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Has anyone heard of cooking in a garbage can? My wife's uncle talks about others doing it years ago and he cant remember the details. They would get a new garbage can and put in layers of meat & vegetables and then bury it in the ground with coals under it or something like that. Can anyone give me info about it? I would love to throw a party with this as the food. I wonder about using a galvanized trash can though, but cant think of what else to use.
Here's a recipe for cooking a turkey in a garbage can. [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]
I think I'd be afraid of using a galvanized trash can for fear of the galvanized coating flaking off from the intense heat. What you can use is what I've used many many times. A stainless steel milk can with a tight fitting lid. Like you mentioned, you start by lining the bottom with corn husks. This keeps things from burning. First layer, some fresh kielbasa (Polish sausage) then potatoes,carrots,cabbage, sweet corn or whatever you think you might like. The order of layers depends on cook time. Things that take the longest are closest to the bottom. Pour about 1 qt. of water in and cover tightly. The milk can can be placed directly on the hot coals. When steam starts, loosen lid slightly and allow to cook for about an hour. Then get ready for about the best boiled dinner you ever had. Best way to serve is to empty the entire contents onto a table covered with newspaper and enjoy.
I never thought of a milk can, I think that would be just about perfect in size. However where to buy one is a question for someone living in the suburbs of Detroit
Milk cans are very hard to come by. Not too many people willing to give them up even for a price. I did some searching online and came up with this site. www.indiamart.com Do a search under more products. I appears you could get a new one from them. One thing I forgot to mention when layering the can is to put some of the sausage on top so the juices run down through all the vegetables below. TASTEEE
Sounds similar in concept to dutch oven cooking. Now there's a treat!
Lehman's has them, but they are $200, ouch.
Back in the 60's . My uncle used to have clam boils at his place on the bay in Rhode Island. He had an old beer keg with the top cut off. Everything went into the keg, sausages, chicken, clams and I don't remember what all else. This was doused with beer from an intact keg that happend to be very close by and a potato was placed on top. It was set on a pile of coals and covered with a wet tarp of some sort. When the potato was done, we ate. MMM, MMM,MMM
David
I wonder about using a galvanized trash can though, but cant think of what else to use.
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propane gas grill?Quote:
Originally Posted by teramin56
we use 55gal drums
Wow what an interesting concept. This would make an awesome party idea as you'd have to have a lot of people to feed to cook like this. I suppose you'd also have to have enough land and permission to light a fire outdoors which can be difficult to obtain, at least where I live.
Yeah, I'd be leery about using a metal trash can. I'm sure these are built to use to cook with, and you don't know what kind of chemicals and heavy metals might be seeping into your food. Before I did that, I'd buy two or three stock pots to cook in. By the way, are you cooking for an army or something?
Thats not me, thats a friends, although I do have one as does nearly everyone I know. I have made many over the yrs. If you use charcol for your heat source it makes no more smoke than any grill, as for room dont need much, set the drum on a few bricks and go for it. Any drum I get new or used I allways build a huge fire in and stoke it for several hrs, After I`ve seen that thing glowing red for I while I am more than satisfied about its saftey. As far as cooking for a crowd thats the beauty of it, its no more effort to cook for 5 or 20. Just google barrel cooking and you`ll see more info than you would even like. I am going to remove that link as it seems to have left that site open, if it did not let me know and I will put it back.
Heres a link from a differant site hope you find it usefull, They went way fancier than we do.
Pics! Our UDS Cooker (and How to Build One) - Part 1
Way back about 40 years ago when I was a Scout leader we used to have a winter Klondike. All of the kids from the district competed using their Scout skills. The price of admission was a can of soup. Lunch was Klondike stew which was basically all the cans of soup heated up in a galvanized garbage can. Open fires then were a non-issue and it was usually held on private property.
I don't care if it is new or not, I think I would have a problem eating something that was cooked in a trash can. I am perfectly content with my grill.
I never thought of a milk can, I think that would be just about perfect in size. However where to buy one is a question for someone living in the suburbs of Detroit
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I have had turkey most everyway in my 58 years, but by far, the best turkey that I make is "garbage can turkey". Sounds weird but when you buy a new galvanized garbage can and clean it out you have a lot more confidence in its cleanlieness. After the turkey is staked approx a foot off the ground and aluminum foil spread under it, the garbage can goes over it. I simply place coals from my nearby fire around the can where it touches the ground. You do not want intense heat. I can put my finger on the top of the stove without burning although I would not want to leave my finger there long LOL! It takes 1 hour per 5 lbs plus 1 hour (the extra hour crisps the skin). NOTE: I wrap a bit of wire around the bird to keep the wings and legs from dangling as it cooks. The end result is a very crispy, juicy, brown skinned delicious turkey which took no real effort nor fossil fuel to cook. We find this way of cooking our thanksgiving turkey is very enjoyable and even the cook can enjoy the beautiful weather and an occassional cold beer. We have 6 very busy grandchildren and we are too afraid to use a deep fryer to cook outdoor turkeys.