Backyard Brick Oven Cooking

When it come to Backyard brick oven cooking the sky is the limit!

What can you cook at home you can cook steaks. pork,  breads. fish. chicken and of course some of the best pizza you can imagine.  I always find the best things to make are what you and your family truly love. Don’t get me wrong I love cooking pizza is fast easy and everybody loves a good pizza. But I find myself going cooking great meals and coming up with new recipes every week to please my family and friends.

If your making pizza you might want to make it Neapolitan style and that’s hot and fast in under 90 seconds so you would need a hot oven first and then the top heat of the flame to char your pizza.

Backyard Brick Oven Cooking

The secret is to practice what you love and put passion into your meals. I like to  think of it as an art and something that make people happy . Its truly a great experience when you create a great dish and everyone gets to enjoy the whole experience.  Although I have been cooking for most of my life now  I still come up with new ideas and improve  upon what I  cook . Many people call who cook in our ovens and have so many questions . They ask for recipes and “what kind of wood should I use?” “what kind of pans should I use?” “Can I make bread?” “Do I leave the door open?” I think its great and try to answer them all. But my best advise when it comes to backyard brick oven cooking is to practice controlling the fire!

The fire is the main concern when cooking.  Getting the floor hot first, then allowing your fire to dampen down a bit so you can control the cooking environment. You will always need good wood.  Use seasoned (dried) oak or another hardwood, like walnut, ash or hickory. Be sure they are dry as well. Use a small amount to start and understand the fire that they produce. Don’t add multiple logs on the fire. let them light one by one and notice the result. If your fire is to big close the door lightly and keep it open slightly on an angle.

If you really want to hone in on your game you truly need a laser temperature gun to shoot the floor. This way you note the temp and results you get. For pizza I like 650f .

If your cooking steaks, and I like mine nice and thick  medium rare with a nice char.  I use a cast iron pan usually by Lodge get it nice and hot. I have my steaks sitting out at least two hours at room temperature first with a little salt and pepper.  You want them to get warm so they cook nicely inside and don’t burn on the out side.   I  understand my fire and my oven. At first I get the oven  hot so I have some coals built up from the fire. Then I heat my cast iron and time the fire so the flames will die down while cooking  so I don’t burn the steak. I have ready  some smaller thinner cuts of split oak and add one at a time (to the coals).  This way  I can control the flame height and keep the oven where I think its cooking best. I always use insulted gloves and  towel to avoid getting burnt and long sleeves are ok with me!  When the steak starts to char on the top I take it out and turn it over to char both sides well. I add some wine and butter I love  the reduction flavor of cabernet with butter and the steak juices.