Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Food Safety,Our Blog on July 13, 2026
Cooking on your vehicle’s engine has been a viral food trend that has made an appearance many times over the years.
What does cooking on your vehicles’ engine entail?
It usually involves preparing food in foil packets, placing them under the hood on the vehicle’s engine, and driving for a pre-determined time period.
Presumably, the heat from the engine will cook the food.
But is it safe?
Let’s break down the theory behind cooking on your vehicle’s engine and find out!
Just because people do it, doesn’t mean it works. After all, you can’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
Just about anyone can publish a blog or make an article. One would hope that the topics and information presented are well researched, thoughtfully curated, and accurately depicted. Though let’s be realistic. Some people are just in it for the clicks and likes.
To support the theory that cooking on your vehicle’s engine actually works, many people cite a 1989 cookbook, Manifold Destiny: The One! The Only! Guide to Cooking on Your Car Engine!
This book, written by Chris Maynard and Bill Scheller is an exhaustive source of all things car culinary. From recipes to preparation techniques, to placement and distances, this book is the basis of many online recipes involving cooking on your vehicle’s engine.
Most recipes involving cooking on your vehicle’s engine is based on braising, baking, or roasting. Simmering, boiling, and frying have their limitations when cooking via vehicle.
Basic recipes involve seasoning the main ingredient (beef, chicken, or seafood), adding some fat or braising liquid, tossing in vegetables and herbs, then wrapping the ingredients tightly in foils.
According to the authors, everything should be wrapped in at least three layers of foil.
As you might imagine, a leak can cause quite a mess on your engine and impart a not-so-palatable flavor from gasoline and/or exhaust.
This cookbook indicates cooking periods in terms of miles driven instead of the typical metric of time.
I wonder if traffic is taken into consideration for these recipes. The time to get from one place in the city to another varies widely depending on the time of day. It is unclear as to whether speed and engine temperature impact the cooking process.
As a food safety writer, I can see plenty of places where cooking on your vehicle’s engine can go badly. The biggest concern I have is with maintaining temperature.
Food must be kept out of the danger zone. The range between 40° F and 140° F. This is the sweet spot that harmful germs rapidly multiply into infectious numbers.
Essentially cold food must stay cold. Hot food must stay hot. Excursions in the danger zone should be limited to two hours (one hour if ambient temperature is above 90° F).
How hot exactly, does an engine get?
Some sources say the top of the engine gets to around 200° F. Cooling systems keep the engine from overheating, so you aren’t going to get much hotter than that. On the engine that is.
I consulted my local car guy (my husband) for advice on this and he explained that there are places on a car where the temperature could get much hotter. But not all cars can achieve this feat.
He explained that the best option for cooking on your vehicle’s engine would be limited to either a GM Duramax or a Ford Power Stroke diesel engine. This is because those specific engines have turbo charger(s) that sit on top withing the “V” of the engine.
Since hot exhaust gas flows and spins through the turbo charger, you have a very hot point (maybe 700° plus). Since heat rises, “you would have a nice hot spot.” Albeit a very small spot. About the size of your hand. Additionally, you would need to take off the protective plastic cover to achieve this goal.
Only a few gas engines are in this “hot vee” orientation. Primarily high-end luxury and performance vehicles from manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi, Cadillac, Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Lamborghini.
Since those are not necessarily commonly owned vehicles, let’s go with what a basic car can do.
Let’s say it is around 200° F.
I took a look at the temperature range of a typical crockpot. On the “low” setting, a typical crockpot gets between 190 and 205°F.
A fair temperature for comparison.
However, a crockpot is designed for a low and slow style of cooking. Implying that a longer road trip is necessary to fully cook a meal. But it is potentially possible.
Several sources indicate that proper placement of your foil packets are key. There is a somewhat easy way to do this.
First, drive you car around for about five minutes. Take it for a spin around the block. During this step, you are warming up the vehicle.
When you get it back, lift the hood and quickly touch various parts of the engine. The metal parts, not the plastic ones. Those won’t get hot enough.
Don’t hold your finger on those spots for too long. The goal here is to judge the temperature. Not to burn your digits. Alternatively (and preferably), use an infrared thermometer. The hottest parts of the engine are likely to be on the exhaust manifold.
Before you consume food cooked on your vehicle’s engine, you are going to need to make sure that it has reached a safe minimum internal temperature. This varies based on the type of food you are cooking.
Refer to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Safe Minimum Internal Temperature chart to ensure food is hot enough to kill lurking germs. Also, use a food thermometer to measure at the thickest part of the food.
Beef, pork, veal, and lamb steaks, chops, and roasts must reach 145° F. Ground meats and egg dishes must be cooked to 160° F. All poultry (whole or ground), casseroles, and leftovers must reach 165° F.
So the verdict is out on whether it is safe to cook food on your vehicle’s engine. It appears that it might be possible. But personally, I advise against it.
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Unsafe Viral Food Trends: Cooking on Your Vehicle’s Engine,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)