Many of us cook in the outdoors during the whole year, not only the "summer barbeque" season and I know we all have some neat tricks or shortcuts we have learned from the dearly departed, aquaintances, and others to make cooking in the outdoors a little easier. Care to share some of your favorites?

Cooking potatoes: Before cooking the potatoe in the coals or on the grille, try inserting a CLEAN nail lengthwise through the center of the potato. The heat in conducted through the nail into the center of the potato, allowing it to cook from the inside out as well as the outside in.

A compact, cheap cooking platform: You will need three or four strap hinges (the long door type hinges) with a short flat headed bolt and screw. Fasten the bolt and screw at one end of the three holes. You end up with a 6" - 8" wide folding platform for cooking over a small fire or small can of Sterno. Simply unfold, put your skillet or coffee pan on and there you go.

Utensiless Cooking: After halving an orange skin, put finely chopped meat in cavity and stably set into the coals. After nearly cooking, crack an egg into the cavity and let cook. Nice little morsel. You can also cook the same way using a hollowed out onion.

Boiling water with no cooking utensil: You can boil water in coals using a paper "dixie" cup, as long as you remember to make sure that the cup is FULL. You can poach or hardboil and egg, in it, then use the water for coffee or tea. Just be sure to keep the cup full of water and you shouldn't have a problem.

Cooking breakfast in a paper bag: Place several strips of bacon in a small paper bag, fold the top securely and seal with paper clips, and suspend over the coals about 4" - 6". After bacon cooks, remove strips and crack an egg or two into the bag, and repeat cooking process. This one takes a little guessing, but when it works is pretty impressive, When done, fold down the sides of your "plate", chow down, and burn the bag when done. No dirty dishes!

-- j.r guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), August 17, 2001

Answers

OK, the nail in the potato makes sense. I'll even buy into the idea of the orange peel (though it'd take a big orange skin half and a small egg, I'd think) but the other ideas have me baffled.

Doesn't paper (even heavily waxed as in a drinking cup) burn? I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but rather trying to grasp the concept. It seems a paper lunch bag would become ash long before bacon cooked and that enough heat to raise water temperature to 212 degrees would be more than enough to ignite even a water filled paper cup.

I'm sure this is one of those things like the shaman walking over hot coals unharmed(which I do understand and is far more science than mind over matter). I'd just like to understand the principle behind it. Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), August 17, 2001.

Gary, these things all work. It's the radiant heat of the coals not a blaze where you cook by these methods. I didn't believe it until I helped with my brother's Boy Scout troop years ago. These are commonly taught techniques for BSA and other outdoor organizations. The cooking has something to do with the radiant heat necessary to cook the eggs and bacon and heat the water being less than the ignition temperature of the paper products.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), August 17, 2001.

Boiling water in paper cup does work because the water prevents the cup from burning. If you do not fill the cup, the cup will burn down to the water line. annette

-- annette (j_a_henry@yahoo.com), August 17, 2001.

Yep, boiled many a cup of water in a paper cup.

It works pretty neat !

j

-- j (jw_hsv@yahoo.com), August 17, 2001.

As for handy outdoor cooking devices, I have a couple of homemade turkey fryers/ fish fryers/ corn cookers/ you name it, made from the burner of a discarded hot water heater. The burner is mounted inside a 12 inch or so piece of pipe and the three legs welded on are made of rebar. The top of the cooking area is covered with expanded metal to hold your pot. The burner uses propane. I have a long hose that runs from the cooker to the propane bottle so that I can place the bottle as far away from the cooker as I need. They are painted black with grill paint I purchased at Wal-Mart. I have used these for years, they come in handy for a number of things and did not cost much! Happy cooking!

-- cowgirlone (cowgirlone47@hotmail.com), August 17, 2001.

I have been cooking potatoes with nails for years, but I wrap them in foil then use a 16D uncoated nail. I was in a supermarket years ago that sold 8 nails on a card, they called them "Potato Nails", $1.59, cute.

-- hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), August 19, 2001.

Marilyn,

I never doubted these ideas would work. I only wanted to understand the reasons behind it. Thanks to everyone for the explanations.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), August 19, 2001.