moisture as you cut it. It practically oozes juices as you
chew. Equally stunning results can be achieved with pork,
which will submit to your fork like butter.
With some foods, the final serving temperature you’re
after is actually below the level at which bacteria begin to be
actively killed off. Rare salmon, or steak, is around 120°F,
for example. For foods like these, you must be very careful
not to let them sit for too long. To be safe, I don’t hold my
medium-rare steaks or salmon in the cooler any longer than
3 hours. After that, dinner becomes a game of Russian
roulette. And never, ever cook food in the cooler, let it cool,
and reheat it. This is absolutely inviting illness or worse.
With that somewhat dry lesson out of the way, let’s move
on to the actual techniques—the fun part.
COOKING IN YOUR COOLER
These recipes require an accurate thermometer as well as a
beer cooler with at least a 2.5-gallon capacity and a tight-
fitting lid. Some coolers retain heat better than others. Heat
retention can be further improved by draping several towels
over the cooler during cooking. Leaving it in a warm spot
also helps—I leave mine in direct sunlight on a warm day or
in a warm corner of the kitchen indoors. Here are the basic
steps for cooking in your cooler:
Season the food generously on all sides with salt and
pepper. Place in a single layer in gallon-sized zipper-
lock freezer bags along with any aromatics or rub.
Squeeze out as much air from the bags as possible with