Rotisserie Rice Krispy Treat Disaster

This cook session did not go off as planned!

For the current "For Kids" Throwdown, my concept began with the simple premise of a spit bar completely mobbed with giant marshmallows.



As it was an instant kid bonanza even before I could get it to the heat, there were some early marshmallow casualties during setup.



Those early victims ended up getting off easy, as what ensued next was a marshmallow massacre.



Whether it was because the marshmallows had been sitting in a hot car and/or because it was over 95 degrees out on this Massachusetts afternoon, once I got the spit over the heat the marshmallows seems to see the writing on the wall and decided to not wait until they turned golden brown before leaping to their death on the coals below. I had an instant full-scale melting marshmallow mutiny on my hands as gobs of white goop rained down.



It was a lucky thing that I was cooking over the Firetrough instead of an open fire this time as the trough caught the melting masses. The early arrivals ended up nobly throwing themselves on the coals, forming a protective carbon/caramel layer which the others then fell upon, forming a marshmallow soup in the trough. We moved quickly to work to salvage what we could as fast as we could, but it was hard to focus through the tears of laughter. The kids were shrieking in delight/horror at the crazy scene. (Do you get bonus points for kiddie entertainment?)


It was fortunate that my original plan was to convert this sugar onslaught to Rice Crispy Treats to spread its consumption out post-cooking. We scooped out the white goop and got to work combining it with the other essential ingredients.


Ultimately, because of the grilled texture to the marshmallows (prior to melting off) and because of some of the caramel that formed in the trough, I would have to say that these Rice Crispy Treats were probably the best I ever had.



That said, I see I have unintentionally clearly created a new entry for www.BBQdisasters.com. :doh:

LOL, thanks! Cleanup turned out to be surprisingly easy considering the circumstances. God bless sugar. After a hot bath, the Spikes came out like new. The trough was intimidating, but I had lined it with aluminum foil prior to liftoff, and the caramel/carbon made an intact shell inside of it.

Then I remembered that there was my metal aerator sitting above the foil and below the coals. Here I thought I was in for a real disaster for sure, but when I peeled off the foil on the bottom, somehow the aerator came out almost completely clean.

The melting marshmallows seemed to have perfectly blended with the coals/soot on the bottom. It was perhaps a gift of using the sooty Kingsford stuff because I usually use hardwood lump in the trough which leaves almost no ash. I got off real easy this time, but don't know if I could repeat it!

SmokeJumper said:

Thanks for sharing the great pics of the cook and of your beautiful kids!

Click to expand...

Hey, thanks a bunch! I will have to pass on the compliments to their real owners. My niece and nephew were stand ins and I was lucky to be visiting them right when the "For the Kids" category was unveiled. I borrowed them, got them on an irretrievable sugar rush and gave them back to their parents (sticky fingers et al) just like KnucklHead suggested. :bow: :clap2::bow:

What was the show you mentioned in another post about "Food Jammers"? Haven't heard of that one.

Phubar said:

Nice thread...thanks for posting!

Click to expand...

Thanks Phubar! I had been participating in the Throwdowns for a few months now, but this was the first time I tried posting my own thread in Q-Talk. Now I understand how it works, I think I will post more here because it is fun to interact with folks about a particular cooking session. I have a tendency to push the envelope and there have been times I would like to ask others about their feedback about how I might have done things better.

On this last one, I am still wondering why I had such a total meltdown. It was the first time I had tried doing marshmallows on there and I wonder if people think it was temperature induced mayhem or whether it was because I use metal skewers, or was it the rotisserie action? I may be forced to repeat the experiment to explore it further. I think I will try freezing the marshmallows first to see what that does, too.

With a name like Phubar, perhaps you have some of your own BBQ disasters to share? BBQdisasters.com would love a submission from you if you have anything fun!

Phubar said:

I wish I could help with posting my BBQ disasters but I haven't really experienced them...yet!:wink:

Click to expand...

I wish I could say the same. I have a real funny story, though, which inspired the book.

Phubar said:

I'll take a look on the site...

Click to expand...

The site hasn't really gotten off the ground much yet, but there is a way for people to submit stories. More hilarious stuff still to come.

BTW Utrecht is my favorite city in Holland. Great canals and ambiance. Didn't know people Q'ed there as well!

Those are some great tips. Now that I hear you had some low saggy 'mallows even way up in the Furry White North makes me want to really give the frozen ones a try. I got as far as putting them in the freezer to see if they become rock solid or not. They don't. They become a bit like a cool Japanese mochi kinda a thing if you have tried that. Frozen may be the way to go.