BOISE, Idaho — Cooking food while recreating outdoors can be a challenge, the prep, taking cooking tools, the clean-up. However, tinfoil dinners can be prepared at home and then all you need is a fire to make a delicious meal in the outdoors.
There are many different recipes that people can try, but we will stick to the classic meat, potatoes, and vegetables.
You will need tin foil and ground beef, I prefer the 80 percent because it has just enough fat to add a little juice to the veggies so they don't dry out.
I have made some tinfoil dinners with veggie burgers, but I'm not sure how they taste, though my companion on that trip seemed to enjoy them.
Season the meat any way you like and add the vegetables. I went with carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, and jalapenos. But you can be creative and add anything you want. Side bonus: it is a great way to clear out the fridge before leaving on your trip.
The biggest mistake, for me, is usually making them too big, causing them to take longer to cook.
After all the ingredients are inside the foil, double wrap them and throw the tinfoil dinners in the fridge or straight to the cooler.
At camp, you will want to make a hot fire and then let it die down. You are looking for a nice bed of coals that will last long enough to cook these dinners. As many of you know, there is nothing worse than having to build back the fire after discovering that the meat wasn't cooked all the way through.
Set a timer for 20 minutes and flip the tinfoil packets regularly. An oven mitt makes this process a lot easier. After that, they should be done.
The only way to know for sure if it's done is to pull one off and check. After that, you can enjoy a hearty meal that can fuel your adventures for the next day.
I should mention that people should properly dispose of the tinfoil because, if left out, it might attract uninvited animals. It is also important to make sure the fire is dead out.
My mom passed tin foil dinners onto us after she learned it in the Girl Scouts. It's not a secret, but if you have never tried it before, it is a great way to prepare a meal at home and then all you need is a fire.
