Earlier this week I drove some new Chargers, including the bonkers 707 HP Hellcat one. I'm not yet allowed to talk about what the drive was like, but Dodge didn't mention anything about not talking about the cooking. So here's the world's first review of cooking a frozen burrito on the engine of a Hellcat.
Two things made me decide to try this: one, the Hellcat engine has such a large, flat, inviting surface right there on top of the supercharger housing, and B, we stopped for a driver change at a convenience store with lots of grocery stuff.
Initially, I had a weird urge to buy a crapload of cat food just for the shock comedy value, but rationality soon took hold. But only briefly, because I soon noticed the amazing deals they had on aluminum foil and frozen burritos.
I realized that this would be a worthwhile test, one my devastatingly charming readers had a right to know. Sure, 707 HP means the car can go fast, but how do those horses enhance the engine's ability to defrost? I had to find out.
I got a frozen burrito and the tinfoil. I considered cooking some bacon or something a bit more complex, but I wasn't really sure how it would all play out, and I didn't want to risk anything that could get grease, blood, or other particles/juices all over the engine. A burrito is a pretty self-contained unit, and would cook pretty cleanly. Hell, even if it fell out of the engine it would likely drop harmlessly to the ground. Burrito seemed the safest bet.
I wrapped the rock-solid-frozen burrito in two layers of foil and stuck it on the nice flat area on top of the supercharger. I know getting it onto the exhaust manifold would provide much more heat, but I really wanted to test the viability of this large and quite convenient surface inside the engine bay.
I placed the wrapped burrito on the supercharger, and closed the hood, which pinned the burrito nice and securely to the supercharger. Then I drove for about 45 min to an hour or so.
When we arrived at the track, I popped open the hood for my motor-fresh snack. The foil was warm, but not exactly hot. When I opened it up, I found that the formerly ice-hardened burrito had, in fact, been cooked. I broke it in half to confirm that (unlike a microwave) no frozen islands of frozen burrito beans and meat lurked deep in the burrito's interior.
They didn't. The burrito was only warm, but warm all the way through. I suspect one layer of foil may have been better, allowing more heat to reach burrito-flesh, and, of course, a longer drive would probably have been useful, too.
Even with the short drive and the two layers of foil and the non-exhaust manifold location, the Charger Hellcat seems to be a promising platform for the dedicated engine-cooker. In fact, I could see the large supercharger top area being used as a warming station for parts of a meal while they either wait their turn on the true cooking surface of the exhaust manifold, and after, where the food can be kept warm after cooking. Also, slow-cooked food may work well on the supercharger as well.
There's some real culinary potential here, and I think when I get a loaner Hellcat, I should try and plan a large meal and a nice long road trip to really test this out fully.