‘Tis the season for outdoor cooking, and this year there are more options than ever for backyard barbecuing, and even baking, as we will see. In addition to the usual line of gas-fired and briquette grills, wood-fired ovens are gaining popularity amongst food enthusiasts.

Wood-fired ovens come in a couple of different designs. The wood cook stove is a metal stove that usually has an oven chamber beside the wood-burning chamber, and food is cooked while the fire is burning. But there is another kind of wood-fired oven that is also known as a masonry stove, a brick oven or a Quebec oven. These are built of a material that has thermal mass, that is a material that holds and stores heat and releases it long after the source (in this case, fire) is gone. These can be made of bricks, adobe, cement, or cob.

A masonry oven consists of a single, usually done-shaped, chamber, sitting on a base. There is a door, and usually though not always a separate chimney. A fire is lit inside the chamber and fed until the body of the oven has absorbed enough heat. The fire is then allowed to naturally burn out, whereupon the ashes are swept from the oven. Then it is ready for roasting or baking.

These ovens have been popular for years in artisan bakeries and pizzerias, but are gaining popularity for individual use. They are relatively easy to build, and, especially when they are made of cob, which is a mixture of sand, clay and straw, are quite inexpensive. A level foundation is necessary, as is flat surface of fire bricks to form the base of the oven. With a cob oven, the done is then formed of sand with a layer of newspaper covering it and the cob dome covering that. When the cob is dry, the sand and paper is dug out through doorway. The traditional technique for building a Quebec style oven is to make a dome form of saplings which is then covered by the cob or cement. When it is dry the first firing burns the saplings out. A Quebec style oven has a chimney just behind the first door, and a second door behind that to enclose the firing/baking chamber to prevent heat loss through the chimney during baking. Other ovens just have the front door, which acts as a chimney when the fire is burning, and is then closed by a wood or cast-iron door during baking.

Cob ovens should ideally be plastered with a clay-based plaster to prevent weathering, and also covered by a roof, as cob will degrade with exposure to rain. Similar ovens made of bricks withstand weather a bit better, but a cover is still useful to prevent weathering and also prevent rain from cooling the oven during baking.

When well built and thick, and with a good long firing, these ovens can hold heat for an amazingly long time. They can be used for baking one thing after another for the better part of an entire day. Usually, pizza or a similar quick-cooking food is baked first. Then meats can be roasted, then bread and cookies can be baked.

These ovens make a dramatic addition to any backyard. In fact, cob ovens can incorporate benches that are then heated through osmosis during the firing process, making them a cozy place for your guests to lounge, and allowing for exciting outdoor entertaining even in the cold winter months. Depending on the artistic bent of the designer and builder, these ovens and their benches can be tremendously sculptural, or simple and functional. There are many pictures of cob ovens on-line, including a curled up dragon whose nostrils act as a chimney, and an oven that is a bird’s head with a built-in bench on either side that from behind look like the outspread wings of the bird. Others are merely simple yet elegant domes.

Whatever your aesthetic preference, if you enjoy cooking and being outdoors, these beautiful ovens are an intriguing way to do it.

By: Carol Freyer
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Is charcoal grilling bad for you? There has definitely been some concern over this. It is precisely because of the question “Is charcoal grilling bad for you?” that many people have opted to stay away from grilling altogether or have chosen to use gas grills as an alternative. Of course, gas grills really cannot provide the same results and taste that charcoal grilling can provide. If you are concerned about the question of whether “Is charcoal grilling bad for you?” it is important to understand the facts about this debate.

One of the reasons that the question of ‘is charcoal grilling bad for you’ arose is the concern that charcoal burns dirty. This means that when charcoal burns small particles of soot are released into the air. If you are standing nearby and breathe in the air from the charcoal as it burns, this can cause existing lung and heart problems to become aggravated.

Another reason that many people are concerned about the questions of ‘is charcoal grilling bad for you‘ is that charcoal grilling can potentially result in the development of carcinogenic compounds. This has lead to a concern regarding the risk of cancer associated with grilling food. Carcinogenic compounds are thought to be form when fat from meat drips on the charcoal and then rise along with the smoke and become deposited into the food. Food may also develop carcinogenic compounds when it becomes charred.

If you are concerned about the question of ‘is charcoal grilling bad for you’ there are some steps that you can take to help reduce the risks. First, try to avoid breathing in the smoke while you are grilling. Second, try to avoid allowing the meat to become charred while it is cooking. This can be done by not letting the food to overcook over high heat.

There is also another important step you can take if you are concerned about the question of ‘is charcoal grilling bad for you.” You might consider using natural charcoal. Rather than using charcoal that is made from sawdust, consider using charcoal that is produced from oak hardwood charcoal and does not contain any limestone, oil, coal, petroleum or sawdust. These products have become more widely available around the country and are considered a great alternative to charcoal if you want the taste and flavor of using charcoal for your grilled food but are concerned about developing health problems due to using charcoal in your grilling.

By: Nicholas White
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• 670 square inches primary cooking area with 355 square inches of secondary cooking area
• Porcelain coated cooking grate with chrome swingaway
• Clean-out door for easy ash remoal
• Steel firebox for offset heat and slow smoke flavor
• Convenient front shelf and wire bottom shelf

The Char Broil American Gourmet Deluxe Offset Smoker represents a great option for the smoker enthusiast with the space to cook for large groups and get togethers. The offset fire box allows for classic indirect cooking thgough the transmission of smoke, flavor, and low heat, through the cooking chamber. The cooking chamber is covered by a 670 sq. in. porcelain wire cooking grate and 355 sq. in chrome wire swingaway rack. There is a simple door for easy ash removal as well as a convenient front shelf. As with all grills, we recommend keeping the firebox clean to help avoid flare up as well as using a grill cover to protect your invesent.

List Price: $ 299.00
Price: $ 139.00