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This month I want to cover some cooking techniques that you can use during a disaster situation, camping or just for fun.
To make your cardboard oven you will need a box with a removable lid or for a collapsible oven a box that you have removed the top and bottom. Next you will want to cover ALL exposed areas of the box with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Cut open a large plastic roasting bag and fasten securely over the top of the box with duct tape or string. There you have an instant oven complete with viewing window. To make this oven with a box that has a removable cut a large whole in the lid. Cover completely inside and out with foil, tape the roasting bag over the hole and you have your oven. To use this oven, you will first need to prepare you coals. Each briquette supplies approximately 40 F of heat and will hold this heat for about 1 hour. Additional hot briquettes can be added as needed. So to bake a casserole for one hour at 350 you would need 9 briquettes. Temperatures will vary with the box size and weather. To get an accurate temperature reading you may want to invest in an oven thermometer. Once the coals are hot place them in a tin pan or on foil. Next place a grill or baking pan 6-8 inches above the hot coals. (Use a folding grill or place on empty soup cans.) Place you food on the grill and set the box oven over the food, grill and coals. To provide air circulation prop one end of the box with a rock or cut an air vent on the bottom edge of the box. For any of you wondering if this really works, YES it does. When I was the director of our Girl Scout Day Camp, I baked two fruit cobblers in box ovens. The fresh wild blackberry one went first with the peach following a close second. My suggestion is you make your oven ahead of time and give it a try. Take it on your next campout and bake some Lasagna. A word of caution: NEVER, EVER use this oven inside of your house or other enclosed area. Always use it outdoors. |
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