Starting the Maillard reaction on ribs without a torch or gas stove Two months ago I made a homemade sous vide cooker and I've had great luck so far. Last night I started a batch of 72 hour ribs and I'm really looking forward to eating them in a few days. Until I realized a problem:

When I've made sous vide ribs before I've used a kitchen torch or a plumbing blow torch to start the Maillard reaction on the ribs after removing them from the water bath. This works great. However, because of work I've got two apartments 1000 miles apart and the sous vide cooker and the ribs are in the apartment without either of my torches right now.

If I had a gas stove I could turn on the burners and use a pair of tongs to take the ribs over the flame and start the reaction that way, however the stove here is a glass top stove. I'm hesitant to do the reaction in a pan because the shape of the ribs makes it difficult to get all portions of the ribs up to the temperature for the reaction to occur.

So, given that I've got a bunch of candles (unscented, thankfully), some matches, aluminum foil, access to an outdoor grill (but no charcoal), lots of paper, and assorted other things you might find in a moderately, but not well, stocked kitchen, what's the best way for me to go MacGyver on this and get that tasty reaction on Thursday night?
You need high, direct heat.

Option 1 (The practical): Don't think about the candles. Even if you lit enough candles in a pile to get it hot enough- candle soot tastes terrible. Of all the tools listed among your assets only the grill shows potential. Buy some charcoal for it, get it rocket hot, and sear your ribs to perfection.

The charcoal will also add a little flavor. Not much since they won't be there long but more than a torch would.

Option 2 (The MacGyver as requested): Use your paper to make a large (3-5' diameter) paper-mache parabolic dish. Line the inside of the dish with your foil with the shiny side out. Experiment with a sheet of paper to find the focal point of your dish. Move the paper toward the dish until the focused light is a couple inches across. Take your dish outside in the sun and wave your ribs in front of it. Solar blow torch.