Investing in a pizza oven is great if you plan on baking pizza a lot of the time, but what if you want to make other foods? Whether you are cooking in the house or have treated yourself to an outdoor oven for pizza, you will likely want to get as much use out of it as possible.
Pizza ovens can be used for cooking other dishes like steak, fish, or your favorite rib dish.
Lets look at the things that you can cook in a pizza oven aside from pizza and learn all about how diverse these pieces of outdoor cooking equipment can be. But, we know that you would have installed a pizza oven, you would have done so to make pizza – so we will throw in some fun pizza tips as well!
How Is A Pizza Oven Different From A Regular Oven?
It is important to try to keep in mind that whilst there are clear differences between a normal oven and a wood-fired oven, all types of roasted foods can be baked in either.
The most obvious difference is the temperatures at which the wood-fired ovens can reach. They are far higher than your normal oven. Where your household oven would cook pizza bread in around 15-25 minutes at 200º, a pizza oven will bake a pizza in as little as 90 seconds. This is because the temperature can reach as high as 500º. Although it isn’t very often you will roast at this temp, even a quick-cook pizza recipe needs only a 300º oven.
Authentic wood-fired ovens let you bake a far more textured and tasty recipe without burning. A normal oven takes much longer to cook the food, and this lengthy cooking is what causes the food to dry. Switching to a pizza oven is a great way to get more juicy recipe results. If you are cooking meat, this is great because this is something that needs that extra moisture.
The taste is made thanks to the wood. As the fire rages inside the oven, the wood smoke adds a far superior and perfect flavor every time. The food will also lightly caramelize, further adding to the taste. It is little wonder that this roasting method is the favorite of many professional and amateur chefs all over the world. Whether you are cooking pizza or something else, the flavor will be hugely intensified.
If you are making pizza in your wood-fired oven, you will notice that the dough rises far more effortlessly.
Can You Cook Meat In A Pizza Oven?
A Wood fired oven is far more versatile than you might first imagine. While they are perfect for cooking a delicious pizza with all of your favorite toppings, there are many other things that can be cooked in a pizza oven. Thanks to the intense heat, you may find that it is a lot quicker too!
Some of the most mouth-watering recipes for wood-fired ovens are based around various meats. If you can use your regular oven to cook the dish, then you will just as easily be able to cook it in your backyard brick oven.
Slow cooking your meat in a wood-fired oven can be one of the best recipe ideas to try making at home – this slow process will give your meal an authentic taste and has fast become a favorite of backyard chefs.
What Else Can I Cook In My Pizza Oven?
The good news doesn’t end there; owning a wood-fired oven means that you can make a huge variety of dishes, including:
- Roasted vegetables
- Beef Steak
- Beef, chicken, pork, or any other meat skewers
- Fish recipes
- Potato wedges
- Slow-cooked recipes
- Ribs
- Freshly baked bread
- Jacket potatoes
- Garlic bread and other types of loaves
- Hot dessert
- And of course, a pizza covered in delicious melted cheese and a whole host of toppings with a perfect crust can only be achieved by using this type of grill.
The only real limit is your imagination, and it can be fun to come up with some authentic recipe ideas and experiment with your brick oven.
How Do You Roast Meat In The Pizza Oven?
If you want to cook in a pizza oven, there are various methods you can use to get a more authentic flavor.
In fact, it has become almost stylish in recent years to add a pizza oven to your garden. There are a lot of people who host a pizza party to show off their be oven – and who could blame them? But cooking with one does require you to follow a recipe if you want to get that perfect authentic flavor.
One of the first things to keep in mind is that this outdoor cooking style is vastly different from when you place a dish in the oven and come back to check on it 20 minutes later – cooking in a wood-fired oven requires your continued attention.
You may not be used to having to check the food as it sits over the fire roasting. When you cook in a pizza oven you need to keep an eye on it.
As we mentioned, the high temperature will mean that meat, vegetables, bread, and other foods bake far more quickly – a pizza in 90 seconds!
Let’s take a closer look at the steps to use when roasting in pizza ovens.
- Before you get started on your meal, you will need to light the fire inside the oven, and many people find that they like this part of the process just as much as the cooking. We mentioned that the heat inside these pizza ovens is intense, as high as 500º at full power; however, this may be too hot, so it is important to find the right balance and take the temperatures back a little – most manufacturers suggest 300º for cooking pizza. However, once you move away from pizza and start experimenting with your oven, you will need to bring the temperature down even more. Get your fire started and then maintain it over the course of cooking.
- When slow-cooking, you may well want to make use of the glowing embers to infuse the meat with flavor and lock in that all-important moisture and avoid burning the meat. Alternatively, you will need to keep the grill at a higher heat that remains consistent when you want to make pizzas. This is especially true if you will be making more than a single pizza – the oven must stay at the same temp throughout.
- If you want to cook a traditional beef roast, for example, the pizza oven can be used to make the best of both heated and cooler temps. To begin with, you can place the beef inside the oven and seal and brown it while the temperature is high. As the oven cools, the beef will roast evenly to full perfection without the risk of burning.
- For roasted meat that requires a much faster bake time, you will need to use a skillet or grill that has been inside the oven as it heats up – you can then simply place the meat down when it is ready to be roasted.
Tips For Roasting Meats And Vegetables In A Pizza Oven
To get the best out of your brick pizza oven we have some top tips.
- Be sure to add lots of flavor to your food. Cooking a roast doesn’t just have to mean just getting the meat into the oven. Pepper, garlic, and other herbs and spices can be used to add to the authentic flavor. Even potatoes can be spiced up with a dash of paprika or a sprinkle of salt.
- A lot of people like cooking your vegetables in stock. Place them into a bowl in the oven and notice the drastic difference in taste.
- Don’t be afraid to further experiment with the taste – try adding other ingredients like cheese, not only to pizza but to other dishes.
- Make the most of your oil and use it to add to the moist results you will get from using a brick oven.
- You can bake bread in your wood-fired oven, but if you intend to make a normal loaf, the temp must be lower than when cooking pizza. Pizza can be cooked like this at 300º, but regular bread is best cooked in a brick oven around 200º.
- Pizza also needs to be roasted with the oven door open – this will allow the fuel to keep burning; without fresh air, the fire will quickly die out, and you won’t achieve that familiar pizza taste that you would expect from a wood-burning oven. As we mentioned earlier when you are cooking more than just an individual pizza, maintaining the oven correctly will yield far better results.
Summary
Your oven may have been designed with pizza in mind, but you can cook a whole host of other foods such as roasted veggies, chicken, steak, fish, and breads, to name a few. Cooking these recipes does differ slightly from pizza, but it isn’t hard to learn and experimenting with recipes to include exciting ingredients like garlic, stock, and olive oil; you have the opportunity to create some truly inspired meals – you’ll certainly be the proud host of all future get-togethers!
