Most people use wood fired ovens for making tasty pizzas. It’s easy to understand why when these ovens make such mouth-watering pizzas. But did you know that there are other recipes you can try in your oven? To help your branch out in the kitchen, we’ve put together some ideas for you, as well as some tips to help you get cooking something besides pizza.
Before you start cooking
- Have your tools ready
You wouldn’t start a repair or maintenance job without the tools, so you shouldn’t start cooking without the right equipment either. Make sure you have a range of cooking utensils as well as wood fire oven tools. For instance, you may like to have a cast-iron skillet and a grilling rack that can withstand the temperatures in your oven.
- Know your temperatures
When it comes to cooking, the temperature is important. Some things need to spend more time at a lower heat to avoid becoming chewy, while others need a higher temperature to get that perfect crunch. The below general guide provides you with the typical temperatures for a range of dishes.
- Slow-cooked meats and casseroles: 90–120°C
- Desserts: 150–175°C
- Bread: 200–230°C
- Roasting: 260–290°C
- Grilling: 290– 320°C
Use your knowledge of your oven to plan when you will need to start burning wood to achieve the ideal temperature and have your food ready at the desired time. For instance, if you want to do grilled meats for dinner, you may need to start it sooner than if you were cooking a dessert. Similarly, make sure you know how to maintain this temperature for the required length of cooking time.
- Be prepared to experiment
Cooking is a science of its own. When trying out a new dish, be prepared for some setbacks and to experiment with the best placement for the dish in the oven or wood to use to achieve the right taste.
Try these recipes
- Slow roasted chicken
Try something different for a Sunday roast and use your wood fire oven to roast a chicken. The smoke from the wood can give the chicken a richer flavour. You may love it so much you may never be able to return to traditional roast chicken again. Of course, ensure your chicken is fully cooked before serving to avoid food poisoning.
- Seafood
Australian seafood is some of the best in the world. Try cooking some in your outdoor oven, whether it’s a fish or a seafood marinara. Cooking at a high temperature can bring out the beautiful flavour of seafood.
- Bread
It’s hard to beat the taste of freshly baked bread. Have fresh bread whenever you want by cooking it yourself. You’ll find that cooking bread in your pizza oven will give it a softer centre with that perfect crust.
- Roast veggies
Complement that roast chicken with such delicious roast veggies. Or you can roast some veggies up to go on a pizza. There are all sorts of veggies you can roast in your pizza oven, including sweet potatoes, potatoes, eggplant, carrots, onion. Try roasting your favourite veggies and taste the difference between a traditional oven and your pizza oven.
- Baked desserts
And finish up that tasty roast with a moist and delicious cake. There’s no trick to cooking a cake in your pizza oven, just make sure you get the temperature right and you’re away. You may even choose to only ever cook cakes in your pizza oven after such great results.
- Smoked and barbecued meats
If you love the great taste of smoked and barbecued meats but don’t want the expense of a smoker, you can use your pizza oven instead. All you need is some wood that smokes and gives the meat that extra smoky flavour. Try different woods to get different flavours, like apple or hickory.
Remember that when you put the meat in, the temperature should be low and the flame steady. It will take some time but it will be absolutely worth it.
Conclusion
Don’t feel like you can only cook pizza in your wood fire oven. There’s a whole range of delicious meals you can make. Try some of these out for yourself or come up with a meal yourself.
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