A Tasty Tinfoil Dinner

Something fun & delicious for kids of all ages.

When you’re stuck on what to make for dinner tonight, tap into one of my childhood favorites: a tinfoil hobo dinner. My sister and I loved when our mother made these little packages— they were unusual, fun to eat, and always delicious.

The premise is simple.

You steam protein and vegetables with seasoning/sauce in a folded tinfoil envelope. You can use anything really — as long as the pieces aren’t too thick. Chicken breast, sausage, hamburger, fish, shrimp, even stew meat work well (but fish and seafood have much shorter cook times.)

And weirdly — they are so much fun to open and eat from. I’m pretty sure Mom loved hobo dinners as they were also easy on dishes and prep time too. And I don’t know about you, but I’m always game for that.

The French have their own version called en papillote, and they use parchment paper. And that’s fine for many things but not here.

Paper burns up in a campfire and doesn’t work so well on a BBQ either. But tinfoil? Tinfoil delivers the goods.

Tinfoil dinners can be made at any time of year as they work wonderfully in a campfire, BBQ or oven. I often whip them up on a lazy rainy day when I want something comforting and delicious without the mess.

You eat directly from the the little packages — there aren’t any dishes. So tinfoil dinners do have a silver lining (Ha. I couldn’t resist saying that.)

Tinfoil Hamburger & Potato Dinner

Makes 4 individual dinner packets

1 lb regular hamburger (or cheat and use pre-made uncooked burgers. Either way don’t use lean hamburger as you need the fat to add moisture and flavor.)

1 egg

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp of dried onion flakes — or onion soup mix

3–4 medium sized potatoes

2 medium sized onions

2 tablespoons BBQ sauce per packet

4 tablespoons butter

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut a heavy piece of tinfoil into 4 individual squares — each roughly 12 inches by 12 inches. You need larger pieces as you don’t want to stack the food too thick — the packages won’t cook properly.
3. Mix hamburger meat with egg, Worcestershire sauce, dried onion flakes and salt and pepper. Form patties about 1/2 inch thick. Make them flat vs thick.
4. Peel and thinly slice potatoes (about 1 per person) into the middle of each individual foil piece. Add one tablespoon of butter on top of potatoes in each packet.
5. Peel and thinly slice onions. Put about 1/2 onion (per person) on top of each of the potatoes on the foil. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. Put hamburger patty beside potatoes and add 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce on top.
7. Pull and fold the sides of the foil together so it is an envelope and there aren’t any openings for steam to escape. If you’re using thin tinfoil — you may want to double wrap it.
8. Put packages on a cookie sheet and insert into oven. Bake for 40 min. Then insert a knife through the foil where the potatoes are — they should be tender.
9. Place on a plate (but keep the food in the foil — more fun!)or put right onto a picnic table — be careful when opening them or the hot steam will give you an unwanted facial. Fold the foil sides back and enjoy!

Author’s note: Experiment! Put cheese on the hamburger or use a variety of vegetables you love as long as they are chopped into smaller pieces. Slices of lemon, asparagus and chicken breast are amazing too. Try soya sauce or a vinaigrette to add moisture — so easy and so good.

Thanks for reading! I have loads of food essays (delicious recipes too) and thoughtful and quirky simpler living essays waiting for you. (Well over 100 of them!) And this story caught the attention of NBC News in New York!