Cooking on stove top, saving paint

[MAD MARK]

I just redid my Englander 30 but plan to cook on it this winter in my garage.

In saying I just repainted and burned in the paint what's the best way to save the top from scratches and such?

Was thinking of a slightly oversized flat "hotpad" I could take off if not cooking. I can only imagine cooking the way in this picture would leave some scratches.

 

[sportbikerider78]

I would never destroy the top of my 30 like that, but I also want to come over for dinner.

If it was me, I'd get custom cut chunk of durable stone that will not move. Anything will get stained with oil and grease though.

 

[MAD MARK]

After a little more research and thinking I might go for a heavy trivet.

 

[electrathon]

Almost anything you put on the top between your pan and the stove will lessen the heat you are transferring into the food. Depending on what you are planning on cooking, this may be good or bad. A trivet is used to keep heat away. A stone (use soapstone if you do that, most stone will snap from the thermal shock) will keep heat away. Possibly a sheet of plate steel that you could clean up annually would work.

 

[begreen]

As you can see in the picture, the stove top is covered with splatters. That is inevitable. A trivet will lower temp which can be helpful, but it won't eliminate splatters and stains. A removable steel plate might work, or perhaps a large stainless steel baking pan or cookie sheet would help.

 

[Manly]

I just redid my Englander 30 but plan to cook on it this winter in my garage.

In saying I just repainted and burned in the paint what's the best way to save the top from scratches and such?

Was thinking of a slightly oversized flat "hotpad" I could take off if not cooking. I can only imagine cooking the way in this picture would leave some scratches.

View attachment 229094

We use heavy duty aluminum foil on top of our Jotul 3. It works well but we only cook on it a few times a season.

 

[moresnow]

Used a trivet on my old stove. Almost tough making coffee/tea in a timely manner. Doubt I could have really cooked efficiently on it. FWIW.

 

[begreen]

Used a trivet on my old stove. Almost tough making coffee/tea in a timely manner. Doubt I could have really cooked efficiently on it. FWIW.

Yes, I'd be waiting hours to boil water on the T6 trivet top. We use it that way just to keep water hot and near boiling for a cup of tea later in the day. When the trivet is swung out of the way and the pot is directly on the stove top water will boil pretty quickly when the stove top is at 600º. Just watch out for boil overs.

 

[kennyp2339]

I've always wondered what the allure is to cook on top of a wood stove when you have a stove in the kitchen, I mean I could see if the power was out, or propane / gas was in a shortage and big $$$, but under normal conditions its tough for me to wrap my head around.

 

[MAD MARK]

I work in garage.
Get dirty.
Get thirsty.
I drink in garage.
Get hungry.

Must eat in garage seems obvious!!

 

[MAD MARK]

Used a trivet on my old stove. Almost tough making coffee/tea in a timely manner. Doubt I could have really cooked efficiently on it. FWIW.

I was thinking a trivet with the nubs cut off might work. I have one here anyways maybe I'll give it a try

 

[Poindexter]

You might try a salt block. They were all the rage a Christmas or two ago.

 

[moresnow]

I was thinking a trivet with the nubs cut off might work. I have one here anyways maybe I'll give it a try

Worth a shot. I had not considered trying that! Let us know.

 

[St. Coemgen]

IMHO -- if you want to cook on your stove you have a few choices:

1) Buy a stove with purpose inbuilt cooking plates which prevent scratches on the finish
2) Ruin the finish lacking cooking plates
3) Do both of the above because of the cooking splatter which will happen eventually which also can affect the finish

Our La Nordic has both an oven and a cooking plate on top. But I only use the cooking plate to "warm" precooked meals. Because the stove is so darn lovely, I don't want to ruin the finish from cooking splatter on top.