Foil Packet Burger Stack
A beef patty layered between onion and potato, sealed in foil and buried in coals.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 12 oz
- cal / oz
- 52
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 35 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
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground beef patty | 1 patty, about 6 oz | press it thin and wide, not thick |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | 2-3 slices | cut about 1/4 inch thick |
| Potato | 2-3 slices | thin, or they will still be raw |
| Salt or garlic salt | 1 1/2 tsp | optional |
| Heavy-duty foil | 2 sheets, about 18 inches each | |
| Condiments | to taste | ketchup, mustard, hot sauce packets |
Method
- Build a fire early and let it burn down. You want coals, not flame.
- Lay out a doubled sheet of foil. Stack onion, then potato, then the salted patty, then more potato and onion on top.
- Fold the foil over and crimp the edges tight on all three sides. Seal it or the juice runs out and the potatoes scorch.
- Set the packet on coals or a grate over them. About 15 minutes, then flip with tongs and give it another 15 to 20.
- Open a corner and check the potatoes with a knife. Soft means done. Beef juices should run clear.
- Eat straight out of the foil with condiments squeezed over the top.
The original stacked lettuce into the packet. Lettuce in a foil packet turns to grey slime in about four minutes, so it is gone here. The onion does the job lettuce was probably meant to do: it sits against the metal, gives up moisture, and keeps the meat from welding to the foil.
The real variable is potato thickness. Beef is done long before a thick slice of raw potato is, so cut them thin and put them next to the patty where the heat concentrates. This one needs a cooler, so it stays a car-camping meal. There is no way to carry raw ground beef up a trail.
Packing
Patties travel frozen in the cooler and thaw on the drive. Slice the onion and potato at home into a zip bag so camp prep is just stacking. Pre-cut foil sheets so you are not wrestling a roll in the wind.
Variations
- Swap the potato for sweet potato. It cooks faster, so check earlier.
- A slice of hard cheese on top of the patty melts into everything.
- Vegetarian version: a thick portobello cap or a bean burger in place of the beef.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/tinfoil-dinners