OVEN do's & don't

ISeyes · 08-19-2017, 10:30 AM

Hi Everyone,

Hoping to get some advice regarding the use of the oven. We've added this to our build sheet, never used a propane oven before and curious as to what we should know prior to using.

Read an earlier post about someone burning their muffins and now thinking this may be trickier to use then we thought.

Thanks

cpaharley2008 · 08-19-2017, 11:16 AM

I had one in my 21, never used it in 2 years. It is a manual light and involves a steady hand and eye. Used the oven to carry pans.

**Donna D.** · 08-19-2017, 11:18 AM

I hope Kathie (Dave&Kathie) sees this post. Kathie bakes all the time in their 21'. She can tell you the best pans, how to regulate the temps, how to light the oven. I love camping next to them

cpaharley2008 · 08-19-2017, 11:37 AM

I can not remember Donna, did you get the oven in your 5.0 TA?

**Donna D.** · 08-19-2017, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I can not remember Donna, did you get the oven in your 5.0 TA?

No, I did not. Trust me, there are time I wish I had. I'll probably end up with a toaster oven when I start traveling for months on end.

Jim Bennett · 08-19-2017, 12:57 PM

We do not have the stock oven, but just had a great breakfast with baked sausages. Had an oven in a previous trailer that saw next to no use, but now my wife loves using it, and I love eating what comes out of it.

hotfishtacos · 08-19-2017, 02:30 PM

I would sometime like to have an oven while camping but most of the time do not so I'm glad I don't have one installed taking up valuable space. I have my eye on one of these because I smoke a lot of food at home and would like to be able to smoke food while camping; fresh-caught fish, tri-tip steaks smoked then seared on the Weber-Q, ribs, brisket, smoked chicken and turkey, etc. It will easily fit in the back of my Honda Pilot with the rest of my essential camping stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FJVSWM2...=2COJ6U2R56IDC

This smoker can also double as an oven for baking and can be plugged into the low pressure port on my 19"...for $86 on Amazon Prime.

alanmalk · 08-19-2017, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISeyes

Hi Everyone,

Hoping to get some advice regarding the use of the oven.
...

Thanks

Do:
°Get small (9"X11") pans. Regular size is a bit too big.
°Use long reach BBQ butane lighters to light.
°Make a batch of Ghirardelli double chocolate brownies as your first sample. Then invite me over to share.

--
Alan

Dave&Kathie · 08-19-2017, 04:09 PM

We love the oven and bake in it all the time. You get the hang of lighting it It's great when you are dry camping too! I only use the Airbake insulated pans. Otherwise the oven tends to burn on the bottom. If you are using a non Airbake pan put one of the cookie sheets underneath the regular pan. Here's a set from BB&B, Amazon carries them also.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/sto...set/1016794090

Make sure they are the Airbake insulated brand. I take the 2 small sheets from the 3 piece set with me. The large one doesn't fit. I also have the 9x13 insulated cake pan for casseroles, etc and a 9" square cake pan (I put a cookie sheet under). .

Kathie

dmdunca44 · 08-19-2017, 04:25 PM

We are on our 2nd trip with our new 19. We opted for the oven and I am really glad we got it. I've used it twice so far and plan to bake potatoes tomorrow or the next day.

I've learned two things so far.
1. Do get an oven thermometer. Otherwise you don't know when it has reached the desired baking temp.
2. Don't, DON'T turn it off until you have verified that the food is done. Yesterday I made appetizers in it. I had to guess when it was hot enough. I guessed wrong because I took them out, turned the oven off and then discovered the food wasn't done. DH nearly burned his arm re-lighting the oven with the door nearly at 400 degrees. Today I went into town and purchased a thermometer.

rotateclockwise · 08-19-2017, 08:24 PM

We've enjoyed our oven so far. A 1" think 12" square pizza stone really helps to even out temps.

canyonrider · 08-19-2017, 09:21 PM

We have the oven and love it. We use it for something at least once every three or four days, and made Thanksgiving dinner with it last year.

Do:
- Be flexible with cooking temps and times until you gain some experience with it. We often end up setting it to a slightly higher temp and increase cooking time 10-20%, depending on the item.

