New van no oven. Double skillet wanted

[Will86]

This afternoon my cousin tells me of another somewhat similar gadget at 9.99 plus post from Coopers of Bishop Stortford. Its called a Healthy Dry Cooker (I'm not smitten with the healthy title) so I've ordered one and at that price I can chuck it if no good but I'll give it a go and I'm sure I can modify it if needed. Watch this space is the usual comment

 

 

http://www.coopersofstortford.co.uk/lets-get-cooking-healthy-dry-cooker-prodst09452i/

 

[pepe63xnotuse]

Will..

If that pan isn't heavy bottomed enough for slower "roasting", it'd be worth trying it with a cheap simmer ring(. to help eliminate hot spots).

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craft-Heat-Diffuser-Simmer/dp/B000YJ9GOI/ref=sr_1_2/279-8597591-2201017?ie=UTF8&qid=1384339450&sr=8-2&keywords=simmer+ring

 

[Will86]

Thanks I'll keep it mind.

[Mel B]

Will85 - 2013-11-12 10:35 PM

 

This afternoon my cousin tells me of another somewhat similar gadget at 9.99 plus post from Coopers of Bishop Stortford. Its called a Healthy Dry Cooker (I'm not smitten with the healthy title) so I've ordered one and at that price I can chuck it if no good but I'll give it a go and I'm sure I can modify it if needed. Watch this space is the usual comment

 

 

http://www.coopersofstortford.co.uk/lets-get-cooking-healthy-dry-cooker-prodst09452i/

 

These have been around for donkey's years! I nearly bought one at a car boot sale for £1 but thought better of it as hubby would just have said 'what do you want another pan for?????'. They are not the same as a double skillet but you will be able to cook some stuff in a similar way. Let us know how you get on with it. :-D

[Will86]

The Coopers pan arrived today, I believe its something I can use.

 

It is made from steel (not alloy) and spun to a shape, being a metal worker the first thing I do is run my fingers all over it, its cheaply made with many metal 'snags' that catch the fingers which means I will have to go all over the edges to correct them, not a problem.

 

The glass lid has a hole so to check the inside temperature I will use a digital thermometer (which I already have) with the probe pointed through the hole. Although cheaply made all I needed was a metal box to heat food.

 

Watch this space.

[Guest JudgeMental]

Will85 - 2013-11-14 4:14 PM

 

Watch this space.

 

 

I am! I am Will!..transfixed!:-D Did you know these pesky german vans don't come with an oven!...I know... I know... hard to believe...what! :D

[Will86]

This morning I ran a test on my new pan. It should be said that my sole intention even before buying it was a simple box to cook those bread rolls that are bought in packets and need heating at 200c also the supermarket dinners. Quite a demand on a tin perhaps.

 

The interior of this thin steel pan is white paint, its not vitreous enamel, so it soon turned dark brown, in other words BURNT and no good for edible food.

 

I would suggest here that I doubt that anyone has used this type of gadget effectively. By that I mean to my limited knowledge most foods requires a temperature of 170c to 180c to cook correctly.

 

Other posters have said they would have liked instructions. I doubt if its possible to write any.

 

So ... back to the drawing board as they say. I have some drastic solutions !

 

 

[Guest JudgeMental]

Mel will know if the skillet meets your requirements....I know you're a fair age Will, but somewhat surprised that frozen processed supermarket dinners your secret for a healthy life :D

[maggyd]

Oh well crossed that one off my list :-S

 

I don't suppose you were meant to oil it before you used it ?

 

If I remember rightly a LOT of years ago I went to a demonstration of something similar ! she made a chocolate cake in it :-D it was alright but the friend I was with said "not as nice as yours" but you cant expect the same results as an oven, and I would think a long time on a low light would be what is needed!! and to bake bread you need a hot oven.

 

For the ready meals a microwave or halogen oven would be better, when off grid you just have to have toast (lol)

[Will86]

We are talking camping here with no mains power. The object is to make a small oven I can use on top of a gas hob and be assured I will win.

 

There are several reasons for the supermarket food, we both eat different styles, small quantities with lots of ingredients are ideal for Mrs H who likes Greek and Asian food which erupt in me as do salads. I'm a 3 item person. We eat small amounts but I do make many and freeze them.

 

Cookery demos are usually with prepared ingredients for achieving sales.

