Heatwaves Have People Cooking Steaks, Burgers, Cupcakes In Their Cars

It’s getting hotter and hotter on this planet. Between it being summertime, climate change-induced record-breaking heat waves engulfing life as we know it, we’re all trying to find ways to adapt. One social media star decided to do this while appealing to gastronomy (that is, the intersection of food and culture).

What did he do? He started cooking all sorts of food on his car’s dashboard.

Dashboard Cooking Is The New Solar BBQ

TikTok star Joe Brown has tried it all. Based in Arizona, where’s it’s consistently a scorching 100+ degrees, his car can get above 222 degrees inside.

Check out this car cooking video where he places a New York strip steak on aluminum foil.

@thejoebrown

Reply to @yeat4kt is it hot enough to cook a new york strip steak in my car? #steak #foryou

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

It cooks to medium rare in a couple of hours.

@thejoebrown

Reply to @only_.adrian this steak was bussin’ #steak @TRUFF

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

Here is Joe trying to cook cheeseburgers on a 109-degree day while is car is 212 degrees on the inside.

@thejoebrown

will cheeseburgers cook in my car? #cheeseburger #foryou

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

“10 out of 10, would definitely recommend,” Joe says later as he’s scarfing his burgers.

@thejoebrown

Replying to @chronue these cheeseburgers were AMAZING #cheeseburger #fyp

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

At a 200-degree internal car temperature, Joe cooked chicken nuggets.

@thejoebrown

Reply to @josiahfrank3 trying to male chicken nuggets in my car #chickennuggets #food #challenge

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

“My car isn’t smelling the best right now, but these look Bomb,” says Joe.

@thejoebrown

these chicken nuggets were just like mickey d’s #voozhydrate @voozhydrate

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

Baking works with the car method as well.

@thejoebrown

Reply to @thekayc is it hot enough to bake CUPCAKES in my car?? 🧁 #cupcakes #food

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

At 185 degrees, they rose to perfection.

@thejoebrown

Reply to @koji_rai_art these cupcakes turned out amazing, who wants one?? #cupackes

♬ original sound – 𝘫𝘰𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

Another viral video of a woman in Las Vegas showed how you can cook a steak to well done in 38 minutes in 106-degree heat. However, she combined the air temperature with the engine of her Mini Cooper and actually placed that steak under the hood.

Cooked a steak on my Mini Cooper engine in the Las Vegas heat 🥩🚘@MINI pic.twitter.com/yqrKnTaQtp

— Getti (@gettishow) July 11, 2022

This is all hilarious except for the horrifying fact that most people don’t realize how quickly their cars can heat up.

Never Leave A Child Or Animal In The Car In The Summer!

Insider notes that car temperatures can rise 20 degrees in 10 minutes alone. They have a helpful graphic, except that it only reveals car temps up to 138 degrees.

As Joe has shown us, cars can get even hotter. Hence why dashboard cooking is possible.

So, as you consider your next meal or friendly BBQ get-together, remember: If you’re going to leave something in the car, it better be food. Never leave a child or animal in the car as the heat can be deadly.