Cooking in the oven. How?!

[Doodlebug]

Hi all,

 

This one is for the cooks among you all.

 

We have a smallish gas oven. Its useless.

 

Whenever we cook things in there it takes twice the time it should, it burns the stuff towards the back, and it drys things out.

 

How are you supposed to use these ovens. Or are they just useless.

 

All we have managed successfully is breaded chicken. Which to be honest is pretty hard to mess up on. I wouldn't attempt a roast dinner in a million years.

 

(Partly because it wouldn't fit, but thats not the point:P)

[Greedyheron]

Is it new? If not have you checked the door seal? Mine started cooking on one side and not the other- I had squished the seal somehow on one side, much better once replaced. If not, putting tin foil over things tends to help, let's them get hot but not burn, maybe worth a go?

[dor]

Sounds like my oven!

 

Although relatively new (still a current model) even on full you can almost hold your hand on the bottom whilst the top is hot enough to fire ceramics. After my electric fan oven a t home it is a real pain and took me a while to get used to it.

 

The only way I can produce a decent meal is to keep moving stuff around between the different shelf positions. Pizzas you have to keep rotating or they will be cold at the front whilst bursting into flames at the back. Putting an old baking tray on a lower shelf pushed right to the back can help.

 

 

I wouldn't attempt a roast dinner in a million years.

 

I did manage Christmas dinner for four - the full on turkey (crown) and all the trimmings last year, but that was after a few years to get used to it - and it still took nearly an hour longer than I planned (though that may have been due more to the G&Ts).

Edited May 17, 2013 by dor

[Doodlebug]

Ha, pizza? our oven isn't big enough for that!

 

I think its relatively old, but I dont think theres a problem with the seal. Ill look when I get back.

 

Foil is a good idea, but what about baking cakes?

 

My partner likes baking but with our oven she can't really do anything.

 

Do you get fan assisted gas ovens for narrowboats?

[bizzard]

Keep turning the food around to equalize the foods burning. If it takes a long while to cook things your burner and jet probably need cleaning. Remove burner probe flame holes, tap and shake out rust and probe the jet carefully with a wire brush bristle.

Edited May 17, 2013 by bizzard

[Graham Davis]

What oven is it?

[Doodlebug]

Its this one

 

http://www.mobilegas.co.uk/caravan-camping/hobs-ovens-grills/

 

then scroll to the second one down.

 

It might be that it needs a good clean out, but I still think It will struggle to cook evenly.

 

Thanks

[RLWP]

 

Richard

[Graham Davis]

We had one like that in a caravan, and found it useless.

Got used as a cupboard in the end.

[Naughty Cal]

Get a slow cooker!

[pete.i]

Hi all,

 

This one is for the cooks among you all.

 

We have a smallish gas oven. Its useless.

 

Whenever we cook things in there it takes twice the time it should, it burns the stuff towards the back, and it drys things out.

 

How are you supposed to use these ovens. Or are they just useless.

 

All we have managed successfully is breaded chicken. Which to be honest is pretty hard to mess up on. I wouldn't attempt a roast dinner in a million years.

 

(Partly because it wouldn't fit, but thats not the point:P)

Hi

We have a Vanette cooker on our boat. It is very very old so I don't expect too much of it but it wouldn't cook a Sunday roast thats for sure. It takes an absolute age to, even, boil a kettle. Having said that I have been told that propane, which is the gas that I burn on my boat, burns cooler than "town gas." Whether that is true or not I know not. But if it is true then anything that you try to cook using propane is a) going to take longer if it takes longer then there is, presumably, more chance of it burning. Also the reason fan assisted ovens were first conceived was because ovens do not distribute the temperature efficiently so a fan was introduced to waft the hot air around better inside the oven. A similar conception to the Ecofan which a lot on this forum say is also snake oil LOL.

 

Pete

 

Dunno why that smiley came out there mebbe this forum is somewhat snake oil as well.

Edited May 17, 2013 by pete.i

[luctor et emergo]

All together now:

 

A b with a ) makes a

 

 

 

No snakes are harmed in the making of this forum.

[Greedyheron]

Cakes will work with foil but have to put it on at the right time- let it rise and crust enough that it won't deflate when you open oven , then you can put foil on to let middle cook without top burning (I have an eno stove, good but requires trial and error) .

[pete.i]

All together now:

 

A b with a ) makes a

 

 

 

No snakes are harmed in the making of this forum.

See I told you it was all snake oil LOL.

[Kwacker]

The longer you allow the oven to pre-heat (30 - 40 mins) the more accurate will the set temperature be.

If you try to use a small oven while the burner is still full on, trying to reach the set temp, it will just burn the bits closest to the burner.

Wait until the burner has shut down to a small flame before cooking anything.

If you are used to a modern electric fan oven, which requires little if any pre-heating, you will have to adapt to putting your gas oven on before you even feel hungry.

 

ps our Vanette oven takes at least 35 mins to accurately reach 180c, the fan oven at home takes 10 mins max.

Edited May 17, 2013 by Kwacker

[coventrylad]

Propane atcually burns hotter than natural gas and should be far better for cooking. my paste and copy Propane contains more energy than natural gas -- 2500 BTU per cubic foot versus 1000 BTU.

[tillergirl]

I have a Vanette cooker and hob which is as old as the boat and it cooks brilliantly. Sunday roasts no problem and bakes a beautiful even cake. I did struggle a little with Christmas lunch though but i think that was me not allowing enough time not the cookers fault.

[bizzard]

Same here with my ancient but bomb proof half size ''Super Calor'', Removing, cleaning the burners and jets now and then makes a world of difference as I described earlier and is probably the main reason why some people moan about their cookers being inefficient.

[tillergirl]

Couldn't agree more Biz. when we moved on board one of the first things i did was give the cooker a good clean and clean out all the muck, dust and crud from the burners. We replaced the thermo coupling on the grill and everything works a treat now.

[bizzard]

Couldn't agree more Biz. when we moved on board one of the first things i did was give the cooker a good clean and clean out all the muck, dust and crud from the burners. We replaced the thermo coupling on the grill and everything works a treat now.

Yes all quite simple, its important to probe the jets too. Some folk seem to have more money than sense, for the sake of a little simple maintenance they'd rather spend hundreds of pounds on a new one every couple of years.

[jelunga]

 

Propane atcually burns hotter than natural gas and should be far better for cooking. my paste and copy Propane contains more energy than natural gas -- 2500 BTU per cubic foot versus 1000 BTU.

But if the regulators let it burn at a lower pressure you will not Get as much heåt.

[nicknorman]

We have a gas fan oven. It's fab! But it is a full sized domestic one so might be too big for some.

[larkshall]

There was a test of smallish ovens designed for boat use in Yachting Monthly, they where all rubbish until you started to spend £1,100+.

 

I think in NB context, you needs a proper domestic cooker, owt else is rubbish.

[Grace and Favour]

We have a gas fan oven. It's fab! But it is a full sized domestic one so might be too big for some.

NN, Could you tell me what model that is please?

 

I'll be in the market for a new oven next winter

[nicknorman]

NN, Could you tell me what model that is please?

 

I'll be in the market for a new oven next winter

Its a Baumatic BO620SS. http://www.baumatic.co.uk/bo620ss.html

 

Of course you need mains power to run the fan etc, but it doesn't use much. We have 2 sources of mains power (travelpower + inverter) to give some backup.

 

Bigger than your average boat oven but not massive - pic from boat in build.

 

]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8394/8750548840_59879a1ce0_b.jpg]

Edited May 18, 2013 by nicknorman