Category: Tips

When friends Charlie and Josh caught some rock crabs recently at a water adventure camp in Half Moon Bay, California they weren’t sure what to do with them (or whether their parents wanted to deal with the mess of boiling and cleaning them inside). Happily, the Wood Stone oven was already fired up for a casual pizza dinner so they brought them over. With a splash of beer and some Old Bay Seasoning, the crabs were covered and in the oven to roast in a matter of minutes, which is about how long they took to cook. The combination of steaming and roasting in the hot oven produced tender and moist crabmeat that took everyone’s attention away from pizza for a while. Can’t wait for Dungeness season.

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By Ann Rudorf, Wood Stone Residential Chef

If you build wood fires in your oven, (either wood-only or wood/gas combination) you’ve no doubt heard our adage “Burn only seasoned hardwoods with a moisture content of 15-20%.” Perhaps you’ve wondered, “Why do they stress this?  How does one determine moisture content? Does the species of wood really matter?” Here are some quick answers.

First of all, if the wood has a moisture content of over 20%, more of the BTUs are being used to “boil” the water out of the wood instead of going into heating the oven. Your goal of heating that stone hearth and dome is compromised and inefficient. Creosote build up is also an issue with wet wood. (20% moisture content wood produces twice the creosote of 15% moisture content wood.) It’s worth noting that wood with a moisture content of 10% or less will have lost much of its density, burning too quickly to leave sufficient coals. Use a Wood Moisture Meter to assure that fuel wood has the proper moisture content even before it is unloaded from the truck. (Note: Always measure moisture from the center of a freshly split piece of wood.)

We also stress using a good, heavy hardwood such as Oak, Apple or Hickory. You will get more heating BTUs out of a 4600 pound cord of Oak than a 2800 pound cord of Birch. Hardwoods also produce a better bed of long-lasting coals than lighter woods with a more balanced “coals to flame” ratio resulting in a better balance between floor and dome temperature for more successful cooking! Refer to our Wood Burning Oven Fuel Facts  for the weight per cord of wood found in your area.