In the heat the last few days, I’ve been cooking our meals outside in the roaster oven. No heating up the kitchen. For easy cleanup, I line the insert pan with a couple layers of foil no matter what.
When I baked burritos, I rolled them up and layered them in the pan. In between layers, I put a sheet of foil. I added a sheet of foil on top and wrapped it together with the foil coming up the sides to seal in moisture. I put on the lid, plugged it in, set the temperature for 325 degrees and let the burritos heat up for about half to three-quarters of an hour.
Yesterday on our menu were Arabic Meatballs. I mixed up the meat with the onions, mint, parsley, salt and pepper, but instead of forming balls, I formed a big oval shaped loaf. I put it in the oval-shaped, foil lined roaster pan so that it wasn’t touching any sides. I put another layer of foil on top and crinkled it together with the foil coming up the sides. Once I had put the lid on and plugged it in, I set the heat to 325 degrees and let it cook for 2 hours, until the center was no longer pink. I used 4 pounds of ground beef so that we could eat off it hot or cold for two days worth of meals, so it did take at least 2 hours to cook.
I’ll continue doing this as long as the heat keeps up. Today should be a refreshing 94 degrees, though, with a breeze. That will be a relief compared to the last 5 days.
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“…..outside in the roaster oven.”
That is so COOL!
Do you just set it on a table or something and plug it in? I have an outlet on my deck, do you think I could set mine out there on a table and let it go???
That would be really neat all year long.
Yes, just set it out there on a table and let it go! I just set mine on the sidewalk because that’s where the nearest outlet is. I warned the kids that it was hot and they heed the warning. Animals won’t come near because it is hot.
When everything is cooked, I move it to the table on the back porch and I serve the plates from there or wait until it cools a bit before bringing it in the house.
Hope it works for you!
Well, I just can hardly wait!
I keep thinking how wonderful it will be to cook a big batch of meat out there to can, or to freeze.
I cannot justify heating the kitchen in the summer. I’ve found that you can even make bread on the grill. I’ve read about making pizza, and it’s a great grilled dough, but it’s not pizza in my opinion.
I have found a way to cook everything on a grill: bread, veggies, fruit: grill some pineapple and toss it on ice cream, and meat and fish of course. I have a fire pit and the thrill of helping me cook over a real fire is a great way to involve my daughter and get her interested. Plus she’ll eat just about anything she helps me cook.