Meat Dishes You Can Cook in a Wood-Fired Pizza Oven
Many people are hesitant to buy an outdoor kitchen pizza oven because they think pizza is the only thing you can cook in it. However, nowadays, people are using pizza ovens for cooking many other food dishes besides pizza. One of the most popular alternative food dishes to cook in a wood-fired pizza oven is meat dishes.
There are more than one hundred meat dishes you can cook in the pizza oven. If you are wondering how to cook meat in a wood-fired oven, we will discuss some of those ways below.
Related: 5 Easiest Dishes To Cook in A Wood-Fired Oven
Beef Steak
Do you want to learn how to cook steak in a pizza oven? Steak is an easy and simple type of food to practice cooking in a wood-fired pizza oven. It doesn’t require you to have much experience in the kitchen either. Plus, people are naturally drawn to juicy thick-cut steaks with higher fat content, such as rib-eye. Of course, there is nothing wrong with cooking lean tenderloins in a pizza oven if you wish to do so.
The oven temperature should be hot enough (about 700°F) to achieve the proper tenderness for the meat. You have the option to place a grill on wooden blocks or use a cast-iron skillet in the oven. Whether you use the cast iron skillet or the grill, make sure to preheat the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
When you’re ready to begin cooking the steak, place two cuts of meat on a grill or pan and cook it for two minutes. Slowly rotate the steak from left to right while cooking the same side but in the opposite direction. That way, the meat will be cooked evenly. Now do the same for the other side until the meat is cooked perfectly.
Pull the skillet towards the front of the oven during the last few minutes of cooking. This will ensure the meat is cooked evenly. Allow the meat to rest for a few minutes before serving. The juices in the steak will be distributed evenly throughout the meat if it is covered with aluminium foil. Then your steak will be more flavorful, tender and juicy each time you bite into it.
Pulled Pork and Smoked Ribs
A wood-fired pizza oven can be converted into a smoker oven by adding smoking wood pieces and chips to it. This will allow you to slowly cook meat in the pizza oven to make it taste more tender and flavorful.
Pulled pork and smoked ribs are great examples of meat-based dishes you can whip up with your wood-fired pizza oven. Let your oven cool down a bit for better slow cooking results.
See: Modern pizza ovens that are perfect for your outdoor kitchen.
Beer Can Chicken
Image credit: Foodnetwork
Beer can chicken is truly an exciting and fun dish to cook in a pizza oven. Imagine cooking a whole chicken as it stands on a can of beer. This unique and rather odd method of cooking chicken makes it quite appealing. Steam from the half-filled beer can goes into the chicken and makes the inside juicier and the outside crisper.
Like any meat dish, you can cook beer can chicken in a grill or oven. Whichever method you decide, rub different spices on the meat to enhance the flavor.
Barbecued Baby Back Ribs
Image credit: New York Times
Don’t we all crave barbecued baby back ribs on the weekend? Since you probably have more free time on the weekends, why not spend it preparing this delightful dish? It only has a few ingredients, and the steps to prepare the ribs are simple and straightforward.
Remove the cover from the ribs. Rub or sprinkle some salt and pepper on the meat. Now cover the ribs with aluminium foil to prevent them from drying up. Place the ribs in the preheated pizza oven at an extremely high temperature. Leave the ribs in the oven for about an hour or two. Make sure to periodically turn the pan around to cook all sides of the meat evenly.
The best way to enhance the flavor of barbecued baby back ribs is to rub homemade sauce onto the meat right after it is removed from the grill. The best homemade sauce contains a sweet and spicy mix of ketchup, brown sugar and pineapple juice. This will turn an otherwise bland barbecue sauce into a juicy, mouthwatering delight.
Conclusion
Cooking meat in a wood-fired pizza oven may seem challenging at first. But when it comes to cooking meat using your brick oven, there are only a few rules to remember.
First, preheat the oven to the highest temperature possible for about 10 minutes. Next, let the meat cook low and slow for another 10 minutes. When done, let the meat cool off for a few minutes.
As you can see, cooking meat can be as easy as cooking pizza. In some ways, it is even easier than cooking pizza because you don’t have to deal with all the ingredients.
Follow the Authentic Pizza Ovens blog for more pizza oven dish ideas.
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- Authentic Pizza Ovens
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