4.i
Cooking on a Penguin
ALL MODELS:
The top surface of all of our stoves (the top plate) is hot and can be used
to boil a kettle or warm up a small saucepan. You will require a flat bottomed kettle or
pans. If you plan to use it regularly you will want items with a heavy bottom.
COOKER MODELS:
All our cooker models have an oven box above the stove. Do not
place cookware directly on to the oven bottom. If cookware is placed on the oven
bottom the lower layer of food will burn. If you plan to cook on it regularly consider rear
fluing the stove. There is a small rectangular cut out at the rear of the oven box, this is a
vent for cooking smells.
The oven temperatures
are completely dependent on the fire below, the fuel used
and how it is maintained. Cooking over fire is one of the oldest methods of cooking
but one of the least familiar to most people. When you begin using it, it will involve
trial and error. Once the fire has been established for 20-30 minutes you can acheive
temperatures between 140-280°C. 140-180°C is the average for a nicely established,
medium fire, with fuel glowing.
Longer, slower cooking is easier to achieve. Always begin with a familiar well-tried
recipe and compare the results with what you would normally expect from your usual
cooker, then adjust accordingly.
You can purchase an oven thermometer to monitor the oven temperature. You can
also purchase a stove pipe thermometer. Be aware that a stove pipe thermometer will
not give you the oven box temperature but the flue temp. However, what it will do is
indicate how steady the temperature is and any rises and fall in it.
The fire should always be well established before you begin so you can be more sure of
getting a steady temperature. The usual precautions apply when applying heat to any
food item. Ensure that food is throughly and safely cooked. Always check the centre of
the food, use visual checks. Use a meat thermometer if you are unsure. If in doubt do
not consume.
CARE OF THE OVEN BOX:
The oven box is a steel chamber with an oven door. It may
arrive with a thin spray coat of paint over the internal surface. This is just to preserve the
steel surface in storage and transit. The heat of the fire will burn off waste food that falls
onto the oven box interior, any deposits can be scraped off. Check periodically that the
vent is clear and that the rope seals are sound.
Page 45 of 60
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chilli
penguin.co.uk
COOKWARE:
We have some cookware available designed for our oven dimensions.
Ask your local stockist or see our online shop
www.chillipenguin.co.uk/spares-shop
.
Alteratively any cookware designed for a normal domestic oven is usually suitable for our
ovens if you can source a suitable size.
Spares are available through your local Chilli stockist or
our online shop. There are diagrams online to help you
identify the correct parts and advice about how to fit:
www.chillipenguin.co.uk/FAQ/looking-after-your-penguin