Campsgiving and How to Dutch Oven a Thanksgiving Meal

When I sat down to brainstorm this blog and what I love so much about the holidays, the first thing that popped into my mind was family. But that is the obvious, almost “superficial” answer – the outside layer of the onion. When I took a moment to peel that back, I discovered that what I really love is family AND forgetting the outside buzzing of technology for a bit. I always think about my time at my grandparents’ house where their internet is mediocre at best and where I lose my cell phone for hours at a time and don’t care to find it again in a hurry. That feeling of being in a safe nest makes me remember the amazing feeling of being untethered as a young person. For all of my parents out there reading, I firmly believe that we have an opportunity to create tradition(s) where our kids can soak in what that is like. It may not be easy, but just like any habit, with a bit of work and repetition, it is second nature.

Enter in Campsgiving! Hear me out on this. WHAT IF this Thanksgiving (doesn’t even have to be ON the actual day, think outside of the box if that works better for your family and do it the weekend following!), you tried something new and got outside to experiment, learn and laugh together? That is what I am going to present this idea as – an experiment. Let your phones and extras lay on your bed/cot/sleeping bag/air mattress and cook a meal (heck, a whole day’s worth of meals) outside! If you want some ideas to make a weekend out of it and think that you can’t because you have a little one, check out this blog before you say no, and maybe give it a go.

I decided that this year for Campsgiving, I wanted to cook a semi-traditional dish. We grabbed our Dutch oven and made a one-dish meal of turkey breast, potatoes and brussel sprouts. Before you go thinking that it is too healthy to be good, check out the recipe below. I added a bacon weave to the turkey, which ups the fancy factor and also ended up taking the brussel sprouts to beyond delicious.

Turkey Breast with a Bacon Basket Weave and Brussel Sprouts

Tools:

Dutch Oven (I used this one – it is the perfect size for our family).

Pretty much everything in this Chef Set – the knife to chop things up, the spoon to give it a stir and the tongs to help move the turkey breast to the grill/lid.

Something to handle the hot Dutch Oven lid – I love the gloves in this kit, they make it so easy to maneuver the hot lid OR grab one of these handy lid-handlers.

Ingredients:

1 turkey breast (or we used turkey breast steaks because that is what was available)

2 packs bacon

1 bag brussel sprouts

1 purple onion

2-3 cups pecans/walnuts

Salt

Pepper

Sage

Rosemary

Thyme

Cook Instructions:

Chop the white ends of the brussel sprouts off and toss, then chop the remaining brussel sprout in half. Chop the purple onion and potatoes into chunks. Chop the pecan/walnuts into smaller bits.

Spray the bottom of the Dutch oven with Pam or some form of cooking spray (something lightweight – the bacon drippings will make their way down!) and then spread the potatoes, brussel sprouts and onion to cover the bottom.

Make the bacon weave for the turkey and lay the turkey into the weave. Use toothpicks to pin the bacon in place.

Place the turkey breast on top of the veggies.

Place on hot coals and cover the lid with hot coals for about 1-1.5 hours. Use a meat thermometer to ensure correct internal cooking temperature. For some extra charcoal support, check out these notes!

Take the turkey breast and either place on grill/grate over the fire OR turn the Dutch Oven lid upside-down on the hot coals and grill/pan fry until the bacon finishes crisping.

While crisping up the bacon, give the veggies a stir and let them sit over the hot coals with no lid to help cook off a little of the extra moisture.

Enjoy!

I added the potatoes to the recipe after I cooked mine without, because I found that the bacon grease made my brussel sprouts a little softer than I wanted. So, between the potatoes to help soak up some of that yumminess of the bacon run-off and the sautéing at the end, you should be left with straight-up delicious!