How to Build a Hot Box
Hot boxes, also known as hay boxes, may be the ultimate low-tech slow-cooker. An insulated cardboard box traps heat and uses it to finish cooking your food. You start the food cooking, stick it in the hot box and the meal finishes over the next few hours. Using a hot box saves energy, though it requires advance planning and some practice timing your meals correctly. You can make a hot box from materials your probably already have around the house. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Two cardboard boxes -- one are least four inches smaller on all sides than the other
- Old phone books
- Heavy cooking pot
- Rags
- Blankets
- Styrofoam or hay
Instructions
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1
Set the smaller cardboard box inside the larger box, leaving space on all sides.
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2
Fill the space between the two boxes with insulating material such as old phone books, rags, rolled towels or blankets.
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3
Place the food you want to cook in your pot and bring it to a boil. Use a heavy pot that will retain heat, such as a cast iron, Dutch oven, pressure cooker. Boil for five minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately set it in your hot box. Tuck more insulating material around and over the pot. Depending on your food, it will be ready in an hour to eight hours. Rice should be ready in an hour. Beans or stews may need eight hours.
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Tips & Warnings
The same sort of foods that work well in a crock pot can be cooked in a hot box. Foods without a lot of liquids don't do well.
You can use a cooler instead of the outer box.
If your food is not hot when you remove it from the cooker, it could be a sign that your cooker isn't well insulated enough. It is probably not maintaining a high enough temperature to kill bacteria in the food, so the food may not be safe enough to eat.
