# Seeking Unconventional Cooking Methods...



## cook1 (Jul 26, 2010)

Hello everyone,

I am trying to come up with ways to cook food using unconventional appliances (i.e., instead of kitchen appliances, using things like a washer, dryer, dish washer, power tools, etc.).  I have discovered a couple of things, such as poaching a salmon in a dishwasher or using an iron to cook a steak.

I thought I would ask you, the cooking geniuses , for some more ideas.  Any thoughts?

Thanks!


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## GrillingFool (Jul 26, 2010)

Try googling about cooking on automobile engines.


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## MSC (Jul 26, 2010)

I suppose you could cook with a cattle prod, infrared or ultra violet lamp or a taser, but "WHy" would you want to?


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## mollyanne (Jul 26, 2010)

Boy Scouts like to cook *Stone Chicken* on their camping trips. You get a big stone (or a few), wash it, dry it (moisture will make rocks pop) and heat them through in the campfire. Stuff the stone into the cavity of the chicken, cover in aluminum foil, put it in a plastic bag to catch the juices, wrap it it burlap to keep it all warm, and let it cook for 6-8 hours.


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jul 26, 2010)

I tried cooking with my hair dryer, but my arm got tired before the roast was done, 4 days later.


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## Janet H (Jul 26, 2010)

You can make grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron (but don't tell my college aged kid, I'm trying to convince him that irons have other uses....)


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## GB (Jul 26, 2010)

Janet H said:


> You can make grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron (but don't tell my college aged kid....)


Ummmmm I am confused. Of course you can use it that way. Isn't that what it is for? What else would you use an iron for


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## DMerry (Jul 26, 2010)

GB said:


> Ummmmm I am confused. Of course you can use it that way. Isn't that what it is for? What else would you use an iron for


 
Certainly not for doing something with clothing.


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## JMediger (Jul 26, 2010)

We do hotdogs and frozen burritos on the manifold of our snowmobiles.  We actually have specially designed "cookers" ...


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## velochic (Jul 27, 2010)

JMediger said:


> We do hotdogs and frozen burritos on the manifold of our snowmobiles.  We actually have specially designed "cookers" ...



I think I saw Alton Brown use something like this on Road Tasted.  I know in truck stops you can get interesting appliances to cook while you drive.

OP- how about trying some primitive cooking over open fire?  Also have you ever built a solar oven?  You're supposed to be able to do that with a cardboard box.  I'm sure someone has the directions out on the internet somewhere.


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## Kayelle (Jul 27, 2010)

MSC said:


> I suppose you could cook with a cattle prod, infrared or ultra violet lamp or a taser, but "WHy" would you want to?



My thoughts exactly.


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## Claire (Jul 27, 2010)

I've heard of cooking food on the engine block of your car, especially when on the road; arrive at destination and the food is done.  I believe the food is put in heavy-duty aluminum foil, and when you get at your destination, voila!  When I was a kid, Mom used to take an electric coffee percolator with her on road trips, "take out the guts" (her words) and use it to cook all manner of foods.


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## Hoot (Sep 11, 2013)

Janet H said:


> You can make grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron (but don't tell my college aged kid, I'm trying to convince him that irons have other uses....)


Take it from me...never try to iron your clothes with a waffle iron. It just don't work.


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## joesfolk (Sep 11, 2013)

A l t o n Brown had a show in which he made beef jerky using furnace filters, some bungy cords and a box fan.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Sep 11, 2013)

I've cooked night crawlers in a burning milk carton.  I wouldn't recommend that.  You can boil water in a paper cup, and so can make simple soups in it, over a campfire.  Another unique poultry cooker is to use a heavy twin, or fishing line (braided) tied to either end of a heavy stick that has been run through a trussed bird, behind the drumstick ends, and then suspended from another heavy, thin cord tied to the center of the stick line to a support, so that it hangs above the ground, and beside the camp fire.  You give the bird a spin, and let it cook on all sides next to the fire.  It is a motor-less rotisserie.

Seeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Mad Cook (Sep 13, 2013)

cook1 said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I am trying to come up with ways to cook food using unconventional appliances (i.e., instead of kitchen appliances, using things like a washer, dryer, dish washer, power tools, etc.). I have discovered a couple of things, such as poaching a salmon in a dishwasher or using an iron to cook a steak.
> 
> ...


Do not, under any circumstances try to cook a salmon in a dishwasher unless you actually LIKE eating something that resembles stewed knitting. (Believe me, I know. A friend served it once)

It's too hot, takes too long, ruins the taste and texture of the fish, costs a fortune in electricity and water and makes the dishwasher smell of fish until you've run it through a couple of cycles with d/w cleaner.

It's largely an urban myth despite all the people who claim to know someone who knows someone who knows someone who _always_ cooks salmon like that. Oh yeah, you'd do it once and never again! 

If you are going to poach a salmon to eat cold do it like my great-grandmother and the rest of us do in our family. It's a recipe that goes back a couple of hundred years and never fails.

Gut the salmon, leave on the head but remove the gills (the fishmonger ill do this if you ask). Take a large sheet of oiled cooking foil and lay the salmon on it. Place a bunch of dill and thin slices of lemon in the body cavity with a little salt and pepper. Wrap the fish in the foil loosely but seal the edges so the water can't get in. Place in the fish kettle (your fishmonger may hire you one) or other pan large enough to hold it fairly snuggly and with a well fitting lid. Cover with cold water and place on the top of the stove. Bring to the boil, let it bubble for one minute then put on the lid, turn off the heat and push the pan to the back of the stove and leave it to get absolutely cold. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES REMOVE THE LID UNTIL THE CONTENTS ARE COLD (his may take all night)

This works for all sizes of fish from a whole one to a salmon steak and for any sort of fish you want to poach because you use a saucepan that the fish fits into and just enough water to cover the fish. It results in a beautifully cooked fish (and it's a cheap way of cooking it).

To eat it hot, it should be cooked gently either in a court bouillon or baked in foil in the over (which is what I do on the rare occasions I serve it hot)
or you can grill/broil steaks and pieces of fillet.

But let me re-iterate DO NOT WASTE A WONDERFUL FISH BY DISHWASHERING IT.


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## Hoot (Sep 13, 2013)

Never heard of cooking anything in a dishwasher.


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## Steve Kroll (Sep 13, 2013)

Considering this thread is three years old and the OP only contributed the one post, I would say he's long gone.


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## Aunt Bea (Sep 13, 2013)

During the Depression people used a hay or straw box cooker.  They would bring the food to a boil and then place the container in an insulated Hay Box and it would cook using the retained heat.  People also used an insulated box with a 100 watt light bulb inside, sort of an early version of the crockpot.  The automobile manifold was also used.

I looked on WikiHow and Wikipedia.  They have examples of various methods.  

One modern example of cooking on the manifold calls it a car-b-que!


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## Andy M. (Sep 13, 2013)

I did wash my dishes in a fish kettle once.


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## Mad Cook (Sep 13, 2013)

Hoot said:


> Never heard of cooking anything in a dishwasher.


You ain't missed much, honey.


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## Mad Cook (Sep 13, 2013)

Steve Kroll said:


> Considering this thread is three years old and the OP only contributed the one post, I would say he's long gone.


 And your point is?


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## GotGarlic (Sep 13, 2013)

Mad Cook said:


> And your point is?



It's probably not worth continuing this thread  Unless someone else expresses interest in the topic.


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## Mad Cook (Sep 13, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> It's probably not worth continuing this thread  Unless someone else expresses interest in the topic.


But several people have in the last few days.


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## Zagut (Sep 13, 2013)

Mad Cook said:


> But several people have in the last few days.


 

And I'll continue the interest. 

If someone can figure a way to cook food in an unconventional way I'm interested in it. 

Eating is survival and if we can make a palatable meal under difficult circumstances it's knowledge that's good to know.

During a prolonged power outage I once cooked a few burgers with a propane torch.

They turned out really good. You just have to remember not to burn the outside beyond belief before the inside is done.

