Over long journeys, the energy wasted by your car is considerable and can be put to better use. Engines are inefficient and by getting to know your engine, you can find out where your engine wastes energy through heat, and use that power to cook up a tasty treat.
Its true, each car has its own character and especially when it comes to cookery. You need to find the hot-spots, learn the hazzards and find out what works best for your individual driver-chef/car-oven team. You may eventually want to adapt your engine or build some custom cookware. For more information check our your car section.
These recipes and methods were dreamt up by Stuart Palmer and Dani Diaper over many long motorway journeys in search of surf. The combination of regular long journeys and huge post-surf appetites became too much and something had to be done about it. Dani and Stuart are frequently spotted in garages around Yeovill chowing down with the bonnet up or sitting beside the North Devon link road nibbling meatloaf. Stuart also keeps a food blog at http://yearoftheglutton.blogspot.com/
We welcome contributions from fellow car-chefs and have set this website up as a colaborative project. The website infrastucture allows us to give you user accounts and editing privileges. No technical knowledge is required and we are keen to learn from you. Please contact us and we'll send you details.
You can obviously use your imagination, and there is nothing better than lifting the bonnet with a new recipe sizzling in the guts of the engine, but these are tried an tested recipes. They are divided into 2 sections:
I realise that 100 miles may not seem much to some people, but on this small island, we are short range motorists. I'd love some recipes from abroad where there is enough space to consider so much more - slow cooked stews, roast chicken (if you're brave), bread?
We have found cars to differ incredibly. In side-by-side tests, the passenengers of one car may be getting lucsious wafts through the ventilation, whilst the other car has barely heated lunch. The answer to this is clearly to get to know your car, and this section aims to build up a knowledge base about which cars cook best and how to get the best results.
Are you an engine chef? Please send us details about your can and let us know how to crisp up that bacon.
The hottest place on the engine varies by car but will usually be the engine manifold. The example below shows a foil package on the manifold of a Citroen Saxo.
A combination of wire and foil will usually fix your package in place adequately. Bear in mind that if you're driving round small country roads, you may need to fix the item in place more than if you are driving in a straight line down a motorway.
Year - 1998
Good for oily fishes but tends to scald omlettes.
Inside a citroen Saxo. The element is flat making for an excellent cooking area.
Year - 1996
Very hot element and exceptional in all fields.
Ever had to explain to the AA man that you've got him out in the pissing rain late on a Sunday night because your meatloaf leaked on the starter motor? No, well we have and it doesn't go down well. That is why this page celebrates the avoidance of gravy leaks.
We recommend 2 main methods of wrapping up you tasty morsels - foil and the tray/bag method. Which method you use depends on whats on the menu. Its amazing how much juice can come out of apparently dry foods. Dani's baked bananas were famous in a number of Newport garages after the starter motor took a direct hit.
Not so much spot as sniff. There is nothing worse than getting the first whiff of lamb through the ventilation, especially if you know it still has 70 miles before its ready. In most cars it becomes pretty obvious when a leak occurs as it smells like your mother is cooking Sunday roast under your bonnet. Though this is clearly bad news, there is something quite magical about opening your bonnet to the pungent aroma of a fish and chip shop.
OK, so your kitchen has a gadget for peeling eggs, but your car's tools are generally more limited, so we suggest you arm yourself with the following at all times.