Hobo Dinner ideas! Help!!!!!

[devilsknew]

Also, if you do use a garbage can (not highly recommended) it is important that you get a metal garbage can that is suitable and untreated. I have no idea if a galvanized can would be safe??..

Here is a blurb from the internet about someone having had a hobo stew made in a garbage can with a “stainless steel insert”.

[robardin]

Well, if you’re serious about cooking and serving dinner out of a garbage can, then may I suggest this for dessert?

[Rick]

@The Chao Goes Mu

The only thing I know is that you dig a pit in your yard, throw in charcoal and stuff, lay a grate over it then put a garbage can on the grate. (This really should be a new garbage can, I mean ideally ) You throw in whole bunches of different stuff, beef, pork, carrots, corn whatever I guess. Cook it, then serve it up.

I’ve never done one before so I was hoping for ideas. I think we’re saving the “boot” for dessert.

@WhyNot

Canned or fresh chopped tomatoes, for a more acidic stew.

::: Waves arems:::
Danger Will Robinson, Danger Danger!
I don’t want to be a spoil sport, but you might not like what happens with a galvinized trash can and heat. And the taste of disolved zinc isn’t the best. While some zinc is necessary for heatlh, too much is not a good thing
From the State of Illinois

A short-term illness called metal fume fever can result if workers breathe very high levels of zinc dust or fumes. This condition, which usually lasts from 24 to 48 hours, causes chills, fever, excessive sweating and weakness. Long-term effects of breathing zinc dust or fumes are not known.

Eating or drinking too much zinc in a short period of time can lead to adverse health effects, such as stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting. Eating large amounts of zinc for longer periods may cause anemia, nervous system disorders, damage to the pancreas and lowered levels of “good” cholesterol. There is no evidence that zinc causes cancer in humans.

Metal fume fever is what welders get if they weld on galvanized steel. On a BBQ website where I hang out the word is always use stainless steel, never galvanized for any steel or fastners that get near heat. If you do decide to cook in a trash can, don’t use any tomatoes. You do not want an acidic mixture in contact with zinc.

[Jodi]

This dinner, as I know of it, isn’t a “stew” per se. It’s not supposed to cook down into a sauce. You cook the ingredients all together, and then you throw 'em out on a paper-covered picnic table and people just dish up. So it’s stuff like corn of the cob (broken in half, as single servings); potatoes (scrubbed but left in their jackets); onions or cabbages (halved or quartered); links of sausages-- stuff like that: Stuff that won’t fall apart if you steam it up. Not ground beef. Not tomatoes.

You don’t need a grate. You dig a pit big enough to put the trashcan in, and you put the food in the can, along with a bunch of seasonings, and you put the carcoal briquettes in the dirt around the outside of it. You put enough beer in the bottom of the can to steam the food – NOT to boil it – estimating how much you’ll need to cook it all WITHOUT opening the can to add more liquid. You put the lid on the can, cover it with dirt, and leave it until the food is done. Then you uncover it, fish the food out, and dump it on the table. Everyone takes their plate (paper, of course) over, fills it with food, hits it with some hot sauce, and porks it down with an ice-cold beer. Or seven.

The practice pointer that you need a METAL trashcan made me laugh. Imagine trying it with a Rubbermaid trashcan. The trashcan should be new and clean, obviously. Any danger that it might be treated with something , but then my family hasn’t done this since the old days when we’d take our lives in our hands by playing lawn darts and riding in the car without seatbelts. Hope you have a great time.

[Jodi]

That should read "I don’t know anything about any danger that it might be treated with something . . . "

[devilsknew]

Yea, it’s not a stew, persay. It’s like an Irish corned beef and cabbage stew. Trust me, you don’t steam a hobo stew, you need liquid to cover and ya boil the hell out of it.

What’s so funny about the statement, “It is important that you get a metal garbage can that is suitable and untreated”. You never use adjectives?

[The_Chao_Goes_Mu]

I did tell my mom (she’s the one who’s actually hosting it) to line the can with foil so the food doesn’t absorb the galvanized steel taste. I’m pretty sure they are not amenable to using anything else since it’s only a few days away.

I’m really liking the idea of putting beer in it.

Thanks for the tips!

[redtail23]

@Jodi

You put enough beer in the bottom of the can to steam the food – NOT to boil it – estimating how much you’ll need to cook it all WITHOUT opening the can to add more liquid. You put the lid on the can, cover it with dirt, and leave it until the food is done.

This sounds like the recipe I saw. So, how do you keep the food out of the steaming liquid? Or does the stuff on the bottom just get boiled while the rest of it steams? Or does it not require that much liquid? And about how long does it take to cook? (Can you tell I’m kinda intrigued by this idea? :))

[Jodi]

So, how do you keep the food out of the steaming liquid? Or does the stuff on the bottom just get boiled while the rest of it steams?

Right.

Or does it not require that much liquid?

It can take quite a bit of liquid, but the point was that you’re not really trying to boil it so it’s not a trashcan full of liquid.

And about how long does it take to cook? (Can you tell I’m kinda intrigued by this idea? )

I dunno, exactly. I guess it depends on the amount of food you’re putting in it. But it’s not a delicate recipe. You want to make sure the potatoes are cooked, but most of the stuff you put in it is pretty hardy stuff that can be overcooked a bit without much harm. You just don’t want to boil it dry and end up like shoe leather. Sorry so vague on the answers, but when this was being cooked in my world, I was one of the kids running through the sprinklers, not one of the cooks.

What’s so funny about the statement, “It is important that you get a metal garbage can that is suitable and untreated”. You never use adjectives?

What I found funny about it was the qualifier that the can be metal. Don’t know why you’d interpret that as a personal insult, but knock yourself out.

[redtail23]

Thanks, Jodi!