How to Make Hobo Dinners

About a month ago we went to the sand dunes and an unfamiliar truck and trailer pulled in right next to us. A guy and girl, nice people. We are pretty social with each other. They are having Hobo Dinners that night. Neil mentioned that Hobo dinners are his FAVORITE. We have perfected the Hobo dinner so I was really interested to see how theirs turned out so I was watching their method out of the corner of my eye..... I knew before she even got them into the fire it wasn't going to turn out well.

As it turns out our new friends have leftovers! The guy brings a large helping over to share, "I'm stuffed!" Kelli and I weren't really interested but Neil enthusiastically took the plate.
The majority of the dinner was burned to the tinfoil. The potatoes and carrots that weren't black were still crunchy. The meat that wasn't black was bland and dry. Hmmm, no wonder he had extra to share!

This week we took a quick overnighter to the dunes and had Hobo dinners of course. As we were preparing it I couldn't help but think back to our poor friends and their less than satisfactory hobo dinner experience. I think too many people in the world have suffered a bad hobo dinner experience and I want to share our secret with you! Let me just say you are in for a real treat because this may be the most tasty meal I ever eat!

Let me also start out by saying that it took several less than satisfying attempts to make it perfect.

-What you'll need: tin foil, non-stick spray, seasoning (we use Tony Chachere's. It's a Cajun spice that is good on everything. Salt & pepper or any other spice you would use to cook meat would probably be fine), hamburger patties, shredded hashbrowns, brown gravy mix, grated cheese, onions, peppers, corn and a charcoal cooker.
-Light charcoal so it can be ready when you are done.
-Spread a large piece of tinfoil out. Spray with non stick spray. Sprinkle seasoning. The seasoning and the non stick spray act together to keep your food from sticking to the tinfoil. If you just use the non stick spray without the seasoning it doesn't work as well.
-Break up the hamburger patties into small pieces. Only put half your hamburger on for now. (We use 2 hamburger patties for Neil and Kelli and I each do 1 1/2 patties) You could just use ground beef but we have found the hamburger patties still are easier and taste better.
-Sprinkle meat with seasoning and some dry brown gravy mix. The gravy mix adds a ton of flavor and makes it very moist.
-Sprinkle hashbrowns over meat. (hashbrowns cook so much better than real potatoes)
-Sprinkle cheese over. You may also add more gravy mix now if desired.-Add desired veggies. We use frozen corn, onions, green pepper (and usually red pepper but didn't this time). We have found that carrots take a long time to cook and usually aren't cooked thoroughly. We also pre-cut all veggies before the trip so they are ready to go.
-Layer more hashbrowns and cheese. -Layer the rest of your hamburger and sprinkle any more desired gravy and seasoning.
-Pat down your mass of food to kind of flatten and even it out.
-Fold ever so carefully. You want to fold the pieces of tinfoil into each other as much as you can so it keeps all the juices inside.-Mark your initial or name with a magic marker if you have one so you know which one belongs to who. Be careful not to poke the tinfoil!
-Place tinfoil dinners on charcoal grill. If you don't have a charcoal grill that's ok. We have never had a positive experience cooking hobo dinners on a fire. You may place dinners directly on charcoal in the sand or dirt but you have to watch them closely so they don't burn. A grate over the charcoal would be better, although it takes longer without a lid. You will need to turn dinners over and check them occasionally. It is ready when the meat is done. In our charcoal grill it takes about an hour for them to cook.-Enjoy!!! Mmmmm!