An outdoor pizza oven is the ultimate tool for enhancing your outdoor space. It presents nearly endless possibilities for you to enjoy your backyard while exploring your culinary expertise and broadening your repertoire. However, to ensure that you are maximising your outdoor oven’s potential, it is best to be aware of all the things it is suitable for.
Outdoor pizza ovens have been in use since Ancient Roman times. While their popularity faded for a time, their use has remained continuous since the Romans conceptualised them. However, present times have brought a resurgence in the desirability and renown of outdoor pizza ovens. They are no longer a mainstay for restaurants alone. More homeowners are installing them in their backyards and enjoying their benefits.
However, the best way to make sure that you truly enjoy your backyard pizza oven is by acknowledging and taking advantage of its various uses. So, here are six lesser-known ways to use your outdoor oven.
Space Heating
Using your outdoor pizza oven to heat your backyard area is not a new concept. Many Australians already recognise and exploit this purpose. Therefore, it is essential to remember this benefit. It comes in particularly handy when you spend time with your family or entertaining friends outdoors. The pizza oven can be a central gathering point where you and your loved ones assemble to share precious good times.
Oven Baking
Baking forms the critical basis of cooking a pizza. Therefore, you can extrapolate that an outdoor pizza oven is already predisposed for use in baking. The device’s heat distribution makes it ideal for creating delights like cakes, desserts and pastries. Outdoor pizza ovens are also excellent for baking various types of bread, including sourdough buns, plain loaves and Italian style focaccias.
When using a pizza oven for baking bread, you need nothing more than leftover residual heat after making pizzas. Therefore, you can continue to make effective use of your oven in the period before it completely cools down. This approach affords you precious time and energy savings.
Grilling and BBQ
Who doesn’t love some good BBQ? An outdoor pizza oven allows you to create some excellent BBQ flavours without using a grill. All you need is a grill rack to place your meat and a pan or other reservoir below it to catch the precious drippings. Using a pizza oven to grill meat infuses the food with irresistible flavours of spice, herbs and smoke that will have you constantly going back for more.
The only trick to using an outdoor pizza oven for BBQing is the need to monitor its temperatures closely to control how your meal cooks.
Vegetable Roasting
Roasted vegetables are excellent examples of side dishes to accompany the main meal. You can mix up a variety of summer roots and vegetables in a shallow pan before placing them in the oven to facilitate roasting. As a benefit, there is no limit to the vegetables you can use in this manner. Examples like brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, asparagus and squash produce satisfactory outcomes. Moreover, you can add seeds or whole grains like sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, corn and nuts on top of meat or pizzas before placing them in the oven for a healthy, texturally beneficial addition.
Slow-cooked meals
Quick does not always have to be the way when using an outdoor pizza oven. It is also possible to execute slow-cooked meals. The best approach is to keep your cooking vessel away from direct contact with the fire and use indirect heat instead. This method allows you to prepare slow-cooked meals like beef stew or lamb without electricity.
Heated Desserts
Using an outdoor pizza oven is not limited to making savoury meals. You can also create wonderful desserts that help round off the main course and bring mealtime to an end. There are numerous options here, including roasted peaches or other grilled fruits, marshmallows, pies and some tarts. For more fun, you can also make dessert preparation an interactive event where everyone gathers around the oven and takes turns roasting their respective dessert.
The above examples present a clear picture of how beneficial an outdoor oven is for your home. So don’t delay consulting with a local heating expert on the purchase and installation process. With an outdoor pizza oven in place, you will have a new focal point around which to make memorable moments with those you hold dear.
