When I was a kid we used to cook in the wood stove. I made a mean flank steak. Then I grew up and left. Now I live in a house with an insert. It is a cat. What are the pros and cons of cooking in it? Does the grease pile up?
Cooking in the wood stove or insert
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In a cat stove you want to be sure not to contaminate the cat. Not sure what animal fats in the smoke will do. Baked potatoes should be safe.
jetsam
Minister of Fire
You can cook over wood outside any time for the price of a log, so I might go that route. Cooking IN the stove sounds pretty inconvenient anyway.
I don't have a CAT stove, but I do have a modern stove with a secondary burn. The meat I cook in my stove is far superior to anything I do in the summer on my gas grill or my smoker.
I put a rack in the stove propped up on bricks over a decent bed of coals. I place the roast or chic halves on the rack and close the door. Because I am limiting the oxygen in the stove, there is very little flame up when the fat drips off. I will occasionally open the door and put a thermometer in the meat to check it's progress. And of course I never forget to put whole potatoes wrapped in foil on the bed of coals before I start the meat.
After I take the food, rack and bricks out of the stove, I reload with wood and get it roaring a few minutes to clean out any grease that may have accumulated in the roof of the stove and the exit pipe. I probably don't need to do that, but I want to be sure nothing is coating the pipe just outside the stove.
I can't speak for CAT stoves, but I can't imagine a relatively low fat meat would damage the CAT. That's just an opinion mind you.
I put a rack in the stove propped up on bricks over a decent bed of coals. I place the roast or chic halves on the rack and close the door. Because I am limiting the oxygen in the stove, there is very little flame up when the fat drips off. I will occasionally open the door and put a thermometer in the meat to check it's progress. And of course I never forget to put whole potatoes wrapped in foil on the bed of coals before I start the meat.
After I take the food, rack and bricks out of the stove, I reload with wood and get it roaring a few minutes to clean out any grease that may have accumulated in the roof of the stove and the exit pipe. I probably don't need to do that, but I want to be sure nothing is coating the pipe just outside the stove.
I can't speak for CAT stoves, but I can't imagine a relatively low fat meat would damage the CAT. That's just an opinion mind you.
saskwoodburner
Feeling the Heat
Me and my son tried these out last year for something to do. They're kinda pokey to get going, but work well for a pot of beans.
Thanks Maryland that is what I had in mind. I remember from years ago the meat was better. I'm surprised there are not more people out there who cook in the stove. I think I will give it a try.
I find that the meat is far more tender cooked in the stove compared to grilling in the summer. The meat not only grills over the coals in the stove, it also bakes at the same time. And because you deprive oxygen in the environment, you don't experience flame ups and charring of the meat provided you have it high enough off the coal bed. Once you get your technique down, you will look forward to cooking this way.
drz1050
Minister of Fire
I tried doing a "caveman steak" in my stove, in other words, cooked directly on the coals, no grate... I wasn't very impressed, I like a good sear, and the steak laying directly on the coals smothered them a bit, so it took much longer to cook than anticipated. I'm gonna try rigging up a small rack propped up on bricks for next time.
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