Portable cooking apparatus

A portable cooking apparatus comprising:

• a carrying case having a bottom wall, side walls, a back wall, an open front, and a cover having a back edge which is hingedly attached to said back wall and also having a latch member securely attached at a front edge thereof, and a handle member securely disposed at said open front and being adapted for carrying said carrying case, said carrying case further including an exhaust hole extending through said back wall thereof, said first one of said side walls including an opening therethrough and also including a downwardly-turned lip member extending along a bottom edge of said opening and integrally extending outwardly from an exterior of said first one of said side walls;
• a griddle member being securely mounted inside said carrying case, said griddle member being spaced above and essentially disposed parallel to said bottom wall of said carrying case;
• a receptacle being removably mounted to an outer surface of a first one of said side walls of said carrying case for receiving juices and fats from the foods being cooked upon said griddle member, said receptacle including a bottom wall, side walls, a back wall, and a front wall, said back wall including a slot extending in a top edge thereof, said downwardly-turned lip member of said first one of said side walls being extendable through said slot into said receptacle upon said receptacle being mounted to said carrying case, said receptacle further including a mounting bracket securely attached to and extending outwardly of said back wall thereof, said mounting bracket being adapted to extend over a top edge of said first one of said side walls to securely support said receptacle upon said carrying case, said mounting bracket including a first portion which is securely attached along a portion of said top edge of said back wall and which extends outwardly therefrom, and also including a second portion which is angled relative to said first portion and which is spaced from and disposed generally parallel to said back wall of said receptacle;
• a means for heating said griddle member to temperatures capable of cooking foods thereupon including a plurality of heating elements securely disposed inside said carrying case between said bottom wall of said carrying case and said griddle member, and also including a plurality of control valve members mounted to said heating elements for regulating flow of gas to said heating elements;
• and further including a conduit member detachably connected to said heating elements and being adapted to be detachably connected to an energy source, each of said heating elements including an endless tubular member having a plurality of holes extending therein and spaced therealong and also including a tubular stem extending from said tubular member and having an end which is connectable to said conduit member with a threaded sleeve-like connector;
• and
• a plurality of adjustable leg members threaded in said bottom wall of said carrying case for supporting said carrying case upon a surface when said portable cooking apparatus is being used as such.