- Use a BBQ lighter for the the pilot, and keep the pilot lit if you aren't on the move. It's not that tricky to light, but keeping it lit while setup in camp make starting the oven as simple as setting the temp with the dial.

Don't:
- Assume success for larger foods. We have found that simple, flatter items like pizza, cookies, brownies, etc work well. A large pumpkin pie was a notable failure!

Overall I would certainly get the oven again. I may need to try some of those fancy pans. We haven't had any real burning issues, but have had to fiddle with the rack height a few times to obtain even cooking.

ISeyes · 08-20-2017, 10:39 AM

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all your thoughts, advice and sharing your experiences, this helps us feel more confident when using our oven for the first time. Very grateful for the recommendations on type of cookware, for we really don't fancy the taste of burnt anything.....

We'll send a shout out if we ever try to bake 'Ghirardelli double chocolate brownies' (seriously Alan, way above our expertise). Baby steps, we'll try the baked potato first

Thanks

Mary F · 08-20-2017, 07:14 PM

We moved our rack to the higher slot on ours and haven't had burning issues. It does run a bit cool, so I agree with turning the temp a little higher and increasing the cook time a bit. However, Alan, this week's batch of Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Brownies was baked at 9000ft and I overdid the baking time. I have never had brownies stick like these, and in a non-stick pan with a good coating of some French butter. (They still were great, I just had a hard time prying them out of the pan...which is a 11 X 7 inch.)

AKCamper · 08-21-2017, 12:23 PM

I have always wondered how an "Airbake" pan would work. I have cooked somethings in our barbecue and have used a piece of tinfoil with a couple of butter knives on top to keep the bake-ware from direct flame.

whitepine · 08-22-2017, 10:13 AM

We debated the oven on our 21 ft. build sheet as we had heard pros & cons. So THANKFUL that we chose to add it. Really have found it very useful when dry camping & traveling. This summer we have gone to Chilliwack and done a tour of the upper western states with our 15 & 18 yr. old granddaughters. Yes, they loved pulling over while on the road & having fresh baked pizza as well as hot from the oven homebaked chocolate chip cookies! Wish the oven had an automatic lighter as it can be difficult to light until you get the hang of it. I use a pizza stone for all my baking and have found that it works well as it distributes the heat in the oven. I did try a baking sheet but it did not work as well. My experience has found that rotating the pan while baking avoids a "more done" area as the area immediately above the pilot light seems to be hotter & therefore browns much more. I've also used disposable aluminum pans to cook complete meat, potatoes, veggie meals, so there is no clean up. Our favorite are the hot homemade biscuits to complete the meal. Very glad we chose the oven after lots of debating. Definitely recommend it!!

Martak · 08-22-2017, 12:21 PM

Great information!

Jim Bennett · 08-22-2017, 01:39 PM

I am not sure if it is in the budget for folks, but our Dickinson Caribbean (which I bought for a lot less than the internet price) is da bomb. This is one very well built unit. The two burner stove top works fantastic from a hard boil to a slow simmer. The oven heats very easy, and the controls work great too. We have not tried the broiler yet, but maybe some day soon. Plus, it has electronic ignition for all four burners. It sure brought a wonderful smile to Lisa's face when I told her I was buying it for her.

drjenk · 11-01-2017, 02:22 AM

We opted for the oven. Would this stone fit?
https://smile.amazon.com/Unicook-Cer...6S96QEVHFT8T90

CoolCampingKid · 11-01-2017, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drjenk

We opted for the oven. Would this stone fit?
https://smile.amazon.com/Unicook-Cer...6S96QEVHFT8T90

Just a thought .... use a saltillo tile from the local home DYI store. The are usually around 12 by 12 inch. Do not use a glazed tile. I cleaned mine really good and then heated it up in my home oven to make sure it would work .... much cheaper than the stone. BTW.... the oven interior size is 14 inches deep and 15 1/2 inches wide ... tight fit for that stone ...

I have noticed that the oven temp is off quite a bit from the temp on the knob of the oven ...

Enjoy the camping! Bill

You may also like: