I’m sure the editors of Cook’s Illustrated just screamed, “Stop the presses!” and are re-designing their next issue to include a rendering of the above picture on the cover. I call it: Taco Meat Sizzling on a Steam Iron in Room 348.
When I first watched this video of a taco meal being cooked entirely on an iron in a hotel room, I was absolutely blown away, because it looked about 700% better than the taco meal I made last night. Yes, mine was made from a box in which the majority of preparation involved snipping open a packet and either shaking or dumping. But still, this is the work of a real chef.
According to the video’s description, it was filmed by a chef who claims they have been in isolation in a Vancouver, BC hotel room. They say that since being in hotel room isolation, they’ve gotten creative and used different appliances to create interesting meals. This time, it just so happened to be tacos on an iron. As you’ll see from the video, it appears the epicure of pay-per-night establishments has created a hot, delicious meal using some tomatoes, avocado, a pack of corn tortillas, chiles, limes, cilantro, and a pack of chicken thighs. That part did have me second-guessing this project, because I am not entirely sure an in-room minibar can maintain a sufficient temperature needed for refrigerating raw poultry. But whatever bacteria are living on the raw chicken surely got seared off when it hit the permanent press setting. A fresh salsa was also made in-room, in some kind of plastic bowl.
Clearly, an iron strapped to an ironing board with a belt isn’t a perfect substitute for a kitchen, but it works. And even though it looks like a huge mess, I’m sure housekeeping doesn’t mind. This is a hotel, after all – any stains that you don’t have to identify with a black light are totally doable.
Pic: YouTube