Tandoori pizza oven combo

Jozef Woroniecki

2009-03-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

I just received a really helpful email from Jozef Woroniecki:

...your blog looks a bit thin...thought I might help. Ok?
First off, I am a classically trained chef, when I was in college I lived in a Buddhist community center and helped start an organic coop grocery. My first cookbook was an indian cookbook (Madhur Jaffreis). So I am obliged to help you on your journey because of my love for Indian food and I am unemployed.

First of all go to an indian restaruant and get invited to see what a tandorri oven looks like, there are a few different kind, some are wood fired others are just an open flame....but the ones I have had experience with are dome shaped with the flames at the bottom and a whole in the dome above (this is usually akimbo) . and the food is placed down into the oven in clay pots and what not and retrieved with long metal retrieving thingies. The bread is actually thrown on the sides of the oven where it sticks, one side is stuck on the oven wall while the other gets cooked to exposed flame.
You might wan to find a book by kiko denzer "building your own mass oven" and build a wood fired mass oven from cobb. or a brick oven like Pompeii. I have given you specific instructions on how to do this below. You could also just get a really thick, very large clay pot and assemble a fire underneath it and use that...Ive tried this it aint so bad or just have a potter make one for you and place that burner you have underneath it

either way please share with me the results!

Jozef Woroniecki

And here is the link to the (4MB) instructions in pdf format:
http://www.heatkit.com/graphics/bake/pompeii_oven_plans.pdf

How to build a Rocket Stove

2008-06-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

The rocket stove was invented about 10 years ago by Dr. Larry Winiarski at the Aprovecho Research Center in Oregon. It consists of an elbow-shaped combustion chamber (usually made from metal cans) surrounded by insulating material (often a large can filled with sand).

Here is how to build a Rocket Stove.

Starting Materials II.

2008-04-25T16:59:00.001-07:00

For a hot oven, you need a good heat source.

And I just happen to have lying around:

Now this is the business!

Less than $40!
150,000 BTU - this will most definitely help in my quest for a 1000F oven.

Putting it on full blast is, well, a blast. Like a small jet engine. Adjusting the air intake to get the perfect blue flame is fun.

I just want it to blast out heat energy. For water, 3 gallons from 60 degrees to a roiling boil in 10 mins. Nice.

Be careful, as you would naturally expect to be with something that smacks out up to 150,000 BTU.

Keep away from small ponies, children and cuddly toys.

Starting Materials I.

2008-04-25T16:09:00.001-07:00

To begin with, I have an old smoker donated by a neighbor. He was sick of the sight of it. Me? I'm happy to take anything that's free!

Yes it's the classic Smoke'n Pit Smoke King Outdoor Barbecue and Grill weighing in at a handy 238lbs - perfect for the beach!

Handy manual with full exploded view here!

(Why, I often ask myself, is the "and" abbreviated with just one apostrophe at the beginning, but none at the end?)

Look at that! It has (from the top) three chrome cooking grills (now rusted), one Porcelain coated water pan (chipped), one Porcelain coated charcoal pan (charcoaled to death), and even a grate for the bottom of the charcoal pan. Apparently it is an absolute bastard to operate, needing constant tending of the charcoal to maintain the temperature, which is not fun if you want to smoke at 200F for 8 hours.

I used a cheap electric burner in the bottom pan, with an old metal cup of wet chips, but then I was cold-smoking cheese and stuff in the middle of winter, and just wanted smoke at a temp of less than 80F.

Here is a side view, and you can just make out one hole at the top and one hole at the bottom. I can't tell you what they are for, but I think they will come in useful, because I am starting to have an idea.
A cunning plan you might say.

In search of the perfect oven.

2008-04-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is about my wish to create a tandoori oven.

I noted that these ovens, which are for cooking naan bread and chicken or lamb tikka, need to get up to 1000F.

Which is hot. And is also the ideal temperature for cooking pizza.

So I want both. A combination pizza and tandoori.

This is my journey.