The Ultimate Thanksgiving (or Campsgiving) Dinner Menu for a Festive Fall Gathering

A Hipcamp Support Guide shares four staple dishes along with his experiences adopting Thanksgiving upon moving to the US.

I was born and raised in Brazil until I was 12 years old. In the summer of 2000, my family moved to New York, and that fall, we were invited to our very first Thanksgiving. It quickly became my favorite holiday. I still look forward to Thanksgiving—once the air cools down a little, and the leaves start to change colors.

Fast forward to 2012, I had been living in San Francisco for almost two years. My family, still in New York, couldn’t make it out to me for Thanksgiving, and I couldn’t afford to go home.

Luckily, I was working with many other Bay Area transplants who weren’t going home for the holiday either. My friend Dan invited me to join him and two others on a camping trip to Big Sur for Thanksgiving weekend. I had never been to Big Sur, nor had I ever been camping, so I jumped at the opportunity.

The trip was transformative in many ways, but one of the most impressive elements was the full Thanksgiving meal. Dan cooked for us and brought us together in nature to build some pretty spectacular memories. Inspired by this trip, here’s a lineup of four incredible dishes for your own Campsgiving gathering.

The Ultimate Campsgiving Menu

1. Grilled chicken under a brick
2. Mashed potatoes
3. Stuffing with gravy
4. Roasted corn, green beans, and bell pepper

Grilled chicken under a brick

Prep time: 40 minutes | Cook time: 40 minutes plus 10 minutes resting | Total time: 1.5 hours

Serving size: 6

Chicken under a brick ensures that the chicken has constant contact with the grill, and since it’s been butterflied, the chicken cooks quickly and evenly.

Ingredients

• 1 4-pound chicken, spatchcocked (click to learn how!)
• 3 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (other salt can be used, but adjust for salinity)
• Olive oil

Special equipment

• 1 brick, wrapped in foil
• Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. Spatchcock your chicken and lay it flat on a quarter-sheet cooking tray.
2. Using all the salt, liberally salt the chicken all around.
3. Let the chicken sit in the cooler for 30 minutes.
4. Remove chicken from cooler and wait 10 minutes for it to increase in temperature.
5. Lightly coat the chicken’s skin in olive oil.
6. Place the chicken back-side down, flat on a grill over hot coals, and cook for 20 minutes.
7. Flip the chicken, breast-side down, place a brick on top, and cook for another 30 minutes.
8. Take the chicken’s temperature by inserting the instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh. Cook until it’s 165ºF.
9. Once at the right temperature, remove the chicken and let it rest for 10 minutes.
10. Carve and enjoy!

Mashed potatoes

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes | Total time: 50 minutes

Serving size: 6

You can make this chunky or super smooth…it all depends on your patience and your taste!

Ingredients

• 1 pound of Yukon gold potatoes, washed
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/2 cup of milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cut your Yukon potatoes into 2-inch cubes.
2. Fill a pot with salted water.
3. Place potatoes into water and boil until potatoes have softened.
4. Drain water and return potatoes to the pot.
5. Add butter and milk.
6. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash the potatoes to your preferred consistency.
7. Serve and enjoy.

Stuffing with gravy

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes | Total time: 25 minutes

Serving size: 6

For the stuffing and gravy, we took a shortcut with our favorite stuffing mix and turkey gravy from Trader Joe’s. It’s super affordable and delicious! It also just takes about 20 minutes to come together, so win-win-win all around!

Roasted corn, green beans, and bell pepper

Prep time: 5 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes | Total time: 30 minutes

Serving size: 6

Wrap the corn in foil and throw it on the coals, make a foil pack with a splash of chicken stock, and steam the green beans on the coals! This is a quick and easy way to add veggies to your Campsgiving plate.

Ingredients

• 5 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned
• 1/2 pounds of green beans, trimmed
• 1/2 cup of chicken stock
• Olive oil
• Butter for corn at room temperature, as much as you prefer
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Completely wrap each individual ear of corn in foil.
2. Place corn on hot coals and cook for 15 minutes while constantly rotating.
3. Carefully remove corn from coals and open to release steam. Be careful—steam will be very hot!
4. Cut each cob in half and coat in butter, salt, and pepper.
5. Toss green beans with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
6. Make a foil pack for green beans, arranging in a single layer.
7. Pour 1/2 cup of chicken stock over green beans, and loosely wrap the foil pack.
8. Place foil pack on coal, seam-side up, for 10 minutes.
9. Using kitchen tongs, rotate foil pack, seam-side down, and cook for another 15 minutes.
10. Carefully remove foil pack from coals and open to release steam. Be careful—steam will be very hot!
11. Serve and enjoy!

My wish this Thanksgiving is that you too can get outside, gather around a meal with friends or family, and build even better memories of times spent together. Happy holidays!