First Posted: 9/9/2013
A weird name, yes. A brilliant idea? Um, hell yes.
A hobo dinner: the perfect I-don’t-have-a-lot-of-time or hey-we’re-going-camping meal.
There are a number of ways to make this tinfoil-wrapped delicacy; the possiblities are pretty much endless, but I’ll share some of my favorites with you.
You can throw these on a grill or in an oven, depending on where you’re at and what you prefer. It’s pretty much just tossing ingredients into tin foil, sealing it up, and letting it cook.
MEAT ‘N POTATOES
Courtesy of allrecipes.com
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients:
• 1 pound ground beef
• 5 potatoes, peeled and cut into steak fries
• 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced lengthwise
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced into rings
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• garlic salt to taste
How-to:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil.
• Shape the ground beef into patties and place in pan. Layer the vegetables on top of the beef patties, starting with the potatoes, then carrots and finally onion rings. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste.
• Cover with aluminum foil and seal edges. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, or to desired doneness.
THE BIG CHICKEN
Courtesy of cumberlandgal.blogspot.com
Ingredients:
• 2 chicken leg quarters
• Mesquite flavored chicken rub seasoning
• 1/2 stick butter
• 1 ear of corn on the cob split in half
• 2 medium-sized potatoes
• 8 baby carrots
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1 onion peeled and halved
How-to:
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay out two large sheets of aluminum foil.
• Place a chicken leg quarter, seasoned with dry rub, on each. Arrange veggies around the chicken leg. Shake a little more seasoning over the veggies.
• Place two single tablespoon pats of butter in the mix before cooking, especially over your ear of corn and the potatoes.
• Roll up the foil into pouches and place on a cookie sheet.
• Place in preheated oven and Roast for 1 and a half hours. Check progress and roll foil back to expose just the chicken. Turn heat up to 425 degrees and finish cooking for 30 more minutes.
HOBO HALIBUT
Courtesy of meredithandcarla.com
Serves 2
Ingredients:
• 1 small bulb fennel, trimmed, quartered and thinly sliced
• 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 1/2 lemon zested
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 8 olives, halved
• 1 teaspoon capers, rinsed and lightly chopped
• 4 potatoes, very thinly sliced
• 2 halibut filets, 6 oz each
How-to:
• Fold two 15-inch long sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil in half and then open them back up so there’s a crease down the middle.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Combine the fennel, zucchini, garlic, olive oil, thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, olives and capers in a medium bowl and toss them to combine the flavors.
• Arrange the potato slices in one layer on one side of each of the creased foil sheets. Sprinkle the potato with salt and pepper and lay the halibut filet on top, skin side down. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and top with the vegetables. If you’d like more flavor, drizzle a little olive oil over the top. Fold the foil over the fish and roll up the edges, bottom up and over the top, to seal in the juices.
• Place a sheet pan on the bottom oven rack and bake for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
