Yesterday barely made it over 70 degrees with overcast conditions and winds off the ocean. It was a damp, cool day. By the afternoon, dry air moved in, dropping the humidity, and the temps went below 70. I fired the oven and split up a large piece of hard maple. Just a little sap boiling out the lower ends of the splits. Inside, the wife cooked up some potatoes and I pan fried kielbasa. The oven rolled along nicely. I have a bunch of cut up locust fence rails drying on the bottom right to try later this year. The neighbors stacks are in the background. They are top covered only right now, so no green tarps to look at all summer. I put beans in the casserole dish, added bias-cut kielbasa with some brown sugar and topped it with cheddar-jack mashed potatoes. When it met temperature, I raked the coals forward and soaked the floor for a little while. After soaking, I removed the coals set and iron trivet down and put the dish in. About 45 minutes later, it's about done. It could have used 15 more minutes, but it was getting late for dinner at this point. If I fired the oven a little hotter, it would have been fine. This is a keeper recipe for later in the year when it turns cold.
The dish looks great! Can you tell me how much time it takes to get the oven to be ready for the food and the boards I see covering the entrance, do they stay in place when it's not in use? I really like the lean-to covering the oven.
The firing time depends on what is cooking. For pizza cooking temps, a solid hour. The dough prep and rise can be done while heating, so the timing is perfect. Breads and casseroles, about 45 minutes. The wood firing door is part of the original form that I used to make the door opening. I cut across the bottom at 5 degrees, so it pitches back against the opening.
I just found out what kielbasa is and that looks good. I would think this would make a very good cold weather dish. Thanks for posting the process. I didn't realize you put a door in place while the actual cooking was going on.
Only for baking breads, roasts and casseroles. Mostly for longer cooking time, medium cooked foods. Pizza and calzones need the high heat and live fire in the back of the oven to cook. Kielbasa is great. We grill it, cut it up and put it in mac and cheese, scrambled eggs, pea soup, etc. It goes great with pan fried pierogies. Can you source it locally out there?
WW, beat me to the same question, the heat requirements of different foods. I was wondering what foods (like pizza) would have a continuous fire and the doorway left open. Can you tell me what the temps the coals give you when the door is closed for baking? and what the temps are with a fire and the door is open?
I haven't looked for it yet. Probably in the bigger town south of us (2 1/2 hrs) I might be able to find it.
Open door, besides pizza and calzones, I would say fajitas, a broiled steak in a cast iron pan, shrimp, lobster and clams. It is like a broiler at that point, if it is well fed before throwing food in, it will throw some heat. Firing it to temp can put it in the range 800 to 1,000 degrees I would think. I don't have an accurate gauge. I did pin the oven thermometer and crack the glass. With the door in place, the coals are taken out, I have the temp from 400-500. A little higher in cold weather, it can loose heat a bit quicker.
I tried putting my oven thermometer down in to the boiler to see what temps my potatoes were cooking at. It also got pinned and discolored the writing and the finish on the metal. I had to get a new one for my electric oven. On that occasions the potatoes cooked quite quickly.
Sorta' like a shepard's pie, but with other stuff inside. I had a couple hot dogs, some tater salad, and baked beans for lunch yesterday because of this. Not quite the same, but close.
