I made a trip to the local farmers market to grab some local corn and green beans. I fired the oven with white cedar and pine splits. I got it going pretty hot and stacked some firebrick to make a wall to block the flames at the back. I set the trivet and prepped the chicken. I used a whole chicken, cut the backbone out and flattened it. I cut two small maple saplings and used them as skewers across it. I rubbed olive oil, salt and garlic under the skin and all over the chicken. I set it on a foiled lined pan and put it in to roast. The chicken had foil on top to prevent burning. I added some maple chunks to the fire to get it rolling. I then built up some limestone chunks across the door way to wall in the chicken. This way there is good heat retention with a nice fire roast going on. The space at the bottom let's air in and it vents out the top gap. I spun the chicken every 20 minutes and added more maple chunks. Towards the end of the cooking time I started brushing on the maple syrup, bourbon and mustard glaze. The corn was basted with brown sugar and butter. The green beans were tossed in butter and garlic. When the chicken was done, it went inside for foil tenting for ten more minutes while the vegetables finished cooking. I served it up with some cold lemonade with a heavy splash of bourbon, which was really good. The green beans and corn were really good. Overall, it was a fantastic meal.
Wow Jon- amazing cooking skills! Your pics are great, and the end result looks phenomenol! Between you and thewoodlands I'm ready for a great dinner!
Really nice job there, fishingpol Ever consider casting a "door" of sorts out of refractory? With the necessary intake and venting of course.... Embed one of your pieces of ironwork (with a wood handle) for ease of handling? A 55# bag of insulating refractory can be had for @ $50 bucks....
Oh yes, you have a lot more skills than just building that oven, Cooking like that is a real art. Made my mouth water up just looking at it and thinking about what you had done to it. I'm surprised you aren't overrun by uninvited guest every time you fire up the oven.
The stones were pretty hot, I'll admit. Not a bad idea. You can never have enough wood burning accessories.
As usual, a delightful experience reading your cooking thread. they never get old. How long did the chicken take to cook?
I'll keep adding more as I go. I really look forward to the fall weather and comfort food recipes. The chicken took about an hour to cook.
