Manifold Cooking

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

As some of you may know, my family tours a lot with our Model-Ts and we cook regularly on our engine's exhaust manifold as we drive so I enjoyed reading this. There is a write-up in the Macon paper featuring Anne Neely Beck, --who if you don't know her personally, she is a real sweetheart and a huge asset to the Model-A family. Click HERE to read about her recent adventure cooking with a Model-A.

[PeteVS]

Read the article and happened to look at one of the stories down below it. Interesting as well- http://www.macon.com/2012/08/30/2156...statesman.html That's what happened to so many old Fords...

Now, who's got better pictures or drawings of a manifold cooker?

[ctvpa]

I have one of these, it is so much fun to go on a ride with friends, stop for 'lunch' and open the hood. They have them at Snyders, no clamps or screws, it just slides on. Very well made heavy grade stainless. I did add a small rack to keep the food up off the bottom.

[[email protected]]

http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/se...e=2&q=manifold

Snyders sells this one...

Do not just wire an unopened can of beans to your exhaust manifold. You may have explosive consequences. Seen it happen and it is not pretty....

[Jason in TX]

We tried cooking bratwurst and onions on our manifold once in a home made tinfoil wrap that was tied to the manifold with bailing wire. When we got to our destination about an hour and a half away, we found that it was actually not cooked long enough. We were surprised! I wonder if these boxes (I've seen and actually held one in my hand) do a better job of capturing the heat and cooking.

So, you've seen good results, eh?

[jeep44]

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I worked at a transmission plant before I retired. back when I started, the transmissions were tested by hooking them up to an engine,and running them through the gears. The engines were in (somewhat) soundproof cabinets, and every day , people would come back into my area to put foil-wrapped things on the engine manifolds. Once microwaves became widespread, this practice ended.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Jason, I think the biggest difference is what you tried really did not have much surface area to heat the food. I suspect the aluminum foil dissipated much heat with the air blowing by and the only place you were actually heating/cooking is where the foil was in direct contact with the manifold.

If you look closely at Anne's cooker, you will see water that the food was cooked in. I have included several pictures below showing various trips. The first 6 pictures show us out in South Dakota cooking. We drove for about 30-45 minutes from the hotel and the last 10 minutes were climbing up to Mt. Rushmore state park. The water in the cookers were definitely boiling by the time we got to the top. We spend a couple of hours at the park so the food was still warm but not hot. Then we drove back down and thru the town (probably another 15 minutes) until we found a city park where we could stop. All of the cookers had water in them followed by a bag that contained the various food and everything was hot. I suspect it would have been ready to eat at the top of Rushmore if we were ready to eat then.

The other pictures just show various places we have eaten at. Where I think it is the best is when you have several cars with cookers so you can make a smorgasboard of food. The last two pictures were taken last month when we drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We found a gas station/convenience store to pull around beside of and behind the building was some of these milk crates that I turned into tables. We cooked the meat in three cookers while we were driving, and when we pulled out the meat, Pennie had a bag of Cherry topping that she had taken out of a can and placed in a bag. The water in the cooker was still steaming so I set the bag of cherries in the water to heat up while we ate. Then Pennie went inside the store and bought an Angel Food cake. The cake was cut and the cherries poured over the top for dessert. My point is it can be done successfully but like anything else, it just takes some practice to be successful..

.

[jmeckel]

Does anyone make a cooker for the waffle style manifolds?

[30Ford]

I worked in a mine ..there was a guy that heated up his beans on the manifold on his scoop...well one of the bosses drove by and got hit by something hot..thinking the machine blew a hydraulic hose. ..but he was just covered in beans

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by jmeckel

Does anyone make a cooker for the waffle style manifolds?

Not that I know of Jon but it would be easy enough to make one out of stainless.

[Bruce Adams]

I found that my "Manifold Cook Pot" sitting atop the Autolite Heater in my yellow car did not turn out nearly the heat as my friend's solution, who strapped the spud to the manifold.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by ctvpa

I have one of these, it is so much fun to go on a ride with friends, stop for 'lunch' and open the hood. They have them at Snyders, no clamps or screws, it just slides on. Very well made heavy grade stainless. I did add a small rack to keep the food up off the bottom.

ctvpa,
Do those Snyder's cookers have a lid? Do they get hot enough while idling under an oak tree to make GRAVY? Bill W.

[glenn in camino]

We used canned beef stew and went on a 50 mile tour to heat it up. Worked great. Be sure to wrap the food up real good so it doesn't leak on your engine.

[jr-41ford]

Just over 30 years ago, while working harvest, we used to buy big burritos at 7-11, wrap them in foil and set them on our tractors manifolds to cook, while we dug potatoes or sugar beets.

Only question I have cooking on the Model A manifold, with the cooker, will the food OK, or will it taste like oil fumes inside the engine compartment?

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Bruce Adams

I found that my "Manifold Cook Pot" sitting atop the Autolite Heater in my yellow car did not turn out nearly the heat as my friend's solution, who strapped the spud to the manifold.

Bruce,
I'm gettin'excited, there's one with a lid, my driving would necessitate a LID. Where did you buy it. I've never been around Model A cooking, sounds like I've got to try it!
I can just see it now, INTERNATIONAL MODEL A KOOKIN' DAY! Bill W.

[Bruce Adams]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

Bruce,
I'm gettin'excited, there's one with a lid, my driving would necessitate a LID. Where did you buy it. I've never been around Model A cooking, sounds like I've got to try it!
I can just see it now, INTERNATIONAL MODEL A KOOKIN' DAY! Bill W.

FUNNY
I bought mine at a THRIFT STORE at my church, but at New England Meet thee was a non-associated flea market in Maine where I could have matched it for $ 2 last week.

Send me a private email to remind me, [email protected]
if you would like me to look at it for a brand stamp.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/se...e=2&q=manifold

Snyders sells this one...

Do not just wire an unopened can of beans to your exhaust manifold. You may have explosive consequences. Seen it happen and it is not pretty....

modela,
BOOM! in the night, a GALLON can of REALLY outdated chili beans blew up in our pantry, stuff runnin' out under the door, the makin's for a Hitchcock thriller, "Mistaken Identity In A One Man Pantry!" Bill W.

[Napa Skip]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

modela,
BOOM! in the night, a GALLON can of REALLY outdated chili beans blew up in our pantry, stuff runnin' out under the door, the makin's for a Hitchcock thriller, "Mistaken Identity In A One Man Pantry!" Bill W.

More likely "The Beans"

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted by BILL WILLIAMSON

modela,
BOOM! in the night, a GALLON can of REALLY outdated chili beans blew up in our pantry, stuff runnin' out under the door, the makin's for a Hitchcock thriller, "Mistaken Identity In A One Man Pantry!" Bill W.

Hmmmmm. It was a dark and stormy night and .............. I bet that it wasn't a pretty sight either.

Another question is what are you doing with a one gallon can of chili beans? Are you going to start running your As on natural gas ??????

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by jr-41ford

Just over 30 years ago, while working harvest, we used to buy big burritos at 7-11, wrap them in foil and set them on our tractors manifolds to cook, while we dug potatoes or sugar beets.

Only question I have cooking on the Model A manifold, with the cooker, will the food OK, or will it taste like oil fumes inside the engine compartment?

Tastes just like normal but even if it did, I doubt you would notice it. The difference is the ambiance of where you are eating it. Generally speaking you have smelled the food as it has cooked, and now you are sharing with your friends/family in a setting outside of the norm. If you cooked on one each and every day, I think it would be much akin to warming up lunch in the microwave.