Cooking steak directly on the firebrick flloor. Is this wise?

[ogopogodude]

okay, . here is another newbie Q: is it smart to place a NY steak or filet directly on the firebrick ? I am thinking that it may just STICK and then several things will happen ---> the steak will tear & be ruined when I try to move it, and also ... the oils / fats will stain the firebrick. Any thoughts?

I must realize that my new hobby of pizza oven cooking is not a BBQ. I suppose I could easily stick my round 14' pizza stone in the dome and on top of the firebrick and then I could try using it as the cooking surface.

Any input from any of the members here would be greatly appreciated.

(I am actually itching to place a Costco steak on, like ... right now, .. since the night of pizza making is now over ... and I want to experiment ... so .. please, don't hesitate, someone, ... to give me your 2 cents immediately ... lol)

[ogopogodude]

Hmmm... I suppose I could use my Costco purchased large deep dish cast iron pan and then pre-heat it inside the oven dome ... then remove it, .. place some oil, butter inside the cast iron pan, then the steak .. and off into the oven dome it goes... This should work well with no fear of creating dark spots on the firebrick floor nor tearing the steak due to "surface tissue sticking"

[Gulf]

Sorry for the late reply. Here is a search link of this site for dirty steak in the wfo. Also, be careful using cast iron in an oven that is too hot. It can warp the pan and, at the very least, ruin the cure.

[JRPizza]

So far everything that has dripped or spilled on the cooking floor disappears when I make the next fire, or at least after a couple of firings. I even learned from Gulf to place some of my extra dirty entry bricks into the firing oven to return them to new looking condition. Joe is also right about an extra hot oven removing any seasoning from a pan. I have used this to remove years of crud from some of my old hand-me-down cast iron. Had some that I had even considered having sand blasted to remove the "crust" on the outside, but just put in the oven till they had a slight red glow, then brushed off the ash after they were removed and cooled. When the oven got down to around 400F I recoated with oil and re-seasoned them.

[Gulf]

Thanks for the post JR.

I use the oven regularly for seasoning cast. I'm going to try your method in the oven with an old skillet that I have been holding for a while. I have been hesitant because I have seen skillets warped in fire pits. Perhaps it is the even heating of the WFO that makes the difference.

[ogopogodude]

Last night went well after pizza making. My NY steak cooked up very well in the pre-heated cast iron skillet (purchased from costco). I knew enough to put a dose of olive oil in the pan, as I did not want the steak to stick. The final result was very good. No need for BBQ if one has a pizza oven.

The round pizza oven stone placement was also a good idea, in my opinion. I wasn't sure what the reaction would be with putting a cold cast iron skillet on the firebrick to pre-heat it prior to putting the steak into it. I just didn't want something dumb to happen like one of the floor firebricks to crack, etc. so I played it safe.

[david s]

This is my solution rather than placing steaks directly on the oven floor. It is made from an old BBQ grill with some short bolts which act as legs, works pretty well, but my oven has a very shallow entry, may not be so good in an oven with a deep entry.

[david s]

So far everything that has dripped or spilled on the cooking floor disappears when I make the next fire, or at least after a couple of firings. I even learned from Gulf to place some of my extra dirty entry bricks into the firing oven to return them to new looking condition. Joe is also right about an extra hot oven removing any seasoning from a pan. I have used this to remove years of crud from some of my old hand-me-down cast iron. Had some that I had even considered having sand blasted to remove the "crust" on the outside, but just put in the oven till they had a slight red glow, then brushed off the ash after they were removed and cooled. When the oven got down to around 400F I recoated with oil and re-seasoned them.

I use the same technique to clean my Weber grill. Just throw it onto the coals and all crud burns off leaving it clean as a whistle.