Yesterday was a good day to make a nice chicken dinner. I got the fire in the mud oven going about 4:00 pm on cedar kindling and added sugar maple. I think this maple is about 3 years seasoned. I have a select pile just for the oven with dry oak and maple. This fire took one hour to get the oven up to temp. Two splits total and it was on its' way. Inside, I made fresh mashed potatoes and lined the bottom of the pan with it. I made fresh stuffing an hour earlier and set it aside. I also made fresh chicken gravy and poured a little over the pre-cooked chicken. I only put a little gravy on as it would soak into the potatoes. I kept the rest to ladle on it later. On goes the stuffing and a little more gravy. I did not have my usual premade pie crust so we used a premade biscuit crust that I rolled out and used. I was pretty decent actually. The coals were raked out on the floor of the oven for a bit and removed. I had the wood baking door soaking during prep time. The steam escaping out smelled incredible. I checked the crust with a toothpick a few times and spun the pan. The back wall of the oven is the hottest where the fire is always built. This was a fantastic meal. The chicken was very tender and the flavors all just blended well.
Looks absolutely great Jon! The oven is impressive and I love the little door. Does the oven require any maintenance over the years?
Thanks. It really needs nothing. It is not sealed on top, so it just needs a tarp to cover it during snowstorms as the sand layer gets pitted. There are a lot of cracks which is normal. Three layers of cob mix for the dome, so the cracks only affect one layer.
I was too full to post last night. That was just about my look taking it out of the oven. Minus the drool.
Two WFO post at a time!!! Looks like I will have to be checking this forum more often. That chicken pie sounds out of this world. I may have to try that tomorrow.
I kinda fell down on the job. Pulled a turkey pot pie out of the freezer this morning and had that instead of the chicken dinner I thought I would make. Thankfully I made a few pies after Thanksgiving and stuck them in the freezer!!
