Camping Recipe: Salmon, Asparagus and Pearl Couscous Foil Pack

Often times, at least in my early camping experience, food was almost an afterthought. Grab a bag of sliced bread, some cheese, some deli meat and some fruit. Let’s go! But for about a year now, I’ve put more thought into my meals when I’m out camping. I’m still a sucker for my boyfriend’s go to camping sandwich of ciabatta with brie, prosciutto and fig jam… but sometimes I need something a lil’ extra.

That’s where foil packs come in.

Foil packs are easy, versatile and they provide you the ability of cooking something that’s a little more like a meal you would eat at home, in your PJs, in front of Netflix. I do it, you do it… we all do it. It’s okay!

If you have a good cooler and you wanna reeaaaaalllllyyyy pull out all the stops—this post is for you. Couscous is quick to cook, salmon (or any other fish) is quick to cook, and the asparagus? You guessed it, quick to cook! From pulling the salmon from the cooler to sitting around eating a delicious meal, will take a whole 30 minutes. And it’s super worth it.

Salmon, Asparagus, and Pearl Couscous Foil Pack Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes plus 5 minutes resting | Total time: 35 minutes

Serving Size: 2

I mean it doesn’t get more extra than salmon when you’re talking about cooking while camping. ? But the beauty in cooking fish, especially something fatty like a salmon, is that they pack a lot of flavors and they cook quick. It’s something that won’t leave you feeling heavy and weighed down after the meal. We can leave that for the obscene number of s’mores we’ll be eating late into the night around the campfire.

Ingredients

• 2l b salmon steak
• ½ pound asparagus ends trimmed
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 1 cup pearl couscous
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Equipment

• Heavy-duty aluminum foil
• Knife
• Kitchen tongs
• Optional: Heat-resistant gloves

Instructions

1. Salt the salmon on all sides and set aside.

2. Cut a piece of heavy-duty foil to a length of 12 inches curl up the edges by ½ inch on all 4 sides.

3. Oil center of foil which will help prevent anything from sticking.

4. Place 1 cup of couscous in the center of the foil, you want to make a “bed” for the asparagus.

5.Place asparagus in a single layer on top of the couscous, season with salt and pepper.

6. Fold sides of foil up to create a “wall” and carefully pour ½ cup of chicken stock over asparagus and couscous.

7. Place salmon steak over asparagus and seal all edges by closing the foil on itself, creating a pack. Do not tightly wrap it, as there needs to be room for the steam to circulate within the pack.

8. Using kitchen tongs place pack, seam side up, on the medium heat coals or briquettes.

9. Cook on one side for 15 minutes at which point flip the pack, seam side down, and cook for the remaining 10 minutes.

10. Using kitchen tongs, remove the pack from the coals and let it rest for about 5 minutes.

11. Slowly unravel the pack back open and allow the steam to release. The steam will be very hot, please be careful.

12. Split with your bud and dig in.

Pro tip: The cooking time will vary on the size of your salmon steak. The bigger the piece, the longer the cooking time. I recommend cutting the steak in half and doing two packs if you have one of those chunky ol’ pieces.. Remember, you can always pull out the foil, open it, check for doneness and put it back in the coals if it’s not to your liking.

If you like this recipe, make sure to check out 3 Foil Recipes for Campfire Cooking with Tinfoil where you’ll find two other super tasty foil pack recipes.