ALL the WX channels around the country are knocking themselves out with showing eggs cooked on a hot sidewalk, playground slides and kids heads.
One outstanding Wx man showed a car dashboard reading of 180* and proceeded to put a raw slab of steak on it.
To everyones' amazement it actually cooked ( browned )

Badger & I decided to take advantage of the 105* temps in Centex by cooking an egg and Spam dish for lunch at the dry wash dig. Note thermometer pegged all the way around OFF SCALE...

By high noon, Badger had found a Plainview and me a piece of Mano.



Our digging shovel was sterilised, sprayed with Pam and preheated in full sun for one hour. Badger cracks the eggs while I hold the "frying pan "



Instead of the nice sizzle we expected...we saw no signs of cooking for scale along with Badger's find.



Maybe just needs a few more minutes



The minutes rolled by with no signs of cooking,,,Badger rigged a stick to prop up the handle
for a longer cooking time.



" Watched eggs never boil "



The eggs have now been left for TWO HOURS with only a small part showing the white of cooking. ( the Spam was delicious.) I dug a nice point in the 2 hrs cooking time

Bottom line. It was a flop...the eggs did not fully cook.



Admittedly, the ' tests ' we see on TV may have a greater area of heat sink, like a BIG slab of cement or many sq feet of iron.
But a steak BROWNING on a PLASTIC DASHBOARD

Hal the Firechief. Lacy's dad was the Firechief of Wichita Falls. I wonder if the frying egg on the sidewalk idea is par with being in the frozen north and watching spit freeze before it hits the pavement??? Good Plainview find!

SH, looks like your super duper fire chief helmet has seen better days. Maybe I will bring you a new on at digfest. lol

Interesting scientific project. Cant believe that Badger actually sit still long enough to watch eggs fry when she could be digging. I Like the design of the shovel. Is that from the old days before the tarp?

It IS indeed pretarp but I still use it occasionally ( like for cooking lunch )

Re waiting for the eggs to cook, we really thought it would just take a few minutes like it does on the TV
with the news people doing the 'test'.
I'm not finished yet...it's has indeed become a ' scientific project '

Another better try at frying eggs on a sun hot slab.
Note temp in the shade of a tree...



The new grill was as good as it gets. A 24 X 20 X 3/8th inch clean galvanised iron.



Still no quick fry like on the TV shows. When the chef cracked an egg on the plate it was not quite level and it started running, without an oven mitt, he got 'burned ' re leveling it.



Cooking timer wrapped around a hammer stone. Finds are obviously up to lunch time....hopefully afternoon finds will continue .



Long as we're experimenting with heat, tried to pop a piece of flint with a magnifying glass. Heard a 'click' but no split.



Cooked a small piece of egg but thats no big deal, the concentrated heat of the glass could reduce the egg to ash. Note having biscuits instead of Spam today.



This side dish was better than the biscuits. Note firemans hat was made in a foreign country, they spelled ' CHEF ' wrong.



This concludes the cooking tests. Myth busted, not hot enough to properly cook eggs before they just
dehydrate and turn to a plastic texture.....

For those interested in checking temperatures...
put your shovel or iron digging tool out in the full sun next time it's a clear day over 100*...
Now pick it up with a bare hand

Just had to take one more shot at cooking as long as the temps were in the 107's...
Leveled the grill and used a cover



It worked good, egg was showing proper signs of actually cooking.



For those planing to cook an egg on a live WX report, I suggest using a thicker & larger surface area grill,
it WILL work

Hey hal glad you finally posted I was going through withdrawal no one has posted anything for days keep up the the good work.

Just wanted to keep the airwaves clear incase someone wanted to give cg some info on San Angelo sites