The Homestead: Full Day of Wood Oven Cooking

Started the oven up at 3pm and eventually got it as high as 965F! That's HOT folks! I think the cherry wood was nice and dry since I put it in the oven at the last burn when it was still warm. Started hot and just got hotter. In fact too hot to bake the chickens I planned. Put the first (beer can) chicken and flattened chickens in at around 700 deg. Pushed all the fire/coals to the back of the stove. It was still too hot but we had time constraints.... So in they went with foil tenting.


2 full chickens, cooked and cut into juicy pieces

LOTS OF SIZZLE RIGHT AWAY! Went in at 4:15pm. Turned them every 15 min. Still got pretty "crusty" but sure smelled good. By 5pm both hit internal temps of 140 deg. At 5pm put in 5 soaked ears of corn. They got hot fast and by 5:15 they were ready....too ready. Even though I turned them the sides toward the fire burned.

Smokey, caramelized corn

Hmmmm what to do? Cut the good side off into a bowl and add butter. Mmmm, perfect! Nice and smokey flavor, caramelized sugars with butter!
Add a green salad.
I cut the chicken up to a platter, opened a bottle of white wine and we sat down to eat.
Dessert: S'mores! Took SECONDS for the marshmallows! Oven still around 500 deg.

Marshmallow perfect

Holy Cow! What can I do with all this heat???
Cook more!

Roasted garlic bulb perfection

Left over swordfish steak... Just waiting in the refrigerator, more garlic bulbs, added vegetables to the chicken giblets and onions to roast for stock, left over dough from last weekend for flat bread, and finally... As those temps hit 400 deg....made some buttermilk biscuits. Seriously.... At 9pm. (at Wayne's request)

Giblets and vegis roasting

Residual cooking temp!

Now... Finally... Done for the day. It's 10 pm. Oven is still warm and the coals are dying down. The plan: put in not-quite-dry- wood to dry for a great fire next time.