Foil cooking is one of the best options when Cooking Outdoors. It is very economical and very convenient. Since some cooking methods need a lot of equipment such as tripods, racks or even a Dutch oven, with foil cooking you can just cook it anywhere without having the hassles of bringing in so much equipment. All you need is a heavy duty aluminium foil and you are ready to go.

Using aluminium foil has different functions. It can be used to protect your food if you are directly placing it in the fire. In doing so, you are able to maintain the moisture of the food, allowing the food to be very tender and moist. It can also serve as a package for your cooked food. If your aiming for food that does not have grill marks or if you don’t want your food to caramelize, then this is the cooking method for you.

Steps in Foil Cooking

a)      You need a heavy duty aluminium foil which is thick and does not tear easily. In case heavy duty aluminium foil is not available, you might want to consider wrapping your food twice or even thrice to avoid your food from burning.

b)      Place your food in a large torn piece of aluminium foil. You may cook your favourite vegetables combined with some meat or chicken. Add in seasonings such as salt and pepper. If you want to have a very aromatic dish, you may put a dash of rosemary, thyme or bay leaf. This is a very good combination since the steam will lock in all the moisture and flavour in to your food.

c)       When you have combined all of your ingredients, ensure to fold the sides tight to make sure that the liquid does not drip off. The liquid from your food is bursting with so much flavour and aroma you don’t want to waste any.

d)      When your fire is ready, place the foil packet close enough to the fire or on a bed of coals. You will observe that in a few minutes you will hear a soft sizzle. This means that your food is starting to cook. Keep in mind that it is not safe to place the foil directly into the fire or it will have the tendency to be brittle or worse, the foil will burn.

e)      Since you have incorporated different types of food, some food will cook longer. This goes for beef or pork. As for chicken, fish and vegetables, this will cook faster. You may slightly open your foil pack to check if your food is cooked already. It’s ok to go high tech and use a thermometer here.

For those of us who love Cooking Outdoors, this cooking method is very easy. As mentioned, it is very economical and convenient. The best part of it is that you don’t need to bring in heavy cooking equipment. After cooking and eating, you can just easily toss up the used foil in the re-cycle bin.

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”

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Love Salmon? Salmon cooked on the barbecue? Love to clean up the mess?

No? Me either, that’s why I cooked this Salmon dish in foil. My friend Kurt Ploetz aka “Outdoor Chef Kurt” from www.fishgriller.com sent me this recipe awhile back. Kurt calls it ” Ranch Dressing Salmon Fillets with Orange Slices”, way too many words for me, so at our house we  just call it fantastic!

Why cook in foil?

Cooking in foil has a few very worth while positives:

• No mess, just throw the foil into the recycle bin.
• Keep’s the Barbecue grill clean.
• Seals in flavor.
• Stores well, nice little roll in a box, very little space needed.
• Serves as a plate replacement, eliminating dish washing.

I could go on for ever about cooking in foil! However, I  am quite sure you would rather read about the recipe instead. Of course I made some alterations to suit my cooking style and taste but it is very close to Kurt’s original recipe.

Ranch Dressing Salmon Fillets with Orange slices

Ingredients

1 whole Salmon fillet

1/2 cup Ranch dressing

1 tbs olive oil

1 whole fresh orange, slice into 1/4 inch slices, then cut of the rind.

salt and pepper to taste

1 large sheet of foil to wrap Salmon

Preparation

Wash and pat dry the Salmon fillet. Rub Salmon fillet with Olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place Salmon fillet on top of foil sheet and pour ranch dressing over the top of the Salmon fillet. Place three to four Orange slices on top of the Salmon fillet and wrap up tight with the foil. Cook on indirect heat for approximately 20 minutes at 350° f. No need to flip the foil packet.

Foil cooked Broccoli and Red Onions

Ingredients

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Have you ever stopped at the meat case and just have a piece call to you? Yes, then you know what happened to me. Rib Eye Steak grilled over an open fire just screamed at me. Some where in the back of my cluttered mind I remembered a rub that sounded perfect. My Fire Pit had been idle for a few weeks so everything just clicked.

I took my 1lb Rib Eye Steak home to let rest while I got the Fire Pit going. Still trying to remember the ingredients of the rub, I scoured the spices on hand, checked the fridge and once again threw it together. Best way, right? Thought I would throw a Potato and Onion on the coals also.

Here is my dinner for the night including my “Grecian Rib Eye Steak”!

Grecian Rib Eye Steak

1 Rib Eye Steak rested at room temp.

1 – 2 tbl Feta cheese

Olive oil

Rub for 2 steaks

1 tbl Garlic powder

1 tbl Oregano

1 tbl Basil

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Coarse salt

Baked Potato and Onion

1 Large Potato washed and dried

1 Large Sweet Onion peeled

1 tsp Garlic salt

1 tsp Course pepper

1 tsp dried Parsley

Olive oil to coat

1 Pat of Butter each

2 sheets of foil for each Potato and Onion to wrap completely 

How ever you decide to cook yours, my first and only choice for this Steak was an open fire. It just cried out for a mesquite fire. Well, old plum tree and ceder fence board to start with, then I added the misquite I burned the fire for a couple of hours to get a good coal base started. Great excuse to stay outside! Then I added some Mesquite charcoal to the fire to enhance the flavor of the steak.

I took the Potato and cut it in half and cut a X on the top of the Onion. Rub both with Olive Oil, then sprinkle the Garlic salt, Pepper, Parsley and a pat of butter. Wrap each with 2 sheets of foil. The challenge was to get the Potato and the Onion cooked and done before the Steak was finished. I opted to throw both of them directly onto the coals. Not into the fire, on the coals!

As your fire is burning down, move some of the coals to the side and set your Potato and Onion directly on the coals. You have to keep turning them! About every 10 minutes or so. You will have some hot spots and the skins will burn here and there. Great for flavor! Cook time is about 1 hour. The onion could be  little less. This is where practice takes over, you have to experiment to find out what works best for you. Some days it will be a little under done and other days, maybe a little crunchy. It’s all good when it’s cooked Outdoors!

Grecian Rib Eye Steak, probably one of my best recipes!!!

Wash and dry your steak, rub it with some Olive Oil and pat your rub all over. Let it sit for a least an hour. Grease up your grill ( I like to use Crisco for this) and then swing it over a hot bed of coals to pre-heat. Slap that steak on the grill and hold on! The smell is incredible! Sear on both side for about  2 minutes then cook to your personal preference.

Remember to let that steak sit for a few minutes before you cut into it. Un-wrap the Potato and Onion, plate them with the Grecian Rib Eye Steak, sprinkle a couple of spoonfuls of Feta cheese on them an enjoy!

Give this a try ….. I would have paid top dollar at a restaurant for this steak! I was fantastic!

“Get out of the kitchen! Light the fire! Start cooking outdoors”

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