What’s a Cajun Microwave?

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A Cajun microwave oven is an outdoor wooden cooking box that slow-cooks meats and vegetables. It has a metal-lined tray at the bottom, covered by a grate, and a second tray that holds a charcoal fire. The enclosed environment keeps food moist while cooking, and it’s portable and easy to use outdoors. It’s a traditional Cajun cooking method used for decades.

A Cajun microwave oven is an outdoor wooden cooking box designed for slow-cooking meats and vegetables. The “microwave” in the name is a reference to the classic form of the microwave, rather than the cooking technique involved. Several companies make Cajun microwaves, sometimes to custom specifications, and it’s even possible to build your own.

The basic design involves a wooden box that is typically lined with metal, with a tray at the bottom. The tray is covered by a grate and the Cajun Microwave is closed with the use of a second tray that has been reinforced so it can hold a charcoal fire. As food cooks from the top down on the grill, drippings fall into the bottom tray, making cleanup easy. You may also see roasting boxes equipped with gas burners at the base or top, for cooks who don’t want to deal with charcoal fires.

Temperatures inside the cooking box can vary, depending on how well it is insulated and how hot the fire is. Typically, the temperatures are kept quite low, so that the food cooks very slowly and the end result is crispy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. The cooking box’s enclosed environment helps keep food moist while it cooks, and the size can be large enough to fit anything from a half roast of pork to a mixed variety of steaks and vegetables.

There are many benefits to using a Cajun microwave oven, over other cooking methods such as spit cooking or broiling. The first is that the cooking box is portable, easy to handle, and easy to use outdoors. In regions where open flame cooking outdoors is limited, people can still prepare traditional Cajun foods with a gas-powered Cajun microwave oven, and the top tray can also be used to support a grill, allowing the device to make double duty as a grill/roasting box. The size also comes in handy when preparing food for large gatherings.

Cajuns and other Louisiana residents have used some variation of the Cajun microwave oven for decades. The design is basically a greatly expanded Dutch oven designed specifically for enclosed outdoor cooking. These devices can be used on camping trips, for people who park near their campsites, and also appear at family reunions, Cajun conventions, and other events where people might want to cook a lot of food outdoors. open. You may also see Cajun microwaves paired with barbecues, grills, spits, and other outdoor cooking devices for a larger assortment of cooking techniques.




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