. I used a garlic hamburger patty and doused it with red pepper seasoned olive oil. I precooked a russet potato for four minutes in the microwave, added carrots and onion, and topped it with a pad of real butter.
It came out alright, I should have cooked the carrots a bit before throwing them in, and added salt and pepper. The meat was perfectly done, but the flavors left a bit to be desired.
Second:
Barbecue chicken breast. I took one chicken breast, cubed it, and lightly browned in a skillet til about half cooked. I mixed in two slices of chopped bacon (remember, bacon makes everything better and I knew the grease wouldn't hurt), a healthy dose of onion, a heavy tablespoon of brown sugar, and a pad of real butter. Smoother that with the BBQ sauce of your choice and wrap it up.
It came out awesome, the flavors were great, and the added bonus was smelling it as it sizzled on the coals. Next time, I wont precook the chicken as much, but those that I shared with had no complaints.
So whats on the menu for the next tinfoil dinner? I am definitely doing the BBQ chicken again. I want to try something with sweet potatoes. Possibly Venison backstrap with apple smoked bacon. I am also considering a separate one for a vegetable medley.
4 comments:
Congrats on surviving your first official camp out.
The dinners look great and in this cold weather a hot meal is always welcomed on a cold night after setting up.
Where did you camp?
We just took a little jaunt over to Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Nice area up there.
The troop I was with would back pack in the Santa Fe area every 2 or 3 years.
We would stop at Palo Duro Canyon on our way back to see the pageant -- in July.
I now have a foretaste of purgatory. I don't think it dropped below 95 the night we stayed there, in tents.
Such great Scouting memories
I rarely use ground beef, so in general my foil dinners have ground turkey. I like to break out the montreal steak seasoning (plenty of garlic, pepper and salt in it) for that. Canola oil, ground turkey, and small dices of potato, onion, and carrot with the seasoning makes for good eats. The key is small dices so everything cooks at about the same rate and you don't have to pre-cook anything. We usually do these on the grill at home, followed by s'mores for that camping-without-actually-camping-feel. I'm going to have to steal that BBQ chicken idea. I can smell it now.....
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