OT - Henapple said I could cook a good meal in a shoebox

Foghorn

http://eggheadforum.com/discussion/1171404/its-not-always-the-best/p1

A while back, @henapple said I could cook a meal in a shoebox. My son and I decided we were up to the challenge but given our work and school schedules it took a while for us to have the time. It turns out we can (apparently) do it with a 50% success rate. 

We lined the bottom of 2 shoe boxes with foil and started fires in them and added potatoes (in foil) and zucchini. One shoebox went up in flames. As a result we now recommend NuBalance boxes for cooking. We ended up with pork tenderloin (marinated in chipotle lime marinade), potatoes, and zucchini from the box that survived. 

I will use multiple posts for the pics to get some reasonable semblance of order. 

Foghorn

nolaegghead

That cook really has sole!  Kudos!

Foghorn

WeberWho

nolaegghead said:

That cook really has sole!  Kudos!

I see what you did there 

WeberWho

That's awesome!  Thanks for sharing.  Eggs on the car radiator next?

Eggcelsior

nolaegghead said:

That cook really has sole!  Kudos!

I'm glad he took henapple's suggestion and ran with it.

Foghorn

Thanks @nolaegghead.

And @WeberWho?, I'm not a fan of eggs, but bacon could definitely be next.

Eggcelsior

In keeping instep with this theme, did the food take on an aged, cheesy like taste? My wife would put her foot down if I walked that line.

Foghorn

Eggcelsior said:

In keeping instep with this theme, did the food take on an aged, cheesy like taste? My wife would put her foot down if I walked that line.

No @Eggcelsior, it just tasted like grilled food.  The chipotle lime marinade must have dissolved any toejam effect.

Eggcelsior

Good to hear! Was it a marathon or a sprint to the finish?

nolaegghead

My shoebox smoker has a fungus problem....do you think a clean burn would fix that or would I damage the finish?

Foghorn

Eggcelsior said:

Good to hear! Was it a marathon or a sprint to the finish?

@Eggcelsior, that depends on how fast you run. For me it was a 10k. For a world class runner it was a half marathon - about an hour cook time. 

Foghorn

nolaegghead said:

My shoebox smoker has a fungus problem....do you think a clean burn would fix that or would I damage the finish?

@nolaegghead, I think a clean burn - WITH YOUR FEET IN THE SHOEBOX - is your best option. 

henapple

That's awesome....next...  Car engine. 

Foghorn

henapple said:

That's awesome....next...  Car engine. 

@henapple, Scoop of chocolate, scoop of vanilla - don't waste my time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pbVxyL-OeM

SGH

@Foghorn- That's cool brother. Stuff like that fascinates me. Just goes to show, where there's a will there's a way. 

Foghorn

Thanks @SGH.  I think if we fully wrapped the shoe boxes in foil, both boxes would have survived and we would have had a good meal with a beef tenderloin as well.  But that would have seemed a little like cheating.  I was actually thinking about your thread on wrapping briskets that discussed the burning temperature of butcher paper and I wondered how the cardboard of a shoe box would hold up.  I'm not sure if one fire was hotter than the other - or if one of the boxes was just more flammable. 

SGH

@Foghorn - Brother Horn, for thinking outside of the box and stepping up to the challenge of shoe box cooking, allow me:

Foghorn

@SGH,

You complete me.

theyolksonyou

Was the meat tender of like shoe leather?

Foghorn

theyolksonyou said:

Was the meat tender of like shoe leather?

@theyolksonyou, that's probably the best one yet. But it was quite tender. 

henapple

I've cooked in a spoo...... Never mind.