Sometimes, ordering products online doesn’t always pan out the ways customers want, like this one person who thought that they were buying knock-off AirPods, only to receive over-sized versions of the imitation Apple offering, leaving them with two large bluetooth speakers instead.
Other shoppers have the opposite problem: they think they’re getting full-sized items and end up with tiny versions of them better suited to doll houses instead.
But TikToker DeWarren Otey (@dduubb38) intentionally purchased tiny items, determined to use them so that he could craft micro meals for himself, one of which he documented on camera after buying a miniature skillet he spotted while at Ace Hardware.
He posted his cooking tutorial in a viral TikTok that’s accrued over 2.8 million views where he seemed intent on having a great time, even after getting rained on in the middle of his grilling session.
@dduubb38 It was just hot outside and blue sky where the rain come from? 🤣🤣 but that steak was good fam.!!! #beer #alcohol #drink #chug #burp #shot #boilermaker #shotgunbeer #ace #fyp ♬ original sound – DeWarren Otey
“Man, I’m up in Ace Hardware,” Otey starts. “Look what I just found. A little small cast iron skillet,” he says as he shows off the palm-sized item on camera. “Yeah let me see what I can do with it,” he says, before the clip transitions to him seated in front of the camera with an Ace Hardware bag before him, along with a six-pack of Miller High Life bottles and a single-serving bottle of Maker’s Mark whiskey.
He then presents a small package of what he calls “quick steak stuff” before resolving to get the tiny pan “fired up.” The video then cuts to him showing off another cast iron skillet filled with coals. He applies spray oil to the small pan he just purchased, saying, “put a little oil in that bad boy,” before placing it over the hot coals.
It begins to rain in the video, but Otey doesn’t seem too perturbed by the precipitation, chalking up the sudden weather in change to simply living in Tennessee.
“So let’s starting cooking this stuff up,” he says, placing the packet of meat in front of the camera while brandishing a fork in his left hand.
He extricates a piece of meat from the plastic and begins turning it inside of the little pan, before adding “some garlic glove” and “salt and pepper” to the dish. He then cracks open a High Life, which he pours into an equally small mug.
Otey then flips his camera lens over to show the meat cooking over the coals.
“I ain’t gonna let the rain stop me, so while I’m waiting, let’s have some shots,” he says, before taking a sip of High Life from the Lilliputian glass mug. Once that is done, he pours himself some of the Maker’s Mark, which also goes down the hatch.
He then turns his attention back towards the meat sizzling in the tiny skillet. “It doing something in that bit,” he says, turning the meat over with his fork before cracking some more seasoning over it. “Y’all hear that thing sizzling?” he asks before showing off the meat, which appears to have turned a darker color, proving the efficacy of the tiny skillet as a usable cooking tool.
Once he deems the meat is cooked enough to eat, he then scoops up a bit of it with the fork and begins eating. “Mmm, straight off the grill,” he says, seemingly enjoying the small portion of food he just cooked up.
One commenter who saw the video quipped: “Inflation got me eating like this everyday,” referencing the fact that since 2021, the United States economy has seen inflation rates skyrocket, hitting a 40-year-high in the summer of 2022.
Someone else was amused they by the sight of Otey preparing himself a meal using such small utensils: “It’s as if a giant is having a feast,” while another wrote: “I’ve never wanted to hang out with someone more than since I saw this”
Another was impressed by the pleasure Otey seemed to take in preparing his food, writing: “Dude this is dope. This is living.”
And then there was one TikToker who said they were inspired to make themselves a tiny feast too: “I have an overwhelming urge to now have a mini cookout with highlife and makers”
Perhaps they may want to enhance the experience with a tiny desk concert playing in the background.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Otey via TikTok comment and Ace Hardware via email for further information.
