Braai Coal Grid Steak and Potatoes
A campfire grate, a cheap steak, and potatoes cooked in the coals while the fire burns down.
- calories
- 780
- weight
- 16 oz
- cal / oz
- 49
- protein
- 45 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total time
- 55 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- Dairy free
- Foil packet
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Steak | 2 pieces, about 8 oz each | sirloin or chuck; keep it in the cooler until the coals are ready |
|---|---|---|
| Russet potatoes | 2 medium | |
| Onion | 1 medium | sliced thick |
| Cooking oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Coarse salt and black pepper | 1 tsp total | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Heavy-duty foil | 2 large sheets |
Method
- Build the fire early and let it burn down to coals. Flames char the outside and leave the middle raw. You want a grey-white bed with no visible flame.
- Cut the potatoes into thick slabs. Toss them with the onion, half the oil, and half the seasoning, then seal them in a doubled foil packet.
- Bury the packet at the edge of the coals, not the center. Give it 30 to 40 minutes and turn it once. A knife should slide through without resistance.
- Rub the steaks with the rest of the oil and seasoning. Set the grate over the coals and let the metal get hot before the meat touches it.
- Grill 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium. The grate and the potato packet will both be hot enough to burn through a tea towel, so use a proper glove or long tongs.
- Pull the steaks off and let them sit five minutes before cutting. Open the foil packet at the table and eat out of it.
Coal cooking is a timing problem, not a recipe. The potatoes need forty minutes of steady radiant heat and the steak needs eight minutes of direct heat, so the packet goes in while the fire is still settling and the meat waits until the bed is even. Do it the other way around and you eat rare potatoes with a cold steak.
The foil packet is also the whole cleanup. Nothing touches a pot, and the grate wipes down with a wadded ball of foil while it is still hot. Handle everything with a real glove or long tongs: a grate sitting over open coals holds far more heat than an oven mitt was built for, and cotton gives up fast.
Packing
Season the steaks at home in a zip bag so they marinate on the drive. Potatoes, onion, and foil ride in the food box; only the meat needs the cooler.
Variations
- Swap the steak for thick sausage coils, which are more forgiving over uneven coals.
- A can of drained beans dumped into the potato packet stretches this to three people.
https://braaiculture.com/heat-resistant-glove