Bratwurst Hobo Dinners

I was a Camp Fire girl for many years when I was a kid.

I don’t remember much about th organization, but I do remember this day camp I would go to in the summers in Wichita Falls. I made some great memories and made so many friends at that camp. It was at a gigantic park next to a river, with huge trees and big “tree” houses. There was a large pool and tons of swimming, canoeing, and crafts were to be had. Sometimes I would make my mom sign me up for another week at the camp, I loved it so much.

Most of the time you packed your own lunch, but there were a few times we would make a campfire and cook things on it. Hot dogs, burgers, you name it–we grilled it. One thing I remember is these foil pack lunches we made once with potatoes, carrots and beef. They called them “hobo dinners” and I thought it was so cool that you could make a complete meal on a campfire just by wrapping it up in foil.

I don’t know why Camp Fire camp popped into my head the other day, but I started thinking about how I really wanted to make those hobo dinners. I don’t have a fire pit, so the oven would work just fine. This foil pack dinner was a bit different; I didn’t have any beef and used what I had on hand to make it.

Bratwurst, turnips, mushrooms and carrots—plus a few slices of red onion—and these things brought me back to my youth.

I made my own dry onion soup mix seasoning (sort of) and put a couple of pats of butter inside the foil to really season this up. These little dinners were so good! It was like I was camping again in the foresty wilderness of Wichita Falls, Texas.

Enjoy!

Bratwurst Hobo Dinners

• Servings: 6
• Time: 50 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A simple foil-pack dinner with bratwurst, mushrooms, turnips and carrots.

Ingredients

• 5-6 bratwurst links, cut into chunks
• 3 small turnips, peeled and cubed
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 12 oz. whole button mushrooms
• 6 TBS. butter
• 2 TBS. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. seasoning salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, toss bratwurst, turnips, carrots, onion and mushrooms together. Drizzle Worcestershire sauce over mixture and toss.
2. In a small bowl, stir together onion powder, garlic powder, seasoning salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over bratwurst mixture and toss.
3. Rip out six sheets of foil. Place about 1/2 cup to a cup of the bratwurst mixture on each foil sheet. Cut one tablespoon of butter into chunks and place on top of bratwurst mixture (do this for each sheet). Fold up foil so you can’t see any bratwurst mixture. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes or until bratwurst is cooked through and turnips are tender.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, toss bratwurst, turnips, carrots, onion and mushrooms together. Drizzle Worcestershire sauce over mixture and toss. In a small bowl, stir together onion powder, garlic powder, seasoning salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over bratwurst mixture and toss.

Rip out six sheets of foil. Place about 1/2 cup to a cup of the bratwurst mixture on each foil sheet. Cut one tablespoon of butter into chunks and place on top of bratwurst mixture (do this for each sheet).

Fold up foil so you can’t see any bratwurst mixture. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes or until bratwurst is cooked through and turnips are tender.