Fajita Pork Foil Packets
Pork, peppers, and pineapple in foil, cooked over coals until the edges char.
- calories
- 650
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 59
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 45 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
- Canoe / raft
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Boneless pork shoulder steaks | 4 | cut each in half at home |
|---|---|---|
| Fajita seasoning | 2 tsp | |
| Red onion | 2 | cut in wedges, not rings |
| Bell peppers | 2 | different colors if you have them |
| Pineapple | 14 oz | canned works, drain it hard |
| Garlic cloves | 8 | whole, skins off |
| Chili flakes | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Lime | 1 | cut in wedges |
| Green chili | 1 | chopped, added at the end |
| Fresh cilantro | half a bunch | |
| Salt and pepper | to taste |
Method
- Burn a fire down to coals, or get the grill grate hot with a bed of embers under it. You want steady heat, not flames.
- Toss the onion wedges, peppers, pineapple, and whole garlic with the oil, chili flakes, salt, and pepper in a pot or a bag.
- Rub the pork halves with the fajita seasoning.
- Build four packets from doubled heavy-duty foil. Split the vegetables between them, lay the pork on top, tuck in a lime wedge, and crimp the seams shut.
- Set the packets on the grate over coals for about 30 minutes. Flip once halfway. Pork shoulder is forgiving, so err long.
- Open a packet carefully and check the pork is cooked through. Scatter green chili and cilantro over the top and squeeze the lime in.
This started as a sheet-pan dinner, which is the same idea as a foil packet: one surface, one heat source, nothing to wash. Foil just moves the oven outside. The doubled sheet matters, since a single layer tears on the grate and dumps everything into the coals.
Pork shoulder is the right cut here because it has enough fat to survive uneven camp heat without drying out. The pineapple is doing work beyond sweetness — its juice steams inside the packet and keeps the onions from scorching before the pork is done. Drain canned pineapple well or the packet floods and everything boils instead of roasting. This one needs a cooler, so it is a first- or second-night meal, not a backpacking dinner.
Packing
Cut the pork and vegetables at home and pack them in separate zip bags in the cooler. Seasoning, chili flakes, and salt go in one small tin. Carry pre-cut foil sheets flat between a book or a cutting board so they do not tear in the pack.
Variations
- No fire: cook the same packets in a covered pot over a stove on low, or in a dutch oven with coals on the lid.
- Chicken thighs work and cook in about 25 minutes.
- Warm tortillas on the grate and eat it as actual fajitas.
https://www.matprat.no/oppskrifter/kos/fajitas-tray-bake