Foil Packet Sausage and Green Beans
Parboiled potatoes, smoked sausage, and green beans sealed in foil and cooked over indirect heat.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 11 oz
- cal / oz
- 47
- protein
- 18 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 15 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 35 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
- Grill grate
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Red and white baby potatoes | 1 lb | parboiled at home, halved |
|---|---|---|
| Smoked sausage | 12 oz | sliced into coins; any fully cooked smoked sausage works |
| Green beans | 8 oz | trimmed, snapped in half |
| White onion | 1 medium | diced |
| Chipotle mango seasoning | 1 tbsp | any sweet-and-smoky rub substitutes |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp |
Method
- At home: boil the potatoes 10 minutes, drain, cool completely, and bag them. They will not finish in 20 minutes of foil time otherwise.
- At camp: toss potatoes, sausage, green beans, onion, seasoning, and oil in a bowl or a large zip bag until everything is coated.
- Cut four 12-inch squares of foil. Lay an 11-inch square of parchment on each if you have it, then divide the mixture between them.
- Fold the foil into sealed packets with the edges crimped tight. Juice that escapes is flavor lost to the fire.
- Build the fire to one side or heat a grill to about 400F with one zone unlit. Set the packets over the indirect side.
- Cook 20 minutes, flipping once halfway. Potatoes should give to a fork.
- Rest the packets 5 minutes before opening. Steam finishes the green beans and keeps your face out of a burst of it.
Foil packets fail in one predictable way: the potatoes are still hard when everything else is done. Boiling them for ten minutes at home fixes that, and it costs nothing on the trip. Everything else in the packet — sausage already cooked, thin beans, diced onion — is fast, so a parboiled potato puts the whole thing on the same clock.
Indirect heat matters more than temperature. Straight over coals the foil scorches the bottom layer before the middle gets warm. Off to the side, the sealed packet turns into a small steam oven, and the sausage fat plus the oil carries the seasoning through the rest. This one needs a cooler, so it is a car-camping or basecamp dinner, not a backpacking one.
Packing
Parboiled potatoes, sliced sausage, beans, and onion all go in one zip bag in the cooler. Seasoning and oil ride in the kitchen box. Pre-cut foil and parchment at home so you are not fighting a roll in the wind.
Variations
- Swap the sausage for a hard salami or a can of drained chicken if cooler space is tight.
- Kielbasa and a plain garlic-pepper rub if you want it less sweet.
- A splash of vinegar over the packet after opening cuts the fat.
https://campfirefoodie.com/foil-packet-sausage-green-beans-recipe