Cooking under the hood of your car is an
exciting alternative to an oven.
Let’s be real: Who hasn’t driven home for the weekend and thought, “Gee, I sure wish I could be cooking a roast turkey while I’m in my car.”
Well, thank goodness engine-block cooking exists so the savvy college student can do anything from heat up a sandwich to make a whole pork tenderloin. There are several necessary steps to perfecting the on-the-go oven.
- You must find the right food for the kind of trip you’re going on. A short trip to work would only allow you to heat up a hot dog. Conversely, a road trip to Minneapolis would give you the creative freedom to cook whichever food your heart desires.
- Wrap the food you’re making in aluminum foil. A lot of aluminum foil. You want the package to be 100 percent sealed all the way around so your food is safe from the engine.
- Find the perfect spot on your engine. This can be done in a variety of ways, but one of the best is running your car for a while and then turning it off. After that, open the hood and lightly feel around for hotspots. As a general rule, if you can touch the spot for more than a second or two without burning your finger off, it’s not going to get the job done.
- Make sure your food is snug under the hood in every direction. Once you’ve found the hot spot, place a balled up piece of tin foil there and close the hood. The tinfoil ball should be squished a little bit, and now you know the height your food should be to have it fit tightly under the hood. Furthermore, either tie the food down to the engine with wire or surround the meal with additional tinfoil to keep it secure.
- Drive your car to wherever you’re going, keeping in mind the satisfaction of cooking a delicious meal while you’re getting from A to B.
- Once you have arrived, carefully remove the food using tongs or hot pads. Then let the aluminum foil cool for a little bit so you don’t injure yourself.
- Enjoy your expertly crafted meal on wheels!
Obviously these steps aren’t perfect. It takes experimentation to find the perfect cooking location and ways to secure the food under your hood. Also, it takes some trial and error to figure out the ideal cooking time for various meals.
With this newfound skill, you’ll be able to impress any car passenger with foods ranging from a panini to a pot roast.