Barbeque

Barbeque is a cooked food item prepared in the Gas Range that converts raw meat into higher-quality, higher-calorie rations. Each unit of Barbeque requires 2 units of raw Meat (totaling 3200 kcal) as an input. The cooking process improves the dish’s quality and adds an extra 800 kcal of energy compared to the raw ingredients, making Barbeque an efficient early- to mid-game food source for duplicants.

Barbeque functions as both a standalone meal and as an ingredient for higher-tier recipes. It can be used inside the Gas Range to craft meals such as Surf'n'Turf and Frost Burger, enabling progression to more nutritious or temperature-specific dishes. Because Barbeque is produced from generic Meat, it is flexible across different critter sources and hunting/gathering methods.

Practical notes for use and integration:

• Barbeque yields significantly more calories per kilogram than raw meat, so prioritizing a Gas Range for steady production improves colony endurance and reduces early starvation risk.
• Storing and handling cooked food interacts with the colony’s thermal budget. Refrigeration and powered storage behave differently when powered down; be mindful that powered refrigerators exchange heat with stored food while unpowered units do not, which can be exploited or cause unintended warming of nearby rooms.
• Barbeque production scales with meat supply; on biomes lacking easy meat sources, plan ranching or hunting accordingly. Barbeque remains a versatile ingredient for advanced recipes that require cooked meat.
• Use Barbeque as part of a broader food chain: cook raw meat into Barbeque, then combine Barbeque with other ingredients in the Gas Range to unlock recipes with better morale or temperature properties.
• When designing kitchens, place Gas Ranges and food storage to minimize travel time for duplicants and to isolate cooking heat from sensitive areas (e.g., research labs or oxygen production) to simplify heat management.