The Art of Barbecuing

The talent of cooking outdoors has risen to a higher level in recent years with the revived interest in wood fired cooking. Instead of using the traditional briquette or gas fired grill we are finding much more satisfaction cooking over wood. We are using alder, cherry, oak, mesquite, apple or whatever hardwood is easily obtainable. For years bread has been baked in wood fired ovens made out of, stone, masonry or steel and the secret to thick crunchy crust is held therein. It is a well known fact that wood fired cooking is and always has been the key to many cooking secrets. It is no wonder that every chateau or manor visited in France has a wood fired cooking system. The flavor, the smoke, and the heat is unsurpassed and those of us who love cooking good food continue to search for a way that will take us back to that quality and simplicity.

For years, in the South, a tradition of luscious smoked meats from Texas beef to Carolina's pork has been a part of Americana. Could there be a way of combining the essence of smoking with qualities that would allow us to cook bread in the same system? It is indeed the wood fired pizza oven. We have the cooking process outdoors on those warm summer evenings and we can enjoy great pizza, the way we like it, with the crust of Spain and flavor that takes us and our guests to an experience of the old country. And when we want to cook our favorite meat we can do it slowly with a thick smoke surrounding it forming itself into a savory offering for our guests as we work our way through a memorable dinner reminiscent of a night on the Loire River in the midst of France.

Outdoor pizza ovens come in several different forms for the serious follower of old world cooking. The customary wood fired pizza oven is often built into an outdoor deck or patio system as a gathering place and conversation piece around which great food can be enjoyed in an casual setting. This system, because of the need for fairly sophisticated masonry work, can be expensive and many times the average food lover cannot afford such a system. The other choice is a steel, free standing wood fired pizza oven like ours which requires no special masonry work or installment and can be used right from the box.

Using old fashioned convection styled heating, one simply builds a fire in the firebox and waits for the oven to heat to temperature. All the controls of a wood stove are provided with the unit to control and encourage the fire so that it lights easily and heats to temperature safely and trouble free. When the oven has reached the correct cooking temperature it can be used to roast meat, bake pizza, bake bread, and anything imaginable. Our outdoor pizza oven has a system to channel the smoke from the favored wood to the oven to enhance the flavor. Other times, such as bread baking time, the wood smoke can be channeled out the chimney and not affect the delicate essence of the product. Not only does it make real wood cooking available to the average person but it provides a very attractive addition to your deck or patio as you entertain.

Outdoor pizza ovens bring back the enjoyment of the process of cooking with wood. Having your own personal pizza oven outside on a beautiful summer evening, in your own intimate setting, with good friends or family, will make for a memorable experience that you and your guests will long remember.


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Millard Hiner editor or GunsAmmo.ws and author many outdoor cooking articles has a collection of these on the new website Outdoor Pizza Ovens which is a great source for outdoor wood fired cooking information.