Chili Garlic Sweet Potato Wedges with Lemon Garlic Mayo
Sweet potatoes cut thick, roasted in foil on coals, dipped in mayo sharpened with lemon and garlic.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 47
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 40 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
- Snack
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Dutch oven
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Sweet potatoes | 2 large | scrub them, leave the skin on |
|---|---|---|
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Chili powder | 1 tsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Cayenne pepper | 1/4 tsp | more if you want it |
| Salt and black pepper | 1/2 tsp each | |
| Mayonnaise | 4 single-serve packets | about 1/4 cup total, shelf-stable until opened |
| Lemon juice | 1 tbsp | bottled, or half a lemon |
| Garlic | 1 clove | minced, or 1/4 tsp of the garlic powder |
| Heavy-duty foil | 2 sheets |
Method
- Burn the fire down to coals. Flames char the outside and leave the middle raw.
- Cut the sweet potatoes into wedges about a finger thick. Thin fries fall apart in foil.
- Toss the wedges with the oil and the spice mix in a pot or a gallon bag until every piece is coated.
- Split them between two doubled sheets of foil in a single layer. Seal the edges but leave the packets loose so steam can move.
- Set the packets on the coals or a grate for 25 to 30 minutes, flipping once. They are done when a wedge gives to a knife.
- While they cook, squeeze the mayo packets into a cup and stir in the lemon juice and minced garlic.
- Open the packets away from your face and eat straight out of the foil.
This started as an oven recipe, and an oven is the one thing camp does not have. Foil on coals gets you most of the way there. It steams more than it roasts, so the wedges come out soft rather than crisp, which is why they are cut thick instead of into fries. A thin fry in a foil packet turns into mush.
The dip is doing the work the crisp texture would otherwise do. Mayo alone is flat; lemon and raw garlic cut through it and give the sweet potato something to push against. Single-serve mayo packets keep at ambient temperature until you tear them, which is the whole reason they are here instead of a jar. Mix the dip right before you eat and use it all.
Packing
Mix the chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper into one small jar at home. Whole sweet potatoes ride in the food bin without any protection. Mayo packets and a small bottle of lemon juice go in the condiment kit.
Variations
- Onto a hot grill grate instead: skip the foil, lay the wedges directly on the bars, and turn them every few minutes for actual char.
- In a dutch oven with a lid, coals on top, they roast drier and crisp better than in foil.
- Vegan mayo packets swap in one for one and change nothing about the method.
https://www.bowlofdelicious.com/chili-garlic-sweet-potato-fries-with-lemon-garlic-mayo