Thursday, February 19, 2009

What to do on a sunny day.

Field Lab Solar Oven Beer,Bacon, and Onion Bread

Ingredients:
3 cups self rising flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup cooked bacon, shredded
1 cup grilled sweet onions, chopped
1 12oz can of Keystone Light Beer, room temperature

Wait for a clear day. Place solar oven in the sun. Lightly grease inside of cast iron dutch oven, put the lid on and set in solar oven. Pre-heat to 250 degrees for at least 45 minutes. Fry up a 12 oz. package of bacon (crispy) - set aside on paper towel to cool. Pour off all but 4 tablespoons bacon fat and chop 1/2 of a large sweet onion into the pan. Saute onions to golden brown. Remove onions from pan and blot with paper towels to absorb some of the moisture and set aside. Add flour and sugar into a large lightly oiled plastic mixing bowl and thoroughly mix. Shred bacon and add to dry ingredients along with the grilled onions ( approximately one cup each ). Mix well. Open the can of room temperature beer and pour it in. Stir batter with a wooden spoon until liquid is absorbed. Take mixture out of the bowl and very lightly kneed the dough adding just enough flour to form a ball that isn't sticky. Remove the cast iron dutch oven from the solar oven. Place slightly flattened dough ball in heated dutch oven, put the lid back on and place back into the solar oven. Keep the solar oven pointed at the sun and bake at 275 - 300 degrees for 2 hours. Serve hot out of the oven or let cool on rack for eatin' later.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

great lookin' bread there! I am a beer bread fan and eat it as often as possible. Never tried a solar ove before though, need to check it out more.

Thanks

Anonymous said...

As you were explaining the recipe, I could smell that bread cooking!

Anonymous said...

Hay ladies this man can cook. I had some of this bread and it was great. Thanks John. Big smile

Don Auderer said...

At last, I've caught up. Read your entire blog over the last two days. I'm a fan of the Big Bend country and am vicariously enjoying your experience through your blog. I've read both of Haley Stillwell's books and have James Evans photo book. I'm a wantabe photographer and love to shoot in Big Bend. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Next time I'm in Terlingua, maybe we can share a lunch at the Grub Shack.