How to Make Foil Packs for Camping
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Making foil packets is an easy and simple way to cook almost nearly anything over the grill or the fire. Today we’ll teach you the basics for how to make foil packs using nothing more than aluminum foil.
Why Use Aluminum Foil for Cooking?
There are many reasons why cooking with foil makes sense in camping. It’s easy to clean up, it prevents the food from sticking to the grill, and the aluminum acts as an insulator to help you achieve nice even cooking.
The only time aluminum foil may not be practical is if you are hiking and camping along a trail where you don’t have an easy way to dispose of the foil. This can sometimes be a concern for campers who worry about the eco-friendliness of the supplies they use.
For those who are camping in a traditional campground with full hook-ups however, the aluminum foil makes clean up a breeze. No worries about who’s washing pots and pans – you can simply recycle the foil just as you would recycle aluminum cans.
How to Fold an Aluminum Foil Packet
The secret to preparing perfect aluminum foil packs to cook over the fire or grill is all in how you fold them. You want to make sure that you fold your aluminum in a way that you won’t have any leaks or spills.
You want to make sure it’s also strong enough that it can withstand the weight for whatever you are cooking, especially if cooking heavier foods such as meats or potatoes.
There are a number of different methods and ways about doing this, but we suggest doing at least 3 layers of foil for each packet. This will ensure that your packets won’t come apart while over the fire or on your grill.
Let’s get started – learning how to make foil pouches is as simple as learning how to roll up a tortilla!
Step 1: Start With A Long Piece of Foil
If you are cooking something larger, such as a fantastic catfish catch at the lake, you may want a bigger piece of foil, but for us somewhere between 18-24 inches is a good size.
Step 2: Fold the Foil Into Thirds
The next step is to fold your foil into thirds. Doing this will give you a strong base to ensure the foil does not rip or tear from the weight of the food you are cooking with aluminum foil.
Step 3: Fold the Sides Up to Create “Boats” or “Pouches”
The next step is to fold the sides of the foil up to create boats or pouches. This again will help reduce the likelihood of any spills for the next step.
Step 4: Add Your Ingredients
Now you are ready to add your ingredients for making your aluminum foil packs. This might be something simple like meat and potatoes, or you can even cook up your catch from the lake with butter and a few slices of lemon.
Step 5: Pull Up the Bottom to Cover the Food and Secure the Sides On Top
The last step is to pull up the sides to make a pouch out of foil, making sure to fully wrap and cover all parts of the food ingredients inside. Be sure the foil overlaps any parts that might be prone to drips or spills. You’ll want to do this by first folding the sides, and then folding the bottoms over the side parts.
Step 6: Cook and Enjoy!
Cooking times with foil packets can vary, especially because there are a number of variables with the temperature of your fire or grill. Generally it’s important to keep in mind that because aluminum is such a good insulator, it will take longer to cook with foil than you expect.
Most meats and potatoes will take at least an hour to fully be cooked, with fish being a somewhat lesser time. Fortunately, checking your foil packets while cooking is simple – just roll back the areas where you folded.
I hope this simple tutorial helps you learn how to make foil packs for cooking many great meals while camping and of course if you have any questions, please do ask in the comments section below, I’m always happy to help!