How to Cook Hot Dogs Without Fire at a Campsite
In older times people camped with few extras. But life is cozy in these days, and it’s tempting to purchase only the newest and best in camping gear. Doesn’t sound like you? Say you can’t afford all that luxury? You’re really the type to take as little as possible? Well then, cut one item off the list if you’re going on a short camping trip: the barbecue grill! Grab some hot dogs and a can of chips and leave the bothersome grill at home. No, you’re not going to eat the dogs cold! You’re going to cook them in the potato chip can!
Canned chips, like Pringles brand chips, are sold in a cardboard can with a metallic lining. The foil inside creates a unique oven that works especially well for cooking hot dogs. And the greatest part is that you don’t need any fire. Just cook the dogs in the sun and throw the container away when finished.
To create the potato chip can oven just run a stick through the center of the can. Do this by choosing a slender stick, poking a hole in the center of the lid and center of the bottom, then pushing the stick through both openings. Whittle the stick to remove all the bark and to make it the size you need. The stick should be long enough to reach from hole to hole, with a little to spare. The stick should also be slender enough that it will easily push through the hot dog. If you want, make one end pointed to make it easier to skewer the dog.
After the hot dog is inside the can just lay the can on the picnic table or elsewhere in the sun. There’s no need to turn the can or further move it around. Just leave it there for ten to fifteen minutes and check to see if it’s done. The sun will heat up the inner foil of the can and create enough heat to warm the hot dog.
Use the can oven to cook similar items like smoked sausages or small sausage links. Cook several of the small sausages at a time or place one large sausage or hot dog on the stick. Fat sausages will need extra cooking time. Use the fully cooked type so that you only need to warm the meat.
You can make the oven before you leave home using a craft stick or skewer. The skewers are the perfect length to slide easily into the can. You’ll only need to poke a small hole, at each end, using a nail or other implement. If you want you can use a little glue to hold the skewer into the lid. Then just remove the lid, skewer the dog, and insert it into the can for cooking.
Plastic skewers, used for skewering fruits and other cold items, can be used in the oven as well. The heat is not enough to melt the plastic stick. The plastic types are generally much cheaper than wooden skewers.
Save the cans and make several hot dogs at once. They’re disposable, and if you use the type of chips that come in cans, you’ll easily save up enough cans in no time. Obviously, though, if there are more than a couple of people camping, the hot dog cooker might not be the best choice of cooking methods. But if you’re by yourself, or with another person, you can cook the hot dogs in the sun while setting up camp. It’s a fun and unique way to cook that will save you money on charcoal and prevent you having to drag around a grill.
