Aluminum Foil Dinners

[SeattlePioneer]

We are planning for our end of June overnight pack campout.

 

 

One of my priorities is to give Cub Scouts some responsibility and experience cooking their own meals.

 

Breakfast will be hotcakes and sausage which Cub Scouts will be cokking for their families.

 

 

Dinner is a little more of an issue---- suggestions are welcome.

 

Cub Scouts will include Kindergarteners just recruited for our new Tiger Cub Den.

 

 

One option would be for boys to wrap potatoes in aluminum foil and bake them in coals, and make dinner with their choice of toppings and add ons.

 

A second is to fold aluminum foil into a pouch, add hamburger, potatoes, vegetables and barbeque sauce and such to make a hamburger stew. I have a reasonable amount of experience with this, but probably not much among Scouts or den leaders.

 

My experience is that getting such meals baked without burning takes some experience to do reliably. I'd encourage Den Leaders to practice this at home either on charcoal or baking in the oven, and I'd do at least one practice at a den meeting early in June at which dens would make one sample meal and bake it on a barbeque that they can sample at the end of the meeting.

 

There will be a second meeting they could practice this art before the campout if desired.

 

Comments and recommendations are solicited....

[BadenP]

SP

 

I have one for you called Cannonballs. Take a large onion, cut it in half core out the center, take hamburger, cut up veggies and stuff both halfs of the onion, add salt and pepper, etc, put the halves together and wrap tightly in foil. Take the cannonball and put it into an open fire or bbq and cook until done. Time depends on the size of onion and the heat of the fire, check after 5 minutes, it should take 10-15 minutes depending on the previously mentioned factors. Make sure that they are throughly cooked.

[5yearscouter]

If you want quick success you can do pita pocket pizzas --fill pita with spaghetti/pizza sauce, cheese, wrap in foil and put on a small amount of coals, wait a minute or 3 and flip over.

 

I think coal prep is the biggest issue with those, if possible, put something in the coals that can get hot--like a cast iron skillet, or a big flat rock, so they put their pita pocket on top and then flip it over but the coals dont' burn a hole in the aluminum foil.

 

you could take a small tortilla, add precooked chicken and cheese, fold in half, wrap in aluminum foil and as long as it gets warm and doesn't burn they could have a folded cheese crisp.

 

similarly do a foil meal with the meat precooked and the other ingredients partly cooked. ending up with some raw chicken or hamburger happens if you aren't used to doing it by practicing ahead of time, and you want the kids to have success not food poisoning.

 

 

we also do things like bananas, chocolate chips, marshmellows and other ingredients in a tortilla, folded over and placed on coals where if it doesn't quite work out right, as long as there is chocolate in there, the kids will rave about how wonderful it is.

 

[kari_cardi]

I've never had luck with foil dinners in larger group settings, though I know they are always recommended. Mine come back to me charred or half-raw, never well cooked. I'm sure it is possible though, with the right equipment and system.

 

What about doing a simple main dish like chili or beef stew that can be heated(or cooked straight up) in a dutch oven by the Webelos, and have the rest of the gang make biscuit cups on toasting forks (wrap the end in a strip of foil, works better than sticks)to go with the chili or stew? Or assign the different dens to different parts of the meal based on skill level, like Tigers do salad, Wolfs do corn on the cob, etc. I like the first one though because in my experience boys LOVE cooking anything over a fire on a stick.

[perdidochas]

I had good luck with my Webelos with hobo stoves using buddy burners. We cooked hamburger (and steak for me) with onion, thawed tater tots, carrots, and green pepper in AL foil packets. Also did it with cocktail wieners. The good thing about using cocktail wieners is that they were pre-cooked, so only warming is necessary.

[perdidochas]

You do have to remember that G2SS doesn't allow Cubs to use gas stoves.

 

http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/34416_Insert_Web.pdf

[moosetracker]

I was going to ask that perdidochas.. First I had to check what a Hobo stove was, then I was going to ask if this was ok for cubs if you used charcoal..

[artjrk]

I simple trick for foil dinners to keep them from burning. After wrapping and sealing the foil around the food, wrap a wet paper towel around and wrap with another layer of foil. When cooking this creates a layer of steam to protect the food from direct heat.

 

Also be sue to cut the food into small pieces (no more than 1/2"). Allows for shorter cooking times, which the younger boys will appreciate.

[perdidochas]

Hobo stove is just a big food can (like a 3 lb coffee can). Use an old-fashioned triangle can opener to make vents in the top (closed end). Cut out a door on the bottom to slide buddy burner in.

 

Buddy burner is basically a huge candle. Get a small can (tuna can). Make a wick out of a piece of cardboard that is as wide as the can is tall. Spiral the cardboard into the small can. Then melt paraffin and pour it into the can. (Cub scouts can't do this step).

 

You can use the hobo stove with instant light charcoal as well, but the buddy burners work very well.

 

Can also use the hobo stove just to cook hamburgers, using the can top as the skillet. This is a lot of fun with the cubs too. I've seen it where the Webelos made enough buddy burners/hobo stoves for all the scouts to cook their hamburgers for lunch. They made enough for about 1/2 to 1/2 of the expected campers, and the campers shared the stoves. Once they get going, it's surprising how fast that premade hamburger patties will cook on one. (forgot all about that until typing this). Have to remember to have at least 3 or 4 campfire butane lighters and 3 or 4 spatulas to share. Cubs love this one.

[momof2cubs]

artjrk: the paper towel trick I learned at BALOO. It was the only trick that was worth the $11 I paid for that training.

 

If only I had known to call you!

[Basementdweller]

just say no to foil dinners.....hate them with a passion. They are not practical for a large group....I gotta laugh here.......Our baloo staff got in trouble for starting bags of charcoal and spreading it on the camp road in front of the cabin..

 

Had the worst experience ever at a Webelos woods event.....not enough charcoal space for all the meals....So we waited an hour for our turn....it is now 7pm....the charcoal had already burned for 2 hours.......guess what happened next.....half the participants didn't get to cook their meal..... Cost me 30 bucks at a mcdonalds at 9:30 at night to feed my group.

 

Hot dogs on the stick....the cubs love them. We did a 16 inch dutch oven with italian sausages, with pepper and onions. Mac and cheese, big buckets of apple sauce.

 

we do pasta and sauce also.....real easy for a big group.

 

 

[shortridge]

Pita pizzas are great. But I've never had much luck with putting the stuffings inside the pitas - either the sides were too thin or the sauce and cheese just oozed out into a mess. We usually just loaded everything on top of the flat pita, using it as the "crust," and cooked it on one side.

[Basementdweller]

perdidochas

 

Since you are quoting the guide to safe scouting.....Hobo stoves are forbiden too.

 

No homemade stoves.....

 

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss06.aspx

 

Prohibited chemical-fueled equipmentEquipment that is handcrafted, homemade, modified, or installed beyond the manufacturers stated design limitations or use. Examples include alcohol-burning can stoves, smudge pots, improperly installed heaters, and propane burners with their regulators removed.

[DLister]

Basement - I guess that depends on if you think paraffin fits the definition of a chemical fuel (liquid, gaseous, or gelled fuels) from the G2SS.

[rjscout]

cubs love hot dogs on a stick... then wrap a biscuit on the dog and brown it, or have a separate stick for biscuit on a stick.

 

I like foil dinners, but it is a hassle for large groups. A good prevention to burning the food is to put a layer of cabbage between the foil and the other food. Cabbage is usually charred to the foil, but adds some flavor. We also use a layer of potato slices and/or carrots to protect the meet from burning. I want to try sweet potato slices one of these days.

 

Have fun!!!