Keep the home fires burning
Get out of the kitchen with recipes for your outdoor pizza oven
BECOME YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD’S master pizza maker, and get the most enjoyment and use from your outdoor pizza oven, with this truly epic cookbook.
Outdoor pizza ovens cook up a crispy crust and deeply flavourful toppings in a matter of just a few minutes. But if you are going to cook something that quickly, you need to have the perfect recipe before you cook: the super-fast cooking time leaves no room for error.
Enter pizza-obsessed outdoor oven wizard Jonathon Schuhrke, aka the Santa Barbara Baker.
With a background in the sciences, Schuhrke is famous in the pizza-oven community for troubleshooting — and solving — common pizza-making challenges for outdoor oven users.
Along with guidance that will show you how to get flawless results no matter what model of oven you have, you’ll find perfectevery-time recipes for the best pizzas and calzones in the world.
FIRE-ROASTED MEATBALLS
This is a classic multi-purpose meatball but fire-roasted in the outdoor pizza oven.
These meatballs are excellent served simply with marinara sauce or as a topping on the Fire-Roasted Meatball Pizza.
The flames of the outdoor pizza oven make for a meatball with a delightfully crisp exterior and tender, juicy insides.
Ingredients
500g beef mince (15 to 20 per cent fat) 1 small onion, finely diced (about 1⁄2 cup) 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
1⁄3 cup (40g) breadcrumbs
1⁄3 cup (50g) Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 1⁄2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste 1 large egg
1/4 cup (60 ml) milk (any percentage will do)
Method
Heat your outdoor pizza oven on high heat.
Gently break up the beef mince in a large bowl. Add the onion, garlic, parsley, breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, salt, and a few cranks of black pepper.
Crack the egg into a small bowl or cup and add the milk. Beat with a fork briefly to combine. Add the egg mixture to the bowl and gently combine with your hands until the ingredients are fully mixed and distributed, being careful not to overmix. Form the mixture into balls just larger than the size of a golf ball. Place the balls on a plate or small sheet pan, cover, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Once the outdoor pizza oven is heated, place the largest cast-iron pan your oven can fit directly under the flame and heat for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove the heated cast-iron pan from the oven and add the meatballs. Don’t overcrowd the pan. If they don’t all fit, cook them in multiple batches.
Return the pan to the oven and cook directly under the flame on high heat until the meatballs begin to sizzle and caramelise. Turn the heat down to low and continue cooking. Flip the meatballs occasionally and rotate the pan as they cook until they are just cooked through and the centre of the meatballs register 63C on an instant thermometer.
The meatballs may be served immediately as is or, better yet, simmered in a marinara sauce for about 15 minutes before serving, topped generously with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a few basil leaves. Let cool to room temperature.
The fire-roasted meatballs may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days.