Hay box ovens - what did you use?

JoH · Hay box ovens - what did you use?

Various suggestions for the insulation from those horrible little balls from beanbags to er...hay.

Has anyone actually built and used one and what did you use? I'm making a venison casserole for a workshop in a couple of weeks and fancied trying this out (and a test run beforehand in case goes horribly wrong

) so I don't have to keep running inside and also save some electricity!

kimmie

seem to remember one being dome in a pit ...the guy dug a pit, put a layer of hot coals meatal rack on top...meat was wrappped in foil....sticks laid across the top of the pit and leaves on top of that to keep the heat in...might be fun to try it..buty do a dummy run first

kimmie

oops badd spelling...wine and pills donet mix

'hic

JoH

haaaaaaaaaaaa!

I've doe the pit way with a haunch of venison (theme developing here lol) and it was lovely (but a bit dry) but this is more like this http://www.motherearthnews.com/Do...ediscover-the-Hay-Box-Cooker.aspx but various sites give deiffering stuffings and they all say their way is the best! I guess I could just try and try again till I find the best but it could be quite expensive and soul destroying

Smooth Hound

its only a thought, ive never done this, but do you need a box, could nt you have something like a hessian sack, but made wider and shorter , into a square, then put hay in it a few inches thick, then lay it on the floor , sit your hot pan in the middle of it, then lift the edges up and tie it round the top, so the pan is now inside it, just a thought

kimmie

or put the joint in a large baking tin and pour on some wine...cover with foil...that will keep it moist as well wouldnt it?

JoH

sorry, i had yoga - back now. Yes Kimmie - Its a venison casserole so lots of vino involved anyway to keep this moist but SH - I don't see why not but then again is wood more insulating than a hessian sack? I suspect so and I suspect it may be the sum of all parts that makes it work.

IainC

IainC

Also meant to say... I'm free almost any time to taste-test your venison stuff as and when required

JoH

LOL - you're on!

Smooth Hound

card board box then, just put your pan in it and stuff some hay in it around the pan, and some on top,

a few herbs in with the hay and what a lovely aroma in the room

Ina

In Germany, rice and the likes was traditionally cooked in bed... Mind you, we always had decent feather duvets. I don't think it would work so well with blankets, or those awful plastic duvets you sometimes get. Just wrap your pot with the boiling stuff in it in a large towel first.

Smooth Hound

even better

Nix

Cooking in bed ...... perfect

Julie

When I first started bottling this batch of lambs I bought, I stuffed the bottles of milk deep into the hayrack to keep them warm for the next feed. Considering it was only blood heat to begin with, it was quite successful, so I can confirm the insulating properties of hay. I only did it a couple of times though as it didn't seem wise to me. It was keeping the milk at the perfect heat to cultivate any bacteria - not good for any infant.
If memory serves, you need to bring the casserole up to boiling point in the oven, or on the hob first and it will stay hot enough in a cardboard box full of hay, as SH says. I reckon it would be better still if you lined the box with wool before putting the hay in. It insulates so well that snow will stay frozen on a sheeps back for days.