GB2472624A

GB2472624A - Portable barbeque baking unit

Info

Publication number: GB2472624A
Application number: GB0914130A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Henry Povey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-08-12
Filing date: 2009-08-12
Publication date: 2011-02-16
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-12
Also published as: GB2472624B; GB0914130D0

Abstract

A portable baking unit or box 10 for baking foodstuffs in a barbeque comprises a casing 11 with an apertured base 16, to be placed in a barbeque and enclosing a baking chamber 12. A food support 21 is removable from the chamber. Foodstuffs are baked in the chamber by heat radiated by the casing in conjunction with heat and smoke entering the chamber via the apertured base and perforated food support. Each of the casing walls may enclose a cavity (17, figure 2) and the casing may comprise a skirt 18 at its base for trapping heat. The food support may consist of a wall 23 for closing an open side of the casing and a mesh or grill tray 22a. A sliding heat dampener (25, figure 2) for closing the apertures in the base may also be provided.

Description

PORTABLE BAKING UNIT

The present invention relates to a portable baking unit for baking foodstuffs in a barbeque.

Barbeques are in widespread use for outdoor cooking of, in particular, meat and meat products which benefit from direct flame cooking with an infusion of smoke, whether derived from solid fuel or gas, to impart additional flavours. Barbeques are, however, less suitable for cooking other foodstuffs, such as potatoes or fish, which require either baking in order to achieve thorough cooking or wrapping in metal foil to avoid disintegration during the cooking process, including turning to achieve uniform exposure to the cooking heat.

Foodstuffs of these kinds, especially potatoes and other vegetables to be baked or fish fillets which have a less cohesive structure, are increasingly popular additions or even alternatives to conventional meats and meat products and accordingly it would be advantageous to be able to conveniently cook such foodstuffs on a barbeque rather than rely on, if indeed the option is available, other forms of cooking equipment.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a portable baking unit for baking foodstuffs in a barbeque, particularly, but not exclusively, foodstuffs which either require baking as opposed to direct cooking by barbeque heat or have an insufficiently stable structure to readily allow cooking without wrapping.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following

description.

According to the present invention there is provided a portable baking unit for baking foodstuffs in a barbeque, comprising a casing placeable on a barbeque above a heating region thereof and enclosing a baking chamber with an apertured base, and a food carrier insertable into and withdrawable from the chamber and comprising a perforated support for supporting foodstuffs to be baked in the chamber by heat radiated by the casing in conjunction with heat and smoke entering the chamber from the barbeque heating region via the apertured base and perforated support.

Such a unit, which can be compact in size, provides a baking chamber in which foodstuffs such as potatoes and fish, wrapped or unwrapped, can be placed and cooked by radiant heat from the casing walls when the unit is placed in a heating region of a barbeque and also by heat, accompanied by smoke, deriving directly from the heating region.

Accordingly, baked vegetables, baked fish and other foodstuffs can be cooked at the same time as or as an alternative to meat or meat products on a barbeque conventionally used only for cooking the last-mentioned forms of foodstuff. The versatility of the barbeque is therefore usefully extended. Although baking is achievable by the radiant heat alone, the provision for admission of direct heat, including flame, and smoke from the barbeque heating region via the apertured base of the casing and perforated support of the food carrier permits some degree of flame-searing of foodstuff surfaces if this is desired and infusion of smoke to impart the smokey flavour characteristic of barbeque cooking. The term "barbeque" in this specification embraces not only cooking equipment operating on a barbeque principle, but also open fires achieving the same effect, but without cooking equipment other than a means of suspending or otherwise holding food over the fire at a spacing from the seat of the flames.

For preference the casing, which can be generally box-shaped, is defined in part by walls each enclosing a cavity. The wall cavities retain heat derived from the barbeque heating region and provide a measure of heat insulation of the casing exterior at sides thereof facing away or generally away from the heating region. The cavity walls can be conveniently produced by constructing the casing from, for example, a sheet metal box with an internal aluminium structure spaced from the box walls to define cavities at all sides of the box except the perforated base and an open side of the box, by way of which the carrier is insertable and withdrawable. The box can be of mild steel with, for preference, a stainless steel panel defining the base.

