5 posts tagged “cooking”
I'm saving my brown eggs from the farmer's market so I don't have to pay the extra $1.50 for cage free eggs at the
supermarket this winter.
To freeze whole eggs, crack the egg and beat until just blended, then freeze individually in a muffin tin. Then pop them out and store in a Ziploc bag once frozen. To use, simply thaw in refrigerator.
The taste of lighter fluid can ruin your barbecue - by using a chimney starter, you can eliminate the need for lighter fluid, and get rid of some old newspapers as well.
Steps
- Crumple a full sheet of newspaper then loosely roll it up into a tube. Even though claimed not to anymore, newspaper paper still has chemicals in it, including print paint (used to be lots of lead in it); you might find paper towels much more "health friendly" and porous, thus holding more oil in them, for the purpose.
- Form the tube into a donut shape in the bottom of your chimney starter.
- Spritz the paper donut with approximately one tablespoon of canola or other vegetable oil.
- Place 15-20 pieces of charcoal into your chimney starter.
- Light the paper in SEVERAL places from underneath your chimney starter.
- Set the chimney starter in a safe place and let "cook" for 10 minutes or so. In ten minutes your charcoal should be going perfectly.
- Add whatever additional charcoal you will need for your barbecue and let it "cook" for an additional 5-10 minutes.
- Move the coals to your barbecue grill or smoker when they have turned into beautiful red coals (or white/gray if it's daytime).
Tips
- You can make your own chimney by using a punch type can opener to make holes along the bottom edge of the side a large metal coffee can. Once the holes are punched, use a conventional can opener to remove the bottom. You might also use a piece of coat hanger wire to fashion a handle for your new chimney.
Warnings
- The most common mistake is to compress the newspaper too much.
- The second most common mistake is trying to start too much charcoal. Start with a small amount, then add more once it is started.
- Leaving your chimney starter unattended, especially on a wooden porch, is a great way to burn down your house.
I never knew solar cookers existed until last week. I'm coming out of my cave to experience real life folks!
To do-it yourself, here is a great site with lots of plans.
For folks who want to purchase one, try this site.
