Foil-Packet Rosemary Garlic Salmon
A sheet-pan dinner folded into foil and set on the fire ring. No pan to scrub.
- calories
- 610
- weight
- 12 oz
- cal / oz
- 51
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 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
| Salmon fillets | 2, about 6 oz each | skin on, it holds the fish together |
|---|---|---|
| Baby potatoes | 3/4 lb | halved at home |
| Green beans or asparagus | 1/2 lb | trimmed at home |
| Garlic | 4 cloves | chopped, or 1 tsp granulated |
| Dried rosemary | 1 tsp | crumbled between your fingers |
| Olive oil | 3 tbsp | |
| Lemon | 1 | half sliced, half squeezed at the end |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste | |
| Heavy duty foil | 4 sheets, arm's length |
Method
- Burn the fire down to coals, or set a grill grate over it. Flames scorch foil packets and cook nothing through.
- Toss the potatoes with 2 tbsp oil, half the garlic, half the rosemary, salt, and pepper. Double-wrap them in two sheets of foil and set the packet directly on the coals.
- Give the potatoes 15 minutes, turning once. They start cooking before the fish because they need the head start.
- Build the second packet: vegetables on the bottom, salmon on top, remaining oil, garlic, and rosemary, lemon slices over the fish. Seal it loosely so steam has somewhere to go.
- Set the salmon packet on the grate or the cooler edge of the coals for 10 to 12 minutes. It is done when the fish flakes at the thick end.
- Open both packets, squeeze the lemon half over everything, and eat straight out of the foil.
Two packets, not one, because potatoes and fish do not cook on the same clock. Start the potatoes on the coals alone, add the salmon packet later, and both land at the same time. Trying to run them together gives you either raw potato or salmon with the texture of a shoe.
The oil matters more than it looks. Foil conducts heat hard and fast, and without fat between the food and the metal the bottom layer sticks and burns. Vegetables underneath the fish do the same job, holding it off the foil and steaming in what drips down. Cleanup is folding the foil closed and packing it out.
Packing
Halve the potatoes, trim the beans, and chop the garlic at home, then pack each in its own bag. Mix the rosemary, salt, and pepper into one small jar. Salmon rides on the bottom of the cooler on ice and gets cooked the first night.
Variations
- Chicken thighs instead of salmon: same packet, 25 to 30 minutes, and check that the juices run clear.
- Swap the rosemary and lemon for a spoonful of BBQ sauce added in the last five minutes.
- No cooler on the trip? A 5 oz pouch of salmon stirred into foil-roasted potatoes gets you most of the way there.
https://mealswithmaria.site/sheet-pan-meal-ideas