How To Make A Plow Disk Cooker

How To Make A Plow Disk Cooker

Simple and satisfying — if plow disc cooking had a motto, that would be it. This style of outdoor cooker proves that a first-rate meal really only requires a solid cooking surface, heat, and quality ingredients. Essentially a shallow wok, plow disc cookers serve up everything from buttery sauteed seafood and crispy fried fish to sizzling fajita fixings and piping hot tortillas. Making a plow disc cooker is a quick project requiring a plow blade, two handles, and trusty outdoor heat source.

Choose a Plow Disc

Plow discs are the concave metal blades on industrial farm tillers. They typically slide onto a notched axle rod, so a plow disc used in agriculture has a hole in the center. They generally measure between 22 and 24 inches in diameter. A cooking plow disc is exactly the same as real plow disc minus the axle hole. Heavy and dense, plow discs are forged from heat-treated steel that can withstand the high temperatures of a cooking fire or propane flame.

Turning a Plow Disc into a Cooking Disc

Make a basic plow disc functional for cooking by attaching two heat-safe handles. First, secure the plow disc to a work surface using vice grips. Mark where the handles attach to the pan with a pencil, and then tap a shallow divot at each mark using a center punch and hammer.

Take an adjustable-speed drill fixed with a sharp cobalt or high-speed steel (HSS) bit, and very slowly begin drilling through the pan. If the bit spins too quickly, then the metal-on-metal friction produces a dangerous flash of heat. Stay deliberate and steady, and stop if there is smoke. Also pause occasionally to lubricate the bit with a squirt of oil. With the holes drilled, attach each handle with two bolts and tightened nuts.

Select a Heat Source

A plow disc works with nearly any heat source, including an indoor stovetop, but outdoor heat sources create the cooking conditions that plow discs are meant for. Aside from a pit fire, the propane-powered flame on a turkey fryer and a hot coal bed in a simple charcoal grill produce the high temperatures needed for a perfectly caramelized sear on a steak or for the scorched blistering on flavorful peppers and chilies.

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