Woodstove Cookery

Today was cold. We had the woodstove going all day. This a perfect time to take advantage of a roaring fire to cook lunch. I've been brining a pork loin end roast all week and decided to cook it in the woodstove.

In the photo you can see the pork in the foreground, broccoli to the right (also cooked in the oven) and sauted mushrooms and shallots in the cast iron pan. I take one cover off the firebox and place the pan directly over the fire which provides high heat. The potatoes are boiling in the stainless steel pot on the back burner. They will join the butter and homemade goat yogurt preheating in the pyrex bowl. Some apple rings are drying at the back of the stove. The child loves these. Insta-snax. Just yank a few off and chow.

I roasted the pork in a pan on top of some wedges of onion and carrot. I didn't use any water in the pan. The oven was at about 300 degrees when I put the roast in. The fire cranked the heat up to about 450. I went outside and brought in some cold and slightly damp birch. One log brought the temp back down and I was able to keep it pretty consistent at 325 for the last hour. It took about an hour and 45 for a 3.5 lb roast with bone.

It's nice to be able to use the stove for heat and cooking simultaneously. It feels like a good way to use the energy resource. I'm glad to practice the art of cooking on/in the woodstove so that I can feel confident should we not have power to use our electric stove. This is a real problem for many folks in New England today.

I've used the stove's oven to roast pumpkin seeds, bake bread and reheat leftovers. The trickiest has been the bread and pies. It's easy to burn the side of the food closest to the firebox. You must pay attention and keep turning the food to avoid scorching it into oblivion.

Luckily the pork roast doesn't care about that. The crispier the fat, the yummier the bite.

We really enjoyed the meal today what with the cold and the burned fat and all.