The veggies I tried didn't turn out as well but the power came back before I had the need to experiment more.

Thinner slices may be the key but I'll have to wait for the power to go out for a week or more to find out.


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## taxlady (Sep 13, 2013)

Steve Kroll said:


> Considering this thread is three years old and the OP only contributed the one post, I would say he's long gone.





Mad Cook said:


> And your point is?


It looked like you were replying to the OP.


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## CraigC (Sep 14, 2013)

Zagut said:


> And I'll continue the interest.
> 
> If someone can figure a way to cook food in an unconventional way I'm interested in it.
> 
> ...


 
If you rigged the torch up to heat a CI pan, you could have cooked the burgers and vegis in it.


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## GotGarlic (Sep 14, 2013)

We have a gas stove, a generator and a gas grill with a side burner. When bad weather threatens, we make sure we have at least one extra propane tank and we're good to go.


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## CraigC (Sep 14, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> We have a gas stove, a generator and a gas grill with a side burner. When bad weather threatens, we make sure we have at least one extra propane tank and we're good to go.


 
You will find that most folks here in S. Florida have those items as well. Not so sure about Montreal. Point being, you improvise with what you have.


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## GotGarlic (Sep 14, 2013)

CraigC said:


> You will find that most folks here in S. Florida have those items as well. Not so sure about Montreal. Point being, you improvise with what you have.



Hopefully everyone in the potential path of a hurricane does.


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## cave76 (Sep 14, 2013)

When my husband and I were able to camp out for entire summers in Wyoming or Montana I learned how to cook dinner and bake bread by digging a hole in the ground and building a fire in  it.  I would cook stews in it, a whole chicken or bread in it, go off fishing the entire day and come back to a hot meal.

I used a cast iron dutch oven that had a lid with a rim around it to keep hot embers on it so there would be heat from the top also.

After putting the dutch oven in the hole I would fill the hole up with dirt. That was it! It never over- cooked or under-cooked the meal, like magic. And the bread it made was to die for!

DO NOT TRY THAT NOW-------- for I'm sure there are many rules against it now. But that was decades ago when we camped in national forests and not in camp grounds. 

An old Basque sheep herder taught me that. When he and  his large flock were ''in the neighborhood" he would swing by for coffee and company


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## taxlady (Sep 14, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> We have a gas stove, a generator and a gas grill with a side burner. When bad weather threatens, we make sure we have at least one extra propane tank and we're good to go.



Where do you store the extra propane tank?



GotGarlic said:


> Hopefully everyone in the potential path of a hurricane does.


By the time a hurricane gets to Montreal, it's just a lot of rain and some curved clouds, maybe a bit of wind.


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## Zagut (Sep 14, 2013)

CraigC said:


> . Point being, you improvise with what you have.


 

Ain't that the truth. 



Rigging up a way to use a CI pan is a good idea.

But at the time it most likely would have used up more propane then I had.

Not to mention I'm a lazy SOB and the effort didn't seem worth it at the time.

Live and learn. 


Eat well my friends. Tomorrow is another day.


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## GotGarlic (Sep 14, 2013)

taxlady said:


> Where do you store the extra propane tank?



It's usually in the shed at the back of our property, along with the generator, but when bad weather is forecast, DH will bring it into the sunroom in the back of the house. It's not actually part of the house; it's an enclosed deck. He also sets up the generator behind the house.



taxlady said:


> By the time a hurricane gets to Montreal, it's just a lot of rain and some curved clouds, maybe a bit of wind.



And it's probably classified as a tropical storm, if that. Very big difference.


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## taxlady (Sep 14, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> It's usually in the shed at the back of our property, along with the generator, but when bad weather is forecast, DH will bring it into the sunroom in the back of the house. It's not actually part of the house; it's an enclosed deck. He also sets up the generator behind the house.



I was wondering because I would like to have a second propane tank, but I don't have anywhere to store them except in the house. 



> And it's probably classified as a tropical storm, if that. Very big difference.


I don't think they even rate being called a tropical storm, but they are the tail ends of named hurricanes.


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