Les' Build

[Calabrese]

Re: Les' Build

You are all making me very hungry

Regards
Joe

[egalecki]

Re: Les' Build

Well, if I'm grilling, I don't care if the whole oven's hot. I wouldn't even use the oven for it at all if I had a separate grill thingy built. I do heat the coals up in the landing, so the walls and the roof do get pretty hot. To be honest, I'm too short to successfully use the grill in the oven much further. I can move pizzas, etc. because the peels have long handles, but I find that using the grill too far in is not easy for me. I burn my arms on the walls, etc.

I've done plenty of roasting, etc. in the oven with fire, but it's all sitting on the floor. Something about the angle I end up with using the grill all the way in doesn't work for me.

[exceloven]

Re: Les' Build

Ruth's Chris cooks their steaks at 1800 degrees, so I have been heating up full blast (around 1000) then spreading a thin layer of coals under the grill. After the grill is nice and toasty I put on the steaks. They have been amazing! Just another option to try.


Mark

[mfiore]

Re: Les' Build

No benefit to heating the oven up all the way first? Otherwise, how's it different than a grate over an open fire?

[egalecki]

Re: Les' Build

Mike, if you have scooped ashes and coals out of your oven and put them in a metal trash can (like I do) you can actually take chunks out of the can and put them back in the oven and light them like charcoal. 'Cause they are! Recycling at its best!

[Les]

Re: Les' Build

Mike - I just built a very small fire to create coals. Thats all it took. I went out the next night to weld on some feet to the grill and it was still too hot to handle. That was the first time where I think too much insulation can be a bad thing.

Les...

[mfiore]

Re: Les' Build

Les, when you use the grill for steak, do you heat the oven all the way (white dome) first, or just heat up the grill?

[Giacinto]

Re: Les' Build

Thanks Les, it took me a while to get back to this site! I am not the greatest with the computer and I hope that some of the other individuals can help! The pics are great, one day they could be mine!!!

[Les]

Re: Les' Build

Hi,

I am assuming you want to use this as a pizza stone? This is outside of my experience but I did a quick google and found the following;

In fact a home made pizza stone made from a terra cotta tile is perfect providing that it is unglazed. The theory is that because the pizza stone is made from natural clay it is porous it is capable of extracting the moisture from the pizza to ensure a crisp base.

I don't know how porous the bottom side is and it may be a stretch to use as a stone. The good news is I am sure someone on this forum has the correct answer - stay tuned.

Les...

[Giacinto]

Re: Les' Build

Les, it seems you may be the person that can help me. Or this may be the wrong forum, but help I need. One day I hope to build my own backyard oven but for now I have the use of my BBQ. I have a 3/4" piece of granite that is rough on one side and polished on the other. It fits perfectly on top of the grill when closed leaving about 1" clearance all around. My BBQ is propane and I was wondering if using the granite is okay? Can you help?

[Les]

Re: Les' Build

How did the grill work? I love mine.

Elizabeth - it is awesome! A few pieces of kindling and 2 small pieces of oak - fantastic steak. When I was welding the thing together, I got lazy in regard to making a shim for spacing - I used a sharpie pen with that said, I think my spacing is a little wide. I may add some feet to the grill so it slides a little easier on the hearth - I need to get bored again.

Les...

[egalecki]

Re: Les' Build

This looks like fun. I wish I didn't live in the back of beyond, so to speak... if I want a wfo class I'll have to put it on myself.

How did the grill work? I love mine.

[Les]

Re: Les' Build

Any more details on the class?

Mark

Mark / All

The class is a lot of fun. As I mentioned, didn't learn much more then I already knew. We were broken into groups to work on our collective dishes.

The menu;

1. pizza Bianca with smoked salmon (which was smoked in a big green egg. This pizza had no sauce or cheese. The pizza was cooked twice - once to brown the dough and once more with the toppings on it. Really don't know why we did it that way, in my opinion, it could have been easily cooked once.

2. Three cheese baked penne - I didn't know it, come to find out it's just mac and cheese. Cooked in the WFO.

3. Mushroom rubbed plank roasted steak (I worked on this one). Cooked in the BGE.

4. Roasted vegetable salad platter. Cooked in the WFO.

5. Chocolate chipotle cakes with cinnamon caramel sauce. My wife worked this one and it was by far the hardest one to do - took them forever. My wife does a lot of cooking / baking and she said it was a VERY difficult receipt. I lost track, I think it was cooked in the WFO.

If you are in the area, and have a couple of hundred dollars to burn, I recommend doing it.

Here are a few pic's - the first one is my wife making the desert. The last one is Mary, I hope she doesn't monitor this site because I took a terrible picture of her.

[exceloven]

Re: Les' Build

Les,
As usual, excellent job on the Tuscan grill. Looks just like the original. Any more details on the class?

Mark

[bbell]

Re: Les' Build

Les, looks great!