The casing preferably has at the base a skirt bounding a heat trap at an intended underside of the casing. The heat trap concentrates heat, derived from the barbeque baking region, in the immediate vicinity of the casing base so as to optimise the transmission of heat to the casing interior.

The base of the casing is preferably formed by a plate with a plurality of discrete openings, which are, for ease of production, round in shape, but can be of another shape and of any suitable size and distribution. It is also possible to form the base from a grating, mesh or the like, but individual, relatively large-size openings are preferred in order to provide controlled admission of heat from the barbeque heating region.

The carrier itself can include a wall member for closing an open side of the casing and in that case the wall member can enclose a cavity in similar manner to the optional construction of the casing walls as described above. The perforated support of the carrier can be formed by a mesh or grill and can, if desired, have upstanding edges to prevent foodstuffs from rolling or sliding off the support, particularly during insertion of the carrier into and withdrawal of the carrier from the casing.

In an advantageous embodiment the casing is equipped with closure means for closing the apertured base at least partly, in particular closing apertures in the base to a selectable extent to control, especially reduce, the admission of heat into the baking chamber. It is thus possible for the user to damp the heat admission in such a way as to prevent burning of foodstuffs in the chamber in the case of a high heat output from the barbeque heating region. The damper function of the closure means can be achieved particularly conveniently if the closure means has the form of an apertured slide movable relative to the casing base between positions fully exposing and covering, to a selectable degree, apertures in the base.

Advantageously, the casing is provided with at least one carrying handle, for preference two handles on mutually opposite sides of the casing. The or each carrying handle can, if desired, be attached to the casing to be removable. The carrier can similarly be provided with a handle to assist carrying, insertion and withdrawal and in that case the handle can be detachable so that it does not have to be exposed to heat during use of the unit.

A preferred embodiment of the present will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a portable baking unit embodying the invention, showing a food carrier of the unit removed from a casing of the unit; and Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-section of the unit in Fig. 1, in assembled state.

Referring now to the drawings there is shown a portable baking unit 10 for baking foodstuffs in a barbeque, particularly, but not exclusively, vegetables such as potatoes, fish and other foods for which baking may be preferred to direct cooking over a barbeque or for which direct cooking by barbeque heat is not appropriate or readily possible. The unit 10 comprises a box-shaped casing 11 bounding a baking chamber 12 and consisting of two opposite side walls 13, a top waIl 14, a back wall 15 and an apertured base 16, the remaining side -an intended front side -being open or substantially open.

The side, top and back waIls 13 to 15 each enclose an air cavity 17 and are formed by a mild steel outer body ha and an aluminium inner body lib at such a spacing from the inner body that the cavities 17 are created. The base 16 is formed by a stainless steel plate with a plurality of round openings 16a, for example each of 25 millimetre diameter, arranged in rows or any other pattern and with appropriate density for the purpose of admission into the chamber 12 of heat and smoke emanating from a barbeque heating region. The heat in the interior of the chamber 12 is ultimately maintained by heat radiation from the wall surfaces of the inner body 11 b, whilst the air cavities 17 serve to provide a measure of insulation relative to the outer body 1 la thereby to assist retention of heat in the chamber 12. The insulation also ensures that the outer body 1 la, which may have to be handled by a user, will tend to be at a lower temperature than the inner body.

The casing further includes a depending skirt 18 at its underside to bound a heat trap 19, whereby heat can be concentrated in the area where it can pass from the barbeque heating region into the baking chamber 12 via the openings 16a. The skirt 18 can be formed by, for example, downwardly bent edge portions of the plate forming the base 16.

The casing 11 is equipped at each of its side walls 13 with a carrying handle 20 so that the unit 10 can be conveniently moved to and from the barbeque heating region by a user, in general with use of gloves if the heating region is active.

The unit 10 further comprises a food carrier 21 which is insertable into and withdrawable from the baking chamber 12 and which consists of a food support 22 and a cavity wall 23 of such a size and shape as to close the open side of the casing 11 when the carrier 21, or at least the support 22 thereof, is fully inserted into the chamber 12. The wall 23 can be formed with edge rebates to assist mating with the casing wall edges bounding the opening of the open side of the casing.

