A fresh take on cooking with fire

All Cru Ovens can be left outdoors all year round, as long as you take a few precautions — we highly recommend covering the oven when not in use; moreover, if the oven is to be left outside where it snows, we recommend applying a small amount WD40 or a similar product to the outer steel to
better protect it from the elements.

All you need to do to clean your oven is to take two clean towels, some warm water, and a bit of Bar Keepers Friend. Wet the towel with the warm water, then sprinkle Bar Keepers Friend onto the damp towel, then rub it onto the steel. Additional applications may be necessary for stubborn stains. Once clean, wipe oven off with the remaining clean towel.

The easiest and safest way to clean the stone is with fire. The stones are fragile in nature and repeated removing and cleaning with soap and water may damage the stones. Light a fire in your oven. As the fire turns the wood into charcoal, carefully spread the charcoals over the stone (especially the parts with burnt on food debris). Add a bit more wood and let it burn for at least five to ten minutes. Use a brass brush if needed to scrape
away the more stubborn bits of debris.

• Tip – after cooking is done and it is time to let the oven cool, spread out the remaining coals over as much of the stone as possible while the oven is cooling. If there are not enough hot embers, then