[leadin]From a corner of the outdoor-cooking world come products that skip wood or fuel like propane, heating with nothing but concentrated sunlight.[/leadin]
I first encountered solar ovens in the Himalayas. Monks heating water for tea outside a monastery in Nepal at 16,000 feet simply placed a pot in a sheet-metal cone. The sun’s light, reflected and concentrated in one spot, brought a kettle to a boil fast.
Earlier this summer, at my home near sea level in Minnesota, I cooked food in a solar oven, the GoSun Stove. It is a glass-and-aluminum contraption with reflectors and a sword-like cooking tray. (See the full review, “GoSun Stove Bakes Food With Sunshine.”)
Now comes the PhotonGrill, a cooker made with an inflatable dish-reflector covered in high-strength foil. The company sells it as a “high-power portable BBQ,” and it can cook or grill almost anything.
Eco Cooking?
No charcoal, fuel, or even matches are required; heat concentrated by the PhotonGrill’s dish cooks food in an included 11-inch pan.
Solar Cooking Is Real
![gosun-solar-cooker](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2015/06/gosun-solar-cooker.jpg)