The Cowboy Wok

Yet another cooking appliance that's catching fire:

There is a new cooking fixture at backyard barbecues, hiking trips and tailgates across America: the cowboy wok.

Also known as a discada or simply a disco, this sizable metal disc is a versatile cooking pan designed for use over an open fire, propane burner or grill. Similar to paella, the term discada refers to the specialized pan and the dish commonly prepared in it.

Initially fashioning them from farm plow discs, cowboys and ranchers long embraced them to prepare hearty meals over the campfire. The cookware subsequently became a mainstay in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern U.S. for generations.

They're bigger than an Asian wok and much heavier. One aficionado uses one that weighs 65 pounds. Were I a hunter who likes to cook his game over an open flame the discada would be an essential part of my toolkit. But I'm not the target market, and my woks will do just fine.