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Design Boom reported the results of the recent “Dining in 2015″ competition. The winners were a set of pen caps that double as tableware for eating at work, a leaf-shaped spoon, and ceramic salt-and-pepper shakers that you break open to use. Those and the other finalists are all very trendy, interesting, and listed for your browsing pleasure. But one shortlisted entry from Iran grabbed my attention like a chocolate in a desk drawer: the Exhaust Burger mobile barbecue.
It’s an attachment for your car’s exhaust pipe. You insert a hamburger, and the heat from your vehicle exhaust cooks it! I knew I had to tell you about it, but I immediately started looking for all the unhealthy side effects of exhaust fumes in your food. Upon closer inspection, it looks like the exhaust travels over the food, with a partition in between. Whether that’s enough to make you feel safe about eating it, I can’t say. How far do you have to drive before a burger is cooked? Do you have to make a pit stop to turn it over? What if you forgot it was there? The people driving behind you might be able to smell it easier than you would. But don’t forget to take your oven mitts -anyone who’s ever suffered a muffler burn from riding a motorcycle knows how hot they can get!
It’s certainly not the first time car heat has been used to cook. You’ll find several examples in the mental_floss post Cooking with Tools.
I wonder if it comes with recipes. If it catches on, we’ll soon see different sizes available for different purposes. Then you’ll have to watch out for a semi with a crockpot attached to the back!
Comments (11)
Comment
I’m not sure whether I think this is one of the greatest ideas ever or just incredibly stupid. But I think I may go with stupid.
posted by Amy on 1-28-2008 at 9:49 am
There’s actually a whole book on cooking using engine heat… “Manifold Destiny” by Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller. Much like many of the classics, I’ve never read it but I’m aware of its existence.
posted by Ken on 1-28-2008 at 9:59 am
I believe there used to be a magazine from Ford Motor Company that included recipes for cooking all manner of meals utilizing the heat from the engine. There were detailed descriptions of how long you had to drive depending on what you wanted to cook.
posted by Anthony on 1-28-2008 at 11:35 am
This puts a new spin on tail-gating.
posted by Steve on 1-28-2008 at 12:07 pm
In the immortal words of Chief Wiggam from The Simpsons, ” Mmmm, engine block eggs…”
posted by Ralph on 1-28-2008 at 1:10 pm
This isn’t an invention - it’s a hallucination. How idiotic. But maybe it’ll be a good plce to hide my stash…
posted by Boba Fett on 1-28-2008 at 1:17 pm
I’m probably revealing too much here, but I have actually heated food on my dashboard before.
posted by Bob on 1-28-2008 at 1:45 pm
“It’s not just barbeque, it’s CAR-B-Q!”
~Lowell (Wings)
posted by Mel on 1-28-2008 at 2:42 pm
My mom and I actually put barbecue on the engine on a long drive out to boy scout camp for visitor’s day. It was nice and hot, and probably the best meal the boys had out of those two weeks.
I didn’t believe it would work.
…but exaust fumes scare me. That can’t be healthy. I doubt it’s any more convenient than just grilling, at least the first time.
posted by Eileen on 1-28-2008 at 5:09 pm
*exhaust.
I know how to spell it. Hate when I do that.
posted by Eileen on 1-28-2008 at 7:35 pm
While in college my friends and I drove down to Florida in an old Chevy Impala. When we got their the thermostat jammed and the car was on the verge of overheating. We turned on the heat full blast to keep it from boiling over. We also stopped and got some packaged pastrami and rye bread. We put the pastrami near the heat outlet. It got so hot we had to wait to eat it.
posted by Stew on 1-29-2008 at 11:34 am