The Cardboard Box Oven

A cardboard box will make an oven - and it works just as well as your oven at home! There are different ways to make a cardboard box oven.

The open top Box Oven

Cut off the flaps so that the box has four straight sides and bottom. The bottom of the box will be the top of the oven.

Cover the box inside COMPLETELY with foil, placing the shiny side out.

To use the oven, place the pan with food to be baked on a footed grill over the lit charcoal briquets. The grill should be raised about ten inches above the charcoal. Set the cardboard oven over the food and charcoal. Prop up one end of the oven, with a pebble to provide the air charcoal needs to burn - or cut air vents along the lower edge of the oven.

The cardboard boxes that hold reams of paper, 10 reams of 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, or 10 reams of 8 1/2 by 14 inch paper, will make very nice box ovens. Line the inside of the box and lid with aluminum foil. Use a sponge to dab some Elmer's glue around the inside and cover to hold the foil in place. Make a couple holes in the cover to let the combustion gases out, and make a few holes around the sides near the bottom, to let oxygen in.

Make a tray to hold the charcoal using one or two metal pie plates. You can either make feet for a single pie plate using nuts and bolts, or bolt two pie plates together bottom to bottom. Cut a couple coat hangers to make a rack to hold up the cooking pan. Poke the straight pieces of coat hanger through once side, and into the other. Two pieces will usually do fine..

Put several lit briquets on the pie pan, put your cooking pan on the rack, and place the cover on top. The first time you use this box oven, check it a few times to make sure that enough oxygen is getting in, and enough gases are escaping, to keep the charcoal burning.

For all box ovens:

Control the baking temperature of the oven by the number of charcoal briquets used. Each briquette supplies 40 degrees of heat (a 360 degree temperature will take 9 briquets).

Experiment! Build an oven to fit your pans - or- your menu: Bake bread, brownies, roast chicken, pizza or a coffee cake. Construct a removable oven top or oven door. Punch holes on opposite sides of the oven and run coat hanger wire through to make a grill to hold baking pans. Try the oven over the coals of a campfire.

for further info, contact Shawn Ashe, Scoutmaster of Notre Dame de Lourdes Troop 26, Lowell MA.