 

Should I have used oil? burnt oil would have been worse than paint. By the advertising splurge the word 'cooker' is used, that tells me I can 'cook' in it. I am not aware of being able to 'cook food' without heat, they possible mean its suitable for warming food that's already 'cooked', however I was more interested in the item and what I could do with it more than believe what was advertised.

 

The reason the interior was burned was because I was trying to raise the space temperature to 180c, this I did, but to achieve it the base was at 300c, rather hot. However I'm making a few adjustments which will involve a few nifty engineering adjustments

 

A halogen oven ? we are in a field.

 

PS our first home was in a wooden wheeled caravan. We can cope.

 

 

[Guest pelmetman]

Will85 - 2013-11-15 5:23 PM

 

 

 

PS our first home was in a wooden wheeled caravan. We can cope.

 

 

Ours was a potting shed :D

[Will86]

Not surprising, always potted.

[Mel B]

JudgeMental - 2013-11-15 3:29 PM

 

Mel will know if the skillet meets your requirements....I know you're a fair age Will, but somewhat surprised that frozen processed supermarket dinners your secret for a healthy life :D

 

The double skillet will allow you to 'bake' bread and also warm up pre-made food. The skillets are aluminium coated with a non-stick black inner layer, ours are a bit 'scratched' now but even with this you can't see the aluminium underneath so the layer must be quite thick. They still work well - by using a spreader plate (£4) on top of the hob it stops hot spots for slow/low temperature cooking. Remember that these are frying pans too, and also can be used as 2-tier cookers, so the are not just simple 'pans'. I had ummed and ahhed for quite a while before we got ours but when we change from a MH with 4 rings to one with only 3 it was one of my first purchases and now we only have 2 rings I'm certainly glad I have it.

 

Have a shuftie at the various comments on the web and some of the sites with recipes on them, like the one below:

 

http://www.smallmotorhome.co.uk/cookinginasmallmotorhome.html

 

I have supplemented my DS 'kit' with:

 

a metal lid (from a French supermarket) that has some air vents in, this allows me to use one of the pans as a simple frying pan with the metal lid ensures things are crispy rather than being broiled as you can get with the existing glass lid.

 

the base section of a loose-bottom flan dish to use as a pizza disc (the disc I use is from one of the below types of flan tin but mine has lots of small holes in the base to allow air/heat through). By putting it in the bottom of the pan then placing the pizza on top of it, it not only prevents the pizza base from burning due to any hot-spots, it also makes sure it is nice and crispy as it raises it slightly off the base and the air holes in it allow it to crisp up nicely ... no soggy bottoms, it means if I want to cut the pizza in the pan I won't damage the non-stick surface, and if I want to lift the pizza out I can by sliding a fish slice under the disc and lifting it out with the pizza on top (carefully so as not to let the pizza slide off!).

 

http://www.tesco.com/direct/tala-1305-loose-bottom-flan-ns-23cm-9in/596-4384.prd

 

If you can't get hold of one of these, a round cooling rack would suffice instead:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/baking-cooling-rack-racks-round-stand-for-scones-cakes-muffins-cup-cake-pastries-/300985931841?pt=UK_Home_Cookware_Food_Storage&var=&hash=item461428d841

 

Or even one of these cut down to size:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-PIZZAMESH-OVEN-SHEET-TRAY-FOR-CRISPY-BASES-32CM-/151110482536?pt=UK_Bakeware&hash=item232ee2fa68

[pepe63xnotuse]

Will...

If trying to "bake/roast" in a pan sat on a hob, I reckon you could do with a heavy(ish) bottomed/skinned pan and need to be cooking at a slightly lower temp, for longer( "Dutch oven" stylie..)

 

I just used an old large steel saucepan from a Coleman camping set we had knocking about(sat on a simmer ring) to "roast" a chicken(s)...

(...just placed bird on bed of chopped up root veg, onions etc..and let it simmer away on really low heat for a *couple of hours..)

 

* As I posted earlier,due to the length of time involved, we did only really try it a couple of times for the novelty value!..(lol) ..Life's too short! (lol)

 

 

 

[Will86]

The simple answer is I have a LOT TO LEARN ... but its like find the parcel ... I'm getting warmer.

 

Many thanks

[Guest JudgeMental]

I googled Dutch oven images as did not know what they were...and there was one of our heavy Le creuset Casseroles ...seems like something like one of these with a heat diffuser may works as an oven? Mind you they are well heavy!