The support 22 comprises a mesh 22a or grill, a mesh being shown, which is intended to support a foodstuff to be baked and which permits largely unobstructed passage into the chamber 12 of heat and smoke entering via the openings 16a, and angled upstands 22b or low walls at the edges of the mesh 22a, apart from that adjoining the wall 23. The upstands 22b prevent foodstuffs, for example potatoes, from too readily rolling or slipping off the mesh 22a.

The food carrier 22 is provided with a handle 24 which can have the form of a simple wire handle with the shape illustrated in the figures. In the illustrated embodiment, the handle 24 is fixable to the wall 23 of the carrier 22 by engagement of bent-over free ends in respective sockets on the front face of the door, the handle thus being readily attachable for use and quickly removable to reduce the storage space requirement of the unit when not in use.

The unit 10 further includes a heat damper 25, which is shown schematically in Fig. 2 only and which basically consists of a slide plate with an arrangement of openings 25 substantially corresponding with the openings 16a in the base 16 of the casing 12. The damper 25 can be slid to displace the openings 25a relative to the openings 16a and thereby vary the effective air entry cross-section for the chamber 12, to the extent, if the design permits, of complete closure of the chamber. In that case, after foodstuffs have been cooked in the chamber, the unit can be removed from the barbeque with the damper closed and stored so that the food is kept warm in the chamber until required for consumption. If so desired, the unit can incorporate a temperature sensor to indicate whether or not the damper should be operated to reduce heat intake into the chamber if there is a risk of burning of the enclosed foodstuffs.

The unit can be of relative compact construction, for example a casing size with a 290 millimetre length of side wall 13, 260 millimetre width of back wall 15, 125 millimetre depth of side and back walls and 12 millimetre depth of skirt 18, yet even with these dimensions able to accommodate four potatoes of typical size for baking. The unit design allows attainment of a baking temperature of, for example, about 200 -230° C, giving a baking time of about one hour for a food item such as a potato and less for smaller-size vegetables. The top of the unit can be used as a stacking surface for plates to be warmed.

A portable baking unit embodying the invention represents a useful accessory for a barbeque, whether equipment or an open fire, to extend the range of cooking possibilities, while being simple to use and of compact size and economic construction.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A portable baking unit for baking foodstuffs in a barbeque, comprising a casing placeable on a barbeque above a heating region thereof and enclosing a baking chamber with an apertured base, and a food carrier insertable into and withdrawable from the chamber and comprising a perforated support for supporting foodstuffs to be baked in the chamber by heat radiated by the casing in conjunction with heat and smoke entering the chamber from the barbeque heating region via the apertured base and perforated support.
2. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the casing is defined in part by walls each enclosing a cavity.
3. A unit as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the casing has at the base a skirt bounding a heat trap at an intended underside of the casing.
4. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base of the casing is formed by a plate with a plurality of discrete openings.
5. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier comprises a wall member for closing an open side of the casing.
6. A unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the wall member encloses a cavity.
7. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support comprises a mesh or grill.
8. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support has upstanding edges to resist rolling or sliding of foodstuffs off the support.
9. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the casing is provided with closure means for at least partly closing the apertured base.
10. A unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the closure means comprises a slide.
11. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the casing has at least one carrying handle.
i2. A unit as daimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier has a handle.it A unit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the handle is detachable. /Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows: 1. A portable baking unit for baking foodstuffs in a barbeque, comprising a casing placeable on a barbeque above a heating region thereof and enclosing a baking chamber, the casing having an apertured base and a substantially open side, and a food carrier insertable into and withdrawable from the chamber via said side and comprising a perforated support for supporting foodstuffs to be baked in the chamber by heat radiated by the casing in conjunction with heat and smoke entering the chamber from the barbeque heating region via the apertured base and perforated support.2. A unit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the casing is defined in part by walls each enclosing a cavity.3. A unit as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the casing has at the base a skirt bounding a heat trap at an intended underside of the casing.4. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base of the casing is formed by a plate with a plurality of discrete openings.5. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the carrier comprises a wall member for closing the substantially open side of the casing.6. A unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the wall member encloses a cavity. * * ****7. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support comprises a mesh or grill.8. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the support has upstanding edges to resist rolling or sliding of foodstuffs off the support.S *I S * S S. S 9. A unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the casing is provided with closure means for at least partly closing the apertured base.10. A unit as claimed in claim 9, wherein the closure means comprises a slide.