Foil Dinner on the Grill

Ingredient Notes

• Salt. Enhances the flavor of the meat and vegetables.
• Olive oil. Adds moisture and tenderizes the meat.
• Brown sugar. Helps the meat brown and gives a touch of sweetness to the marinade.
• Garlic salt. Adds garlic taste and depth of flavor to the meat.
• Garlic. Adds delicious flavor to the hamburger marinade.
• Worcestershire sauce. Adds brilliant sweet and savory flavors to the marinade and thus the entire tin foil dinner.
• Red wine vinegar. Brightens the flavor of the marinade.
• Liquid smoke (mesquite flavor). Gives a delicious smokey flavor to the marinade.
• Black pepper. Adds heat to the hamburger marinade.
• Onion powder. Gives added zing to the marinade.
• Ground beef. A ground beef (aka hamburger) patty is the base of this tin foil dinner.
• Carrots. Carrots add nutrients to the foil dinner. Especially vitamins A and C.
• Potatoes. Potatoes give dimension to the foil dinner by adding a starch. It makes the meal more hearty and tasty.
• Bell peppers. Add color and nutrition to the foil packet dinner.
• Green beans. Including this vegetable in the foil packet dinners adds nutrition, color and taste.

How to Make this Recipe

1. To make marinade, mix Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, oil, onion powder, black pepper, salt and liquid smoke in a bowl and blend until smooth.
2. Cut vegetables: dice potatoes; slice onions; slice bell peppers; trim green beans; slice carrots.
3. Dip carrots in marinade and lightly shake off excess, then set aside.

4. Place potatoes in marinade.
5. Dip onions and remainder of vegetables in marinade.
6. Mix ground beef with remaining marinade and use your hands to gently blend marinade into meat. Be careful not to handle too much or meat will become tough.
7. Form ground beef into four equal sized (¼ pound) round patties. Place a dent in the center to help prevent shrinkage.

8. Cut 8 pieces of foil (18 x 12 inches). Spray interior side of 4 pieces of foil with Pam spray.
9. Place two foil sheets together, sprayed side up, and lay peppers, carrots and potatoes in middle of foil.
10. Place onions atop potatoes.

11. Lay ground beef patty on top of vegetables and lightly sprinkle meat with garlic salt.
12. For each foil packet dinner, bring two of the sides together, keeping the food inside. Fold foil sides like a tent and turn down edges. Continue folding down top of triangle-shaped tent until it is snug against the food.
13. Fold end pieces together and up. Make sure edges are sealed. Continue with additional tin foil dinners. Place foil packet dinners on outdoor grill. (Flip over half way through.) Cook on high for 10 minutes. Turn down heat and cook on low-medium 20 more minutes. (You could also do this in the coals of a campfire, or in your home oven.)
14. Remove tin foil dinners from grill and be careful as the foil will be hot! Cool to warm before serving. Serve meal on plate or in foil with barbecue sauce (optional).

Expert Tips

• Use cooking spray. Spray cooking spray on side of foil where you’ll place meat and vegetables. This will help prevent sticking.
• Cut thin slices. Cut hard vegetables into thin slices for foil packets. Also, use thinner slices of meat or form medium-thin ground beef patties. This will allow them to cook more quickly.
• Use heavy duty foil. Stronger foil prevents rips and leaks. It also protects your tin foil dinners from getting ashes in them. Use two layers of foil for your foil dinner on the grill; make sure to seal the foil packet well.
• Use both sides of foil. Unless you're using non-stick foil, it doesn’t matter which side of the foil you use. According to Reynolds, it's fine to place food on both the dull and shiny side of aluminum foil. The difference in appearance is a result of the milling process where  one side comes in contact with the mill's highly polished steel rollers.
• Reuse aluminum foil. Don't toss aluminum foil after one use. Foil can be reused. If it's not too crumpled or dirty, you can wash the foil by hand or on the top rack of the dishwasher. That way you’ll get some additional use from it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Serving and Storage Tips

• Be careful opening the packet. There’s a lot of steam inside foil packet dinners, so be careful opening them. To serve, tear or cut a small hole in the packet to let steam escape before fully opening.
• Make foil dinners ahead. To make foil dinners ahead, you can prep then refrigerate. You can store prepared foil dinner in a fridge up to three days before cooking, just put them in an airtight container.
• Freeze foil dinners. To freeze foil packet dinners for later, put packets together according to the recipe, then place the packets in a large freezer bag or container. Seal and freeze. Before cooking, thaw the packets, then follow directions for cooking.
• Don't store leftovers in aluminum foil. Leftover foil packets and other leftovers, will keep in the fridge 3-4 days. Don’t store them in aluminum foil. It’s not airtight, so even if tightly wrapped, air can get in which allows bacteria to grow faster. Instead, store leftovers in airtight storage containers or food storage bags.

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