LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
Right behind my passion for bowhunting comes cooking and eating so I’m always looking for better ways to prepare food. The Can Cooker looked so easy, and it came with a lot of praise so I didn’t think there was any way it could live up to the hype. With only one meal cooked in it so far I can’t say that it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I can say I cooked a meal that impressed everyone that sampled it.
The Can Cooker is great for tailgating and can be used with any heat source.
I decided to start with a typical tail-gate type meal, bratwurst cooked with onions and peppers. Until now, I have only grilled or smoked brats so steaming them was something new for me to try. Right from the beginning I saw several advantages for using a Can Cooker for a tail-gate meal. After chopping the onions and peppers the work was almost done at that point. The Can Cooker can be used over almost any heat source making it very versatile in a variety of settings. I chose to use my turkey fryer burner which was over-kill. It doesn’t need that much heat to get the steaming process going. Stove top burner, wood fire, charcoal, camp stove, will all work.
The Can Cooker is as attractive as it is functional.
The directions say to spray the inside of the can with a non-stick spray so that’s what I did and then emptied the chopped onions and peppers into the bottom of the Can Cooker. Next I placed the bratwurst on top of the onions and peppers and then for a twist I added two sliced apples on the top of the brats. Then I opened three 12 ounce bottles of beer and poured the contents over all of the other ingredients. I finished by using a generous amount of my favorite grilling spice. I latched the lid, fired up the burner and sat back and waited for the steam to start spilling out of the vent hole on the lid. Forty minutes after the steam starts and you’re done. It can’t get much easier than that.
Cooking a variety of foods togather at one time is simple and easy with the Can Cooker.
Brats done on a grill can demand a lot of attention to make sure they don’t get over or under cooked and to make sure they don’t flare up and start a fire from the escaping grease. Serving brats with onions and peppers can mean having to cook two things at once. Combining all the ingredients together in the Can Cooker not only simplified things but I found it truly enhanced the flavor of the bratwurst. I thought the apples were a great touch also.
Cleanup of the Can Cooker proved to be as easy as actually cooking the meal; thanks to the steam heating and the no-stick interior.
Cleaning up was very easy, maybe because of the steam nothing stuck to the can. I just rinsed it out and then cleaned it with dish soap and a brush. The Can Cooker comes with a nice cover with a draw string to keep it clean when stored and a small cook book and directions to get you started. It’s large enough to make a meal big enough to feed a large crowd. All in all I see many pluses in using the can cooker and no down sides. It’s easy and versatile and makes a great meal.
My wife, son and my best hunting buddy all thought the brats had better flavor than you get when grilling them and I agree. To me, that’s the bottom line. Give the Can Cooker a try, I think you’ll be impressed too.
