5 Foil-Wrapped Recipes Inspired By Camping That You Can Do At Home

Looking for some easy outdoor grilling recipes inspired by campfire cooking? These creative ideas will work for outdoor cooking, backyard camping or even entertaining at home. You’ll want something you can cook on the grill without too much prep time. Here are five great grilling recipes that only take a few simple ingredients, a grill and some tinfoil (most of these dishes can also be made indoors).

Appetizer: Jalapeno Poppers

Let’s start with an easy but delicious appetizer recipe: jalapeno poppers. This one takes about 10 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cooking time.

For ingredients, you will need Muenster cheese, 8 jalapenos, salt, olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon of cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon of coriander. You will also need some tinfoil and, of course, a grill. You’ll find a great selection of camping grills on Cabela’s website.

Start by removing the stems from the jalapenos. Scrape the seeds out. Use the cheese to stuff the jalapenos.

Place the stuffed jalapenos on a sheet of tinfoil. Toss with salt, olive oil, coriander and cumin.

Now form a tinfoil packet to grill the jalapenos. To do this, select a flat surface where you can lay down a large sheet of heavy-duty foil or a double layer of regular foil. Place the jalapenos in the middle of the foil. Bring the shorter ends of the foil together, and fold twice to form a seal. Fold and seal the sides as well. When you form the seals, be sure to leave room for steam to escape.

Now grill on medium-high heat (about 375 to 450 degrees F) for 10 minutes, turning frequently. Serves 2 to 4 people.

A Side Dish: Corn on the Cob

This simple side dish takes about a half hour to make. You’ll need 8 ears of corn on the cob, shucked and cut in half, along with a cup of butter, a teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper, 1/4 cup of fresh minced cilantro, and some nonflammable nonstick cooking spray.

Spray your grill rack and preheat it to medium-high. Mix the butter, salt, pepper, and cilantro in a bowl. Spread a tablespoon of the butter over each half-ear of corn.

Wrap the corn in foil and grill 18-20 minutes, until the corn is tender. Makes 10-12 servings.

Main Course: Skirt Steaks

Our main course comes from Iron Chef America host Alton Brown, who says his favorite thing to grill is skirt steaks. Brown gives a basic version of this recipe as well as one that involves making a marinade in a blender and marinating the steaks for an hour in the refrigerator, which you can do before you go camping (unless you feel like taking a blender and a refrigerator along). Total time is about an hour and a half, including 10 minutes of preparation and 2 minutes of cooking.

For the basic recipe, you need two skirt steaks sliced in thirds, plus some chunk charcoal and heavy-duty aluminum foil. If you want to include the marinade, you’ll need 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/3 cup of soy sauce, 1/4 cup of lime juice, 2 large cloves of garlic, 4 washed scallions cut in half, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes and 3 tablespoons of light brown sugar. Puree this mix in a blender to make the marinade. Then place the steaks into a large zip-top bag, pour in the marinade, remove the air, seal the bag, and allow the steaks to marinade for an hour in the fridge. When it’s time to remove the steaks to cook them, pat them dry with some paper towels.

To prepare for grilling, heat two quarts of charcoal in a chimney starter until white-hot ash appears. Dump the charcoal into your the coal grate of your grill, which Brown emphasizes should be clean. Blow the ash away. (Brown uses his wife’s hairdryer for this purpose).

Place the steaks directly on the coals. Cook 1 minute on one side, flip them over, and cook 1 minute on the other side. Then wrap the steaks together in a tinfoil pouch and let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes.

Slice the steaks thinly across the grain of the meat, return them to the pouch, and toss with juice. Serve with grilled peppers and onions or on top of a salad. You can dress the salad with vinaigrette made of meat droppings from the foil. Makes 4 servings, or 8 if you slice the steaks up into fajitas.

Don’t Forget Your Veggies

While you’re cooking meat, you can also throw some vegetables on the grill. Here’s our favorite recipe for grilled vegetables, which takes about a half hour to make. You’ll need 8 ounces of baby carrots; a sliced yellow, red, and orange bell pepper; a teaspoon of fresh cracked bell pepper, half of a sliced red onion; 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and a tablespoon of kosher salt.

Take two large tinfoil sheets and fold them in half. Place half of your vegetables on each piece. Pull the short sides up, roll them into a packet, and fold the ends to form a seal.

Grill over medium-high heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Open carefully to avoid steam. Serves 4 to 6.

Dessert: Grilled Banana Boats

Finally, our dessert, a fruity version of s’mores, comes from the Betty Crocker cookbook. It takes about 35 minutes to make on a grill or 45 minutes in an oven, including 25 minutes of prep time. You’ll need 6 large, ripe, firm, unpeeled bananas, along with 6 tablespoons of miniature marshmallows, 6 tablespoons of chocolate chips, and 2 tablespoons of chopped pecans.

Preheat your grill to medium (about 350 degrees F). You can also use campfire coals.

Cut out six 12-inch sheets of foil. Cut a deep slit down the length of each banana to form a pocket, taking care not to cut all the way through. Shape one sheet around each banana to form “boats.”

Holding each banana, fill it with 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and marshmallows and 1/2 teaspoon of pecans. After filling each banana, replace it in its boat. Seal the top of each boat, leaving a couple of inches of headspace.

Place the bananas on the grill or coals. Cook 8 to 10 minutes on a grill or 15 to 20 minutes in an oven, until marshmallows soften. Serves 6.