FAQ
Why a wood fired oven is better than a barbecue grill?
Have you thought of replacing the old barbecue grill? Are you thinking of buying a barbecue grill or a wood fired oven? Well, here is something to think about before you spend that hard working money. The barbecue grill and the wood fired oven both can grill but the oven is superior to the grill. The grill cooks your food but it sometimes burns it too much giving that charring effect. Instead with the oven the heat surrounds the foods in a uniform way cooking but not burning too much thus resulting in tasty and healthier foods. An oven can also bake bread, sweets and pasta. A grill cannot do that.
There is also another aspect that one might have not thought of, a wood fired oven can also act as a patio heater. Just imagine you are out on the patio or in the garden and it is a late summer night and it is a bit chilly. It is here that the wood fired oven comes in. By leaving the oven door open while you are cooking dinner the oven will act as a patio heater and you will be able to warm yourself and your family and friends making that night a pleasurable one. So while your eating you will be ready to enjoy that romantic evening with your loved one or have fun watching a baseball or football match on the portable TV with your friends while sipping that bottle of beer. A patio heater also has a certain cost and you will spend more than 300 dollars for a good one, so why not use a wood fired oven.
There are also gas fired ovens that also do the same work as a wood fired oven but all you have to do is add a tank of LPG. So summing it up a grill can only barbecue. A wood fired oven instead can grill meat, cook fabulous dishes such as Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, home made Italian white bread,Apple pie and also the classic Pizza margherita. Also the oven will keep you warm and light up your nights.
The choice of wood?
The wood is a fuel sometimes underestimated. It has a significantly high caloric power, superior to other sources of heat used for cooking, domestic and professional. Lighting a gas oven does not require more than a lot of attention; wood requires a greater care which starts from its being chosen.
Of the types of wood for combustion there are many and you should select the best based on the yield and efficiency. Many woods, in fact, tend to burn, generating little heat and should be avoided. Normally the wood used for cooking is oak or beech.
The ideal would be to combine them together to merge the advantages of both the essences. The beech belongs to the category of hard wood or the wood that has a weight (when dried) of about 700 kilograms per cubic meter. The aroma is very intense and mix it with that of oak will give the food a special flavor.
Beech and oak are great if used in the right way that is using oak to reach the oven temperature and beech for cooking.
The olive tree wood gives an amazing flavor to dishes but its high cost often discourages its use.
In addition to the types recommended for baking, it is worth spending a few words to speak of those types to be excluded. Among those include the cherry tree, which when it burns tends to send out fire sparks, and the entire family of evergreens such as pine, when burning produces soot.
Maintenance and Cleaning your Oven
Before each use make sure chimney flue are free of any debris so that smoke exits freely, ash from previous fires have been cleared and ready for use again.
clean oven floor with brush and afterwards with a damp cloth gently on the oven surface
best result for sanitizing and cleaning the oven floor is after done cooking to spread the ember from the fire across the oven surface and leave in position, and then clean afterwards.
DO NOT USE chemicals to clean oven surface