Gourmet Camping with Spanish Chorizo, Jalapeno and Lime Seafood Packets
Camping, the get away from it all. A chance to commune with nature or at least sleep in the outdoors away from the hustle and bustle of the city. AND the treat of wood-fired gourmet cooking over a fire. I’m a sucker for food cooked with fire and my recipe for Spanish Chorizo, Jalapeno and Lime Seafood Packets. So, when the hubby suggested we take a trip up to Grand Lake, Colorado, it was a YES, from me.
We camped by Lake Granby in a beautiful spot overlooking the lake. It wasn’t the perfect three-day weekend we envisioned because it was cut short by surprise rain and thunderstorms.
Prepping for the Trip
We like to eat well even if it’s on a camping trip. As a result, I tend to plan part of our food ahead. Wanting to do something special for food, I consorted with the Google gods and found this lovely recipe for Cilantro Garlic Lime Seafood Packets from Host the Toast (we both LOVE seafood). It sounded like the shrimp boils I’m so used to having back home in North Carolina.
She cooked her packets in the oven, but I was immediately inspired to try them over a campfire. I mean, why not?! Anything cooked in foil is perfect for camp cooking.
After raddling off a list of shrimp, scallops, clams, and mussels to the guy at the seafood counter, he asked me what I was making. When I told him, he laughed, when I answered camping. He said, ‘don’t you mean glamping?’ Answering, ‘well, it’s not glamping since we’re still in a tent with sleeping bags. But I guess you can call it gourmet camping.’ He just laughed again!
Hey, what’s wrong with gourmet cooking while camping? Just make sure you grab fresh seafood and have plenty of ice or cold packs to keep it chilled until you’re ready to cook it up.
Substitutes for Spanish Chorizo, Jalapeno and Lime Seafood Packets
While I highly recommend the flavors the wine give the dish, you can also substitute chicken or veggie stock instead. Do NOT use water. Butter will also be awesome in this recipe, but I used sunflower oil due to us camping. A nice white fish can be added or used in the place of scallops if you choose.
I don’t recommend using unpeeled shrimp unless you cook them separately because they will overcook. Small shrimp will also cook too quickly. Once again, cook separately if you can’t get large ones.
I have to admit, we ended up enjoying the clams better than the mussels in the dish. Next time, I’ll be adding more clams and skipping the mussels – a weird thing for me to say considering how much I love mussels.
Do make sure you’ve left time to clean the clams and mussels before cooking to get rid of the grit.
Wrapping Up All this Deliciousness
When the days begin to cook, as summer switches to fall, it’s the perfect time to fire up the grill or stoke up a nice fire. Then pan for these tasty and scrumptious seafood packets. Warm your taste buds with spicy Spanish chorizo, white wine, late summer corn, jalapeno, and lots of seafood.
Yes, it was a gourmet camping trip. BUT I can tell you, it was AWESOME, and we enjoyed every bite. Don’t skip pairing with a crisp dry white wine and crusty bread to sop up the spicy broth.
Spanish Chorizo, Jalapeno and Lime Seafood Packets
Ingredients
- 10 Little-neck clams cleaned
- ½ lb mussels cleaned
- ½ lb uncooked shrimp peel on-vein removed
- 4 large sea scallops
- 2 ears fresh corn cut into fourths
- 2 large jalapenos sliced
- ⅔ lb dried Spanish chorizo sliced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- ½ bunch cilantro chopped
- large lime zested and juiced
- 1 cup dry white wine
- sea salt and pepper
Instructions
Cleaning Your Clams and Mussels
- Clean your mussels and clams by keeping them in water so that they will spit out the sand trapped inside the shells. Scrub the shells to remove grit from both and remove the beards from the mussels. Do not skip this step.
Prepping and Cooking the Dish
- Preheat grill, oven to 450° F, or build a bed of hot coals, if using a campfire.
- While things are heating up, let's prepare the seafood packets. Using four pieces of heavy-duty foil or a large foil pan, divide the seafood and corn evenly into the packets or pan.
- Combine the garlic, cilantro, oil, lime juice and zest, and wine into a small bowl, whisking to combine. Pour evenly over the seafood. Seasoning to taste with salt and pepper.
- Seal the packets tightly to avoid the broth leaking out, leaving a little room for the steam to build inside the packs. If using a foil pan, cover tightly with foil, sealing well.
- If using the grill, reduce heat to medium. If using the fire, take care not to place directly over the flames, but instead, on a grate over a bed of hot coals.
- Place the packets on the grill or grate or into the oven. Grill or bake for 20 minutes, turning halfway through, or until clams open up. If using the campfire, cooking time could increase to 25 or 30 minutes.
- Remove the packets from the heat, opening immediately to stop cooking. Be careful opening them to not burn yourself, because they are full of steam and hot liquids.
- Serve immediately with a bottle of white wine and crusty bread for dipping.