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CARDBOARD BOX OVEN
In response to a couple of requests, this is a description of how to construct a cardboard box oven.
We have been using these in our Scout troop for about 5-6 years now, and they are always a big hit
with the boys. With a cardboard box oven, you can pretty much bake in the outdoors anything you
could bake at home in a conventional oven. The first known reference I have to this oven is a copy
of an article I saw from a 1953 issue of Boys Life. I first saw it used by another troop here in
Durham, but no Scouter is EVER above borrowing a great idea!
Materials needed:
A cardboard box about the size of the boxes that 10 reams of copy paper comes in
A pint of contact cement OR a staple gun with SMALL staples
Half-dozen coathangers with bolt cutters OR a half-dozen batt insulation supports
A roll of heavy duty Reynolds aluminum foil (wider is better than narrow)
Shallow aluminum or steel dish or bowl
Sharp Knife to cut cardboard and scissors to cut aluminum foil.
Duct tape (optional)
How to build:
1. The finished product will have a door wide enough to accommodate a 9" pie pan on a
rack made of metal rods, and long enough to insert a dish full of hot coals into the bottom a
sufficient distance below the rack of metal rods. Determine which side of the box you will cut the
door. If your box is the type that has a removable top, you can configure the oven without a door
and simply remove the top when you need access. However, I have found this design to be
inefficient. It is best to start with a box with all sides fastened down to create a fully enclosed
space, then cut a door into one of the sides.
2. Cut the door into one of the box sides. You can cut the door almost the entire width
of the box so it will "hinge" near a corner of the box and will "latch" on about 1-3 inches of the
remaining box side. The length of the door should leave about 4 inches from the top and bottom of
the box.
3. Fasten aluminum foil to the entire INSIDE of the box, applying through the door
opening you have cut. Do not leave ANY cardboard exposed on the inside of the box. I use contact
cement to fasten the foil to the inside of the box, although you can also use staples. IF YOU USE
CONTACT CEMENT, BE SURE THAT YOU ALLOW 3-4 DAYS FOR CURING BEFORE USING THE OVEN!!! If any of the
aluminum foil tears while applying, just cut patches and glue or staple over. You may get better
results if you use two layers of foil, although one will be sufficient. Do not forget to put foil on the
inside of the door you cut! Also, when you get to the door side of the box, make sure the foil
"wraps" around the door edges and the "jamb" edges. You can get a nice finished look by taking
duct tape and fastening down the aluminum foil that wrapped around the door edges to the outside,
and also applying it to the outside of the box to reinforce corners, etc. Be careful, though, not to
get the duct tape too close to the door, because it can melt from the heat.
4. Now you will make the rack using metal rods. Here you can use your imagination. A
quick and easy way is to take old coathangers, use boltcutters to cut the flat side out, and create 6-
8 rods. My favorite is using those steel insulation supports used to support batt insulation on the
underside of a floor. I even have one oven design that used an old rack from a small discarded
conventional oven. Any way you do it, you will need to position the rack about halfway between the
bottom and top of the box. If you cut the door right, this will be about the middle of the door, too.
Once you have cut the rods, punch them through from one side of the box to the other side of the
box. You can then use pliers to bend the protruding edges down. This will keep the rods from
moving around. BE SURE THAT ALL RODS ARE LEVEL WITH THE BOTTOM OF THE BOX. I usually cut a small
measuring stick to my desired height from the bottom of the box to the rack level, and then make
sure that I measure the entry AND exit point of EACH rod to see that it is level from the bottom. It is
not particularly important how many rods you use, or how evenly spaced apart they are, just as
long as you have enough rods to hold the weight the item being baked, and those rods are level with
the bottom of the box.
5. Your oven is almost finished! You now need to create the heat source. This is done
by using a shallow steel or aluminum pan, dish or bowl, sitting on pan supports. The pan supports
can be a small rack, rolled up balls of foil, rocks, or some other such device which will keep the pan
a small distance OFF the bottom of the box. I usually line the pan with aluminum foil also, just for
easy cleaning.
6. Once you have fully lined the box with foil, built the rack and gotten the pan and pan
supports ready, you are ready to BAKE!
USING THE OVEN
When you get ready to use the oven, you start a sufficient number of charcoal
briquettes (see info below on how many to use) OUTSIDE the oven in the pan you have prepared. A
good high-quality briquette like Kingsford works best, but if you use off-brands, be sure to add 3-4
more briquettes than would normally be called for. DO NOT use coals from campfire wood. They
smoke too much and will not go the distance for you. Once the briquettes have all turned to WHITE
(and NOT BEFORE!), take a pair of channel locks, or other pickup tool or fireproof glove, and insert
the dish of white coals into the bottom of the oven, making sure that it sits squarely on the pan
supports.
The number of briquettes roughly follows this formula: One briquette equals 45 degrees
of oven heat. Therefore, if your recipe calls for an oven temperature of 450 degrees, you will get
10 full briquettes ready. If you are winter camping and the outside temperature falls below about 40
egrees, I find that I usually have to compensate by adding about 2 more briquettes.
Since the box is a miniature oven, it is important that you keep it LEVEL while cooking.
Position the box on the ground or on a table in such a way that it will remain level, and out of the
way of normal Scout horseplay!
From here on out you just follow the directions on the goody you are baking. Mix up the
batter, put into a greased pan, and insert into your oven on the rack. Then close the door, check
your watch and bake for the time required by your recipe. NOTE: I have found in some recipes that
some cracks are needed in the oven to allow the escape of moisture. You may want to leave the
door slightly ajar, or you may want to get fancy and cut a small "vent" door in the top of the oven
that you can open and close when necessary. Also, if you put more coals in than the formula calls
for, you may need to check the oven a little sooner to avoid burning.
MMMMmmmmm. Nothing better than hot biscuits, muffins or cornbread for breakfast,
and brownies, fudge, or cake for dessert at dinnertime. By the way, two months ago I saw in
action a design for a larger oven which roasted a full turkey to perfection. If there is any interest,
I will upload that design as well.
Bon appetit!
Submitted on January 3, 1992 by:
Chip Reinhardt, Scoutmaster, Troop 451, Durham, North Carolina
CIS Member Number 76170,636