9
Easy Camping Meals You can Cook without Pots and Pans!

Forget the pots and pans! This is a hobo’s delight –
all the cooking and no mess!!
Here are 9 belly-bustin’ camp meals that you and your family can enjoy without
using a single pot or pan. No, this is not a magic trick! The secret is……….tin
foil! Can you believe it? This durable, non-flammable material is easy to use
and dispose of to make cooking a snap. So, leave the pots and pans at home,
grab a roll of tin foil and following these easy recipes for simple, yet
satisfying camping meals.

Hobo
This is the first
one I ever learned as a Scout. Thinly slice carrots, onions, and potatoes.
Tear off a 12” strip of tin foil. Place a hamburger patty on the foil. Place a
layer of vegetables on top. Add salt, pepper or other spices to your liking.
Fold the foil over the top and bottom. Fold up the corners so it won’t leak and
place on the coals, hamburger side down. It should take 20-30 minutes depending
on the heat of your coals. When done, open it up and use a knife and fork to
eat directly from the foil.

Want that barbeque
flavor for your Hobo? Put a squirt of BBQ sauce on the hamburger before you put
on the vegetables.

Beef Stew
This is the same as
a Hobo, but a little more up-scale since you are using beef cubes. Thinly slice
carrots, onions, and potatoes or maybe add broccoli and cauliflower. Tear off a
12” strip of tin foil. Place beef cubes on the foil. Place a layer of
vegetables on top. Add salt, pepper or other spices to your liking. This time
add some butter and a couple of tablespoons of water to make gravy! Yum! Fold
the foil over the top and bottom. Fold up the corners so it won’t leak and
place on the coals, beef side down. It should take 20-30 minutes depending on
the heat of your coals. When done, open it up and use a knife and fork to eat
directly from the foil.

Chicken and Corn
Smear chicken pieces
with butter. Spice to your liking and wrap in 12” strip of foil. Lay on the
coals, turning the chicken every few minutes for about 20 minutes. The corn can
be husked, lathered with butter and wrapped in foil for a nice roasting in about
10 minutes. Another way to do the corn is to pull back the leaves, remove the
husk (hair-like fibers), close the leaves, dip the ear of corn in water and
place directly on the coals! Should roast nicely in 8-10 minutes, turning often
so it doesn’t burn.

Fish
In this recipe
substitute meat or poultry for fish or shrimp! You can add thinly sliced
vegetables or put finely chopped chives, butter and a slice of lemon in a 12”
strip of foil. Smaller, lighter fish or shrimp will not take as long to cook so
I would expect 3-5 minutes cooking time.

Ham and Sweet Potato
In this recipe use
chunks of ham, thin slices of sweet potato, (chunks will also work) and a slice
of pineapple. Put all this in a 12” strip of foil with a dollop of butter and a
sprinkle of brown sugar. Wrap up the foil and put on the coals for 10 minutes
each side and you have a tasty ham and sweet potato dinner in 20
minutes!

Potato
I use this when I
want to add a potato to the meal, like the Fish and lemon meal above. But, I
have to start the potato first, since it takes longer to cook than the fish. I
take a fork and stab the potato 3-5 times in the front and back, wrap it in foil
and bury it in the coals. It usually takes about 30-40 minutes to cook and I
can tell when it’s ready by poking it with a fork to see how soft it is. I take
it out of the coals, slice it open and stick a slice of hard butter in it!
YUM!

Oriental Chicken
Use boneless chicken
pieces or strips and frozen mixed vegetables. Put the chicken and vegetables in
a 12” strip of foil. Add two capfuls of soy sauce, a dash of garlic salt and a
sprinkle of brown sugar. Wrap and cook on coals for about 20 minutes, turning
every few minutes.

Breakfast Nest
Here’s one you can
try for breakfast! Take a sausage patty and put it on the foil. Take frozen
hash browns and make a little nest on top of the sausage patty. Now comes the
tricky part – crack an egg into the nest, wrap-up the foil and cook for about
5-7 minutes, turning every few minutes.

Mushroom Chicken
Use boneless chicken
pieces or strips, frozen peas and a can of cream of mushroom soup. Put the
chicken on a 12” strip of foil; add a couple of tablespoons of soup and a
handful of peas. Wrap and cook on coals for about 20 minutes, turning every few
minutes. This will be very moist!

As you can see there
are lots of variations on the original tin foil cooking method. Substitute some
of your favorite vegetables and meats to see what you come up with. Imagine
your favorite meal, and then try to make it work the “tin foil way”. Write me
at and tell me what creation you came up with. I would like to hear about
it.


For all
the recipes above, please follow these general cooking tips:

• Use campfire coals or charcoal to cook
  on

• Use many layers or wraps (minimum of 2) of
  tin foil or heavy-duty foil

• If your tin foil has a shiny side, make
  sure that side is on the inside

• Rotate the foil pack on the coals often to
  avoid burning

• Use tongs or heavy leather gloves to pick
  up hot foil…ouch! If using tongs, be careful that you don’t rip the foil
  :-(

• Once it’s cooked to your liking, let it sit
  for a few minutes before trying to eat it. Many a hungry Scout has burned his
  mouth on hot foil dinners.