Ever wondered if your garage tools could double as kitchen utensils? We did! In a quirky experiment blending automotive repair with culinary adventure, we explored the surprising (and decidedly non-food-safe) world of cooking with car parts. And when it came to kitchen “forks”, a specific Car Parts Fork Tool took center stage: the pickle fork.
Our journey began with a collection of well-worn auto components: an oil pan, a valve cover, and a hubcap, alongside an assortment of tools from the garage. First order of business? Cleaning. We dove into degreasing with foamy engine cleaner, a trusty solution for automotive grime, hoping it would translate to kitchen cleanliness – though perhaps optimistically.
The oil pan presented an immediate challenge. A rubber plug at its base was clearly not oven-safe. Gravy spillage was a high-stakes concern, so a quick fix was needed. A bolt jammed into the plug’s hole, sealed with weld, became our makeshift, heat-resistant solution.
With our cooking “vessels” prepped, tool selection was next. For slicing the chicken, a Sawzall (because why not?). Mashing potatoes demanded a sledgehammer. And for holding things steady and maneuvering ingredients? The car parts fork tool of choice: a pickle fork, normally employed for steering tie rods and ball joints. A plastic trim removal tool stood in as a regular fork, and vice grips were enlisted for salad tossing duties.
Missing from the initial tool lineup was the angle grinder, soon fitted with a flap disc for potato peeling. Overkill? Absolutely. Effective? Surprisingly so! While not as efficient as a peeler, the grinder effectively removed potato skins, offering a uniquely automotive approach to food prep and a whole lot more entertainment value.
The potato peeling process, while fun, did generate a significant amount of potato dust, which lingered in the kitchen long after. The outlines of the tools remained on the countertop, a testament to the “Potato Grinding Operation.”
With peeled potatoes in hand, carrots formed a bed in the Subaru oil pan, upon which the chicken rested. Salt was generously applied, angle-ground potatoes nestled beside, and the oil pan chicken roast was oven-bound at 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dessert prep commenced in parallel. Cake batter mixing happened in a hubcap, courtesy of the trim removal tool.
The valve cover, intended as a cake pan, proved challenging to clean. A sheetmetal baffle, part of the crankcase ventilation system, trapped old oil and grime in an inaccessible compartment.
Edible cake was deemed unlikely due to the valve cover’s cleanliness, but that didn’t halt the experiment. The baffle holes were plugged to prevent cake batter infiltration, and the batter was poured in.
Salad, a necessary green element, was prepped in a vintage AMC-era Jeep hubcap, tossed with – you guessed it – vice grips.
The oven timer chimed, signaling cooked chicken. The oil pan emerged, handled with a welding glove oven mitt, and the valve cover cake took its place.
This automotive-themed cooking escapade, while unconventional, highlighted the versatility of garage tools and car parts. While we don’t recommend consuming food cooked in this manner due to safety concerns, it certainly provided a memorable and humorous exploration of repurposing, with the car parts fork tool – the pickle fork – proving surprisingly adaptable in the kitchen.
