Foil-Packet Sausage and Potatoes
Smoked sausage, dried potatoes, and onion in a foil packet on the coals.
- calories
- 720
- weight
- 7 oz
- cal / oz
- 103
- protein
- 26 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 120 ml cold
- 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
- Gluten free
- Foil packet
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Shelf-stable smoked sausage | 12 oz | vacuum-sealed kielbasa or summer sausage, no cooler needed |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated potato slices or diced hash browns | 1 1/2 cups | |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried bell pepper | 2 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | |
| Smoked paprika, garlic powder, black pepper | 1 tsp each | |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp | |
| Heavy-duty foil | 2 sheets, about 18 inches |
Method
- Put the dried potatoes, onion, and pepper in a bowl or bag with 120 ml of cold water. Leave them 15 minutes while the fire burns down.
- Slice the sausage into coins.
- Lay a doubled sheet of foil, pile on half the rehydrated vegetables and half the sausage, then half the oil and spices. Fold the long edges over twice, then crimp the ends. Repeat for the second packet.
- Set the packets on coals or a grill grate over low flame, not open fire. Cook 12 minutes, flip, cook 12 more.
- Open a corner and check that the potatoes give under a fork. If they are still firm, close it and give it another five minutes.
- Eat out of the foil.
Foil packets fail two ways: raw potatoes and a burned bottom. Rehydrating the potatoes first fixes the raw half, since dried slices soak up water in fifteen minutes and then only need heating through. Coals rather than flames fix the other half.
The sausage is the reason this works without a cooler. Vacuum-sealed smoked sausage sits in a bin for days, and it renders enough fat to carry the spices into the potatoes. The oil covers what the sausage does not.
Packing
Dried vegetables and spices premix into one bag per packet at home. Sausage stays sealed until camp. Fold the foil sheets flat and slide them along the side of a bin so they do not tear.
Variations
- Swap the sausage for a foil pouch of chicken and cut the cook time to 15 minutes.
- A splash of hot sauce at the table does more for this than any spice in the packet.
https://lunolife.com/blogs/journal/camp-cuisine-11-meals-you-need-to-try-this-camping-season