Weirdest ways to cook your food!
Oven broken? Try cooking your dinner in the dishwasher. Or in the kettle. Or on your car engine... Seriously.
Heston Blumenthal is the undisputed king of experimental cooking; no obstacle stands in the way of this chef. Here at lovefood.com we have taken a leaf out of Heston’s book and unearthed some clever (if bizarre) tricks of our own.
Method 1. Salmon in the dishwasher
Just to warn you, this is one of the more normal suggestions...
Cooking a whole salmon isn’t the easiest of tasks, given its size. It usually ends up in a fish kettle, straddling two rings on the hob. So why not put it in the dishwasher?
Dishwashers heat their water during the cycle, and that heat is enough to poach a salmon. The trick is to wrap your salmon tightly in foil and run the dishwasher on the highest and hottest cycle. And don’t put detergent in, but that’s a given really!
Method 2. Ironing a cheese sandwich
An iron is basically the same as the type of griddle you find on many sandwich toasters. To make a toasted sandwich, place your bread inside a brown paper bag and then on top of a newspaper. Turn the iron onto a low heat and place on top of the bag for a few minutes before turning and repeating.
If you get peckish while ironing your shirts, then voila! Bon appétit.
Method 3. Cooking on your engine
Ever since the legendary book, Manifold Destiny, came out in 1989, cooking on your engine has become fairly popular among roaming motorists.
Wrap your food of choice (fish works well) in a tightly sealed foil parcel then place on the hottest part of the engine. You will need to drive for about an hour, then turn the engine off for 15 minutes or so before whipping up some tasty treats.
Method 4. Kettle cooking
If you’re short of space and fancy eggs, then the kettle can fast become a lifesaver!
You will need a piece of netting to hold the egg in place and to make sure it doesn’t come into contact with the element inside the kettle.
Pop the egg into the kettle when the water is boiling and keep switching it back on every 30 seconds or so to ensure the water stays hot.
Method 5. Beer can chicken
This doesn’t involve any crazy equipment, just a can of beer and a chicken.
Season the chicken then place it upright with the can of beer in the cavity (after you’ve had a few swigs). You may need some extra support at the back to stop your chicken falling over but the idea is that your beer will heat up and keep the chicken moist while it cooks.
Method 6. Dry ice
The likelihood of you having dry ice to hand is pretty slim, but just in case, here’s how to make instant ice cream with it:
Bash up some dry ice inside a tea towel until you have a fine powder. Then take a bowl of custard and tip in the dry ice slowly whilst whisking like mad. The mixture will thicken and in under a minute you will have real ice cream. Hey presto!
Method 7. Breakfast in a bag
This is a great little trick for when you’re camping and don’t want any messy pans to wash up.
Place some bacon in the bottom of a paper bag and carefully add two cracked eggs. Roll the top down a few times to seal, poke a stick through the bag and hang low over the fire.
The fat from the bacon stops the bag from burning and in five minutes you will have a breakfast fit for a king. Almost.
Tell us your tips!
Do you have any innovative cooking methods? If so, use the comments box below to share. Don’t be shy!
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