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Cooking foil packs
Posted by: old_user on Aug-05-09 11:41 AM (EST)
We call our basic version of ‘en papilotes’, ‘foil-packs’, a cooking method we learned from the Boy Scouts.
Get your fire going early so you have enough coals ready for cooking.
Each person rolls out a good 4’ of foil. Fold in half.
Build an elongated quarter pound or so burger running length-wise on top of and in the middle of the folded foil.
Top with chopped onion, sliced potato and optional slivers of garlic. Add a sprinkle of any combination of fresh vegetables such as green beans, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, squash or whatever you have on hand. Do not pre cook the veggies; everything cooks at the same rate. When the potatoes are done, everything is done. Depending on what kind of camping you are doing, it can be nice to have all veggies but the potatoes pre chopped and in zip locks; any left over pre cut veggies are great cooked with the following morning’s breakfast potatoes.
Season foil-pack with salt, pepper – freshly ground if you can – several pats of butter, and a splash of Worcestershire Sauce if available.
Seal your foil-pack tightly first lengthwise, then at the ends, folding over the foil at least twice. Make sure the seal is very good, no holes or you start over.
Use tongs to place foil packs directly on the hot coals (not directly in the fire); depending on how hot your coals are it takes usually 20 to 30 minutes to cook, more if you can only get one end in the coals at a time. During cooking time move foil pack about for even cooking – don’t move them a lot if you can help it.
You can experiment with all combinations of meats, vegetables, herbs, spices, butters and oils. You can do these at home on the grill or in the oven. Fresh asparagus sprinkled with fresh chopped garlic and drizzled olive oil . . . . . . wow.
For anyone offended by such outlandish lengths of foil, I hear you. I often add a second length of foil going the other way so I create a handle (!) For the rest of the year in penance I am quite frugal with foil . . . apologizing to Mother Nature.
Yum.
Pat
Massachusetts
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