“Out There” Merit Badge (Part 2)

Wondering who I am? I’m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my former life …

To earn my intermediate level “Out There” badge, I needed to cook a full meal over just a campfire. Here are a couple of different hobo dinner ideas.

Once you have a good bed of hot coals in your campfire with hardly any flames left, gently place your foil dinner on top of some coals, closer to the edge of the fire than the middle. Once you SMELL delicious smells coming from the package, it’s probably done. Carefully lift it from the fire and open it to see if it’s done. If not, re-seal and put back on the fire. A pair of welder’s gloves and a shovel come in handy.

Campfire Hobo Foil Dinner (serves two)

Wild-caught Salmon Dinner

3/4 lb salmon
1/2 bulb fennel, sliced into 1/4″ half rings (Note: I prefer fennel in this recipe, but I didn’t have any on the day I was shooting photos, so I substituted radishes and savory in the photo below. You can substitute any of your
favorite vegetables and flavorings in these recipes.)
1/2 red onion,  sliced into 1/4″ half rings
5 whole cloves garlic
10–12 spears asparagus (snap bottoms off first)
3 slices lemon
5 T butter
2 T heavy cream
salt & pepper

1. Place 2 T of butter on foil, top with salmon; salt and pepper salmon.
2. Layer fennel, onion, garlic, and asparagus; add salt & pepper.
3. Top with lemon slices, 3 T butter, and fennel fronds. Pour cream over all.
4. Wrap 3 times (seal each well) in long, heavy-duty foil.

Organic Beef Dinner

3/4 lb organic hamburger
3 medium red potatoes, cut into large cubes
3 long, skinny carrots, whole
1/2 red onion,  sliced into 1/4″ half rings
8 mushrooms, halved
5 whole cloves garlic
6 T butter
salt & pepper
1 sprig basil or your favorite herb

1. Place hamburger on foil, flatten to 6″ rectangle.
2. Place 3 T butter into hamburger; salt and pepper meat.
3. Top with potatoes, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and garlic; add salt & pepper and herbs.
4. Top with 3 T butter.
5. Wrap 3 times (seal each well) in long, heavy-duty foil.