La Caja China Repair Ideas ?


 
N

Neil Grant

TVWBB Fan
Picked up a used one with a nickel-sized hole in one of the plywood outside/metal inside panels that was used to insert a smoke gun during cooks.

When I bought I figured I could either fill the hole with a shaved wine cork (some seem to be rubber/plastic these days) or a roughly matched size of plywood (difficult to cut to size I'm finding out). Or a thick bolt with a nut and snug washers on either side of the hole. Maybe even a thin bolt & nut through the cork with the washers ?

Now that I'm going to use this thing the first time, how should I fill the hole ? One of the above ideas ? Something else ? I am very concerned about the high heat causing the fix-method to release chemicals into the meat.
 
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These were popular years ago on tv as a wooden outside exterior, galvanized metal lined, portable pig roaster, retagular in shape. IIRC, you load charcoal on the top lid, similar to outdoor dutch oven cooking, with the pig inside the metal box.
 
Try plugging hole with aluminum foil.

Btw, it has a Spanish name but Asian roots:

A History of the "Caja China"

There are numerous theories on the origins of the "Caja China." Here we will look at a few of what we believe are the best, as explained by local Cubans, food anthropologists, and chefs.
www.shoplatintouch.com www.shoplatintouch.com
 
I would put a stainless steel fender washer on each side of the hole, fastened with a stainless steel bolt and nut. Cut the bolt so it's just long enough to extend about 1/8 inch beyond the face of the nut, then after assembling, peen the end of the bolt so it can't come unscrewed. You could even grind the nut to make it thinner if you want the thinnest possible finished repair.
 
I'm jealous. I had a chance to pick one up used many years ago and missed out.
Are you going whole hog on your first cook?
 
Neil Grant said:
funny busting my chops pretending not to know what these are. Here's the outside pic. Inside walls are metal.
Click to expand...

I've never seen one firsthand. I saw one similar on a TV show. I think it was Bobby Flay barbecue addition. I seriously had to google it to know what it was.
 
There are so many ways to do this...a couple of ideas, though: refractory cement...hi-temp silicone. Slap a Mickey Mouse or a Goofy sticker over the hole on the outside and done. Let's eat!
 
timothy said:
I'm jealous. I had a chance to pick one up used many years ago and missed out.
Are you going whole hog on your first cook?
Click to expand...
Have done whole hog multiple times on a Meadow Creek roaster, but yes first time with this.

Like the refractory cement idea. That's also the recommended (and only?) repair for the Big Green Egg knockoff grill I have where the fire bowl got very damp and split completely in half. Haven't gotten around to that repair yet either.
 
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