Solar cooking is a convenient method of heating food while on a camping trip. You do not have to build a fire to have a hot meal, but since it is powered by the sun, you will need to remember that you cannot cook with a solar oven in the rain, on especially overcast days, or at night. It is best to use your solar cooker in the summer months during the hottest part of the day when the sun is highest in the sky. This is convenient for campers who camp out during the warmth of the summer. Solar cooker times will vary depending upon weather conditions, so keep an eye on your hot dogs. This guide will show you build a solar oven and cook a hot dog on it. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Cut the bottom and top out of the cardboard box. Reserve these cardboard cuttings.
2. From the two long sides, cut even, shallow "U" shapes. The bottom of these arcs should be about 1- to 2-inches below where the top of the box had been. See the picture for a side view of one of the long sides of the solar oven. Do not cut the narrow sides at the ends of the box.
3. Cut a piece of poster board to fit into the box along the curve. This will be the reflective surface of your solar oven.
4. Cover the poster with sheets of aluminum foil taped or glued to it.
5. With the foil side pointing up, tape the poster board along the curve of the box. You should be able to see the aluminum foil from the outside of the box.
6. Cut one of the cardboard pieces, reserved from the top and bottom of the box, in half.
7. Tape or glue each half to the middle of the 2 longest sides of the box with the extra length extending over the side with the aluminum foil. Refer to the image for a side view of the box with the cardboard attached. Use these to support the skewer for cooking your hot dog.
8. Thread the hot dog through the skewer.
9. Pierce each end of the skewer or coat hanger through the top portion of the cardboard skewer supports. Your hot dog will be suspended above the curved aluminum foil covered panel between the supports.
10. Place the solar cooker into an area of bright sunlight so that the sun hits the aluminum foil panel.
11. Leave the solar cooker in place for 15 to 30 minutes. Check your hot dog and turn it every 5 minutes. The amount of time that it will take will vary based upon the cloud cover, time of day, and season.
12. Test your hot dog with a meat thermometer, if desired, by inserting it into the hot dog, away from where the skewer was. The temperature should be at least 160 degrees F. Since hot dogs are sold fully cooked, don't worry about serving uncooked food.
13. Serve the hot dog in a bun with condiments, if desired.
Tags: aluminum foil, solar oven, along curve, long sides, poster board