Well, if you are in B-lo, you want more mass, and a party... I say surround the stove with a vat of oil and fry some wings while you are at it. Keep a keg cold on the back porch, and when it is all ready post your address. The oil not only will add mass, it will aid in heat transfer from the stove conducting much better than air. The extra surface area will then help heat the air. The moisture from the wings boiling off will help maintain humidity your home as well.
Haha ... best liquid is good ol’ tap water for thermal mass ! Got 2 3-gal SS rectangles on each side of the top of the stove ... fires’ long out ... water still hot
No wings on the stove ... pressure cook em for 10 mins and then crisp-em up in the oven ... butter hot sauce and some Jack Daniels bbq sauce and they taste better than takeout for 1/3 the cost !
I am not so sure I am a fan of thermal mass on the stove. I understand the concept, but I think rapid heat and controllability of a basic steel stove have a lot to be said for it.
We experimented with placing cast iron elevator test weights on our stove. It actually caused condensation to form on the inside. Also it seemed to hamper the function of the firebox regarding a clean burn.
Fabz , nice to see another Buffalonian! I usually keep a spare keg for my kegorator in my garage but it’s been too cold here the last week, I had to relocate it to my father in laws fridge seeing he’s in Florida. The wings gotta be cooked double cycle. Fry them at 375-400 for about ten minutes, pull them up and let them sit for ten, then fry them again for another ten. Let them sit for a few, hit them with clarified butter, franks hot sauce and bobs your uncle. Use only fresh wings, none of those sodium water pumped frozen ones. Party on! Thermal mass? Yeah, not sure, sorry. You had me at wings.
Probably heresy for you, but I tried a cheat where you shake dry raw wings with baking powder, then bake the in the oven. They came out crispy like they were fried, but they made me really thirsty.
Double fry is THE way to go for extra crispy delicious wings. I do the first fry at a little lower temp and in higher volume. You can then put some of the par cooked wings in the freezer for later. The finish fry is at 400 and where they get crispy without over cooking.
I was planning on putting a brick mass on the 3 sides of the stove and see how that worked but not enough brick and I was thinking if my stove wasn’t enough, I’m going to be cold again. Thing of the past. It’s like being in Arizona here. No need but I think once the hearth warms up, it does reflect a lot having a slate top. Now that I have this baby fence around the stove, I often use it to dry towels and whatnot easily. It does warm up and convect.
