RichardAllen Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 I have been looking into engine bay cooking, and most ideas seem to revolve around putting ingredients into a thick foil parcel and tying it onto the exhaust. My idea for cooking is along the lines of welding a couple of stub pipes into the outside jacket of a thermos flask and connecting it into engine's (300TDi) cooling circuit between cylinder head and heater matrix. The idea being that the hot coolant circulates through the outer jacket of the thermos, which is where the vacuum would normally be, cooking the food (casserole or similar) inside the thermos where the drink usually goes. The thermos lid would have to be drilled to prevent pressure/steam build-up, and it would need some arrangement so that the food can be removed once cooked and the thermos cleaned, maybe by having some quick disconnect couplings or swivel hose connectors. Is this idea as daft as my wife thinks it is (ie pretty daft) ? Anyone done anything similar ? All help gratefully received as normal. Regards Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam001 Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 That would only be around 85C...not really hot enough to cook food, or is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 I didn't think Tdis ever got that warm Now a V8 on the other hand... I've only ever cooked on the manifold, and it was only a pie warming job at that. I think you'd need a very long drive to cook the kind of meal you have in mind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardAllen Posted May 10, 2010 Author Share Posted May 10, 2010 That would only be around 85C...not really hot enough to cook food, or is it? Chicken is done at 75deg C, and there is a whole cuisine of slow low temp meat cooking using vacuum packing and temperature controlled water baths, so I think given long enougn time chi9cken and fish should not be too difficult. Beef and lamb can be eaten rare, so do-able but probably tough. Pork I would not try until the technique was well tested. So the cooking I am OK about. When it comes to welding pipe onto a thermos, I am sure the idea is not new and am hoping someone has built one of these before. Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunter Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Some expedition travellers have been known to slow cook guinea pigs in foil on the manifold. Useful when it's a long day on the road. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heath robinson Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 There was an incident of egg-frying on the cherry-red cast manifold of my mate's Crapi when we were sprogs, but it did involve driving it like a looney for a few hours to get the temperature up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaDi90Hybrid Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 I can't donate a guinea pig to test it, will a cat do! On the serious side, given enough time the meat should get pretty tender, the other option is to cook it before you leave and use the 'cooker' as a slow cooker to make a really nice stew for the end of the trip. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 What a good idea ! Go for it Richard I'm keen to see the results Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyNissanPrairie Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 that mad scientist cooking bloke with the name like a fancy french cheese that I can't remember did it a tele show where he used an Audi's coolant system in the same manner as you describe but I think he used vac sealed bags with the food in. dump your 300tdi-and fit a 2.5NA-the best engine LR ever made for cooking on! http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=43751&st=20&p=419104&fromsearch=1entry419104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 I think the main problem would be making it removable from the cooling system - you don't want to have to bleed the coolant every time you fancy a bit of chicken chasseur.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted May 18, 2010 Share Posted May 18, 2010 Plumb it in parallel to the heater matrix and stick a couple of valves on it - you can then isolate it when needed. I've been thinking along similar lines, but I've got a v8 to play with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Homba Posted May 19, 2010 Share Posted May 19, 2010 Hi guys how about a coil of copper pipe made to go inbetween the inner and outer part of the flask ? something like this you remove the bottom part of flask and sit it over the coil which would be in an upright position if you put a couple of clips on the bottom part and attach it to the chassis or somthing the flask would clip together and be held upright while it heats. once hot undo clips lift of flask . you use brake pipe and put in a cut off valve which would mean you could turn it off when not needed also if you put it in the truck it could be used as a heater too .if this doesnt make sence tell me and i will draw a picture . hope this helps cheers Iain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.