Outdoor Pizza and Barbecue Ovens
"Contry-farm-oven" by Edal Anton Lefterov -
Own work.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
It's probably true to say that the outdoor
oven was invented soon after we, as a species, realised how good
food tasted when grilled over fire. It would have been obvious to
early humans that a cooking fire in a cave is not affected by rain
and wind. Covering the flames outside of the cave must have closely
followed that realisation.
Here we are today, thousands of years later, with so much material
and information at our finger tips, and really spoilt for choice.
However, we don't necessarily have to spend huge money if we want an
outdoor oven of our own. The rustic looking one in the picture above
is home made, so just the cost of the materials and maybe an
inexpensive set of plans. These can be very useful.
For those of us that prefer to buy our home comforts, without having
to mix sand and cement, there is a huge choice. The outdoor ovens
pictured below are a small cross section of what is available around
the world.
I've placed specific links to ovens in the UK, Australia, USA and
Canada, so you should find something to suit your needs.
Outdoor Pizza Oven with 90 cms Base
Mobile Wood Fired Oven
Kamada Ceramic Oven
What Makes These Ovens So Special?
Although they come in different guises these ovens are
still relatively simple things. If you are a practical sort, you can
even build your own. (reminder to self: Place a link to plans!) I'd
best point out too, that the phrase 'Pizza oven' is both misleading
and completely wrong! These ovens do make fantastic pizza's in as
little as 60 - 120 seconds but they do so much more - massively
more. Just as a thought though, if you should happen to hold a pizza
party, many of these ovens can produce dozens of pizzas in an hour.
You can imagine a kids party where they all make their own pizzas
and see them (the pizzas that is!) being cooked.
One of the secrets of the wood fired outdoor oven is the heat that
they can achieve. It is not unusual for these ovens to reach 500°
centigrade, upwards of 1000° fahrenheit. Man that's hot! It's also
true that there is a certain amount of technique that you'll learn
to make the best of your oven. A useful resource, without a doubt is
the number of forums there are.
Having mentioned the high temperatures available, it may surprise
you to know that these ovens make extremely good slow cookers too.
They tend to retain a lot of heat, so once your oven reaches a
particular temperature it is easy to maintain a temperature to
casserole food over a long period.Also true is the fact that some of
the best bread in the world is made in these ovens. Use it as a
smoker, barbecue or to grill meat. Cook lots of chicken drumsticks,
sausages and burgers as 'finger food'. A full barbecue or a full
cooked breakfast is easy.
I don't have it to hand, but there is a charming picture on the 'net
from the Phillipines. A woman there has a wood fired oven that she
uses to cook, make hot water and heat her home too! Very versatile.
The Links below are country specific, so click your link to see
products from your own locale. If you want to see more, click on any
product under your flag, and you'll be taken to the correct ebay
page where you can search Ebay for anything at all.
United Kingdom
United
States of America
Australia
I did mention plans to build your own Outside pizza / wood fired oven, and here is the link. The overall look of the oven is a bit dated for my taste, but you can alter that to your own taste - make it bigger or smaller - make it look how you want it to look. The main thing is the oven, the rest is up to you.
This guy will answer your email questions and supplies dozens of bread and other recipes to suit the oven. The CD is pro quality and postage is cheap enough wherever you are. Well worth getting rather than going into the cement mixer without a real clue.