Do you buy fire wood for barbeque and grill foods?
It is exciting to have a new BBQ oven in the house. However, choosing wood fuel needs a deep understanding of safe cooking practices.
In this blog post, we are dropping a guide to using firewood for cooking.
Is it Good to Use Firewood in Charcoal Barbeque Ovens
You can always use firewood for cooking purposes, but this is subject to specific food safety guidelines and procedures.
Use Hardwood Logs or Briquettes
First, it is vital to choose cooking-compatible hardwood for grill and BBQ ovens. Oak, cherry, hickory, mesquite, and apple are popular hardwood variants for culinary use. These wood logs attain very high temperatures and burn longer than softwoods. Oak is the perfect option for slow cooking while maintaining consistent heat.
Avoid using cedar, fir, pine, and spruce firewood for cooking food in the oven. These softwoods release large amounts of creosote (an oily substance), delivering a bitter aftertaste to the meat and vegetables. Creosote is a hard-to-remove sticky substance. It deposits on the oven surfaces, making it messy and dysfunctional for further use.
Check the Size of the Wood Logs
The size of the wooden chunks is as crucial as the cultivar. Small wooden chunks contain a large quantity of bark. Eliminate the barks before putting the logs in the oven.
Moreover, small wooden chips burn quickly without retaining heat for a long time. Large wooden chunks get extremely hot and induce slow cooking. This condition is ideal for searing the meat and getting the smoky flavours in the food.
Burn the Wood to Ignited Charcoal Before Using
There is often confusion about whether to pre-burn the firewood or use it directly in the BBQ oven. This depends on the wood variant you have purchased for oven use. If you buy fire wood for BBQ, pre-burning wood is the safe option to prevent over-smoking and bitter taste.
However, this is not required if you have purchased ready-to-use lump wood or barbeque charcoal. These products are processed for use directly in the oven without preheating.
Heating Adjustments
Woodfire burns at a higher temperature than cooking charcoal. The food may burn from the outside quickly but remain raw inside. It requires cooking techniques to control the heat when using firewood in the oven. You may bunch them together or keep the food at a distance from the wood.
Alternately, wrap the marinated meat in aluminium foil and pierce some holes to allow partial smoke into the food.
Flavour Profiles
Oak, hickory, apple, and cherry woods are ideal for grilling food to lip-smacking flavours. Cherry and apple wood bestow mild flavours and sweetness to the vegetables, cottage cheese, etc. But if you are keen on strong, smoky effects, mesquite and hickory are the best options.
Ambient Factors
Firewood has a hazardous impact on the environment than charcoal BBQ. It produces a higher amount of particulates and smoke than its charcoal cousins.
You do not desire to release dense smoke in the garden area, especially when you are partying with near ones. It can drastically impact the air quality in the surrounding premises.
Post-Cooking Cleanup
Clearing the ash from the oven is similar to firewood and charcoal BBQ. However, this can be a concern if you have purchased softwood. You may have a tough time dealing with the gummy deposits.
Health Concerns
Culinary charcoal products are treated rigorously to remove viruses and harmful deposits. These products are safe for food contact. But if you are using firewood logs, it is vital to ensure they are kiln-dried and packed as per cooking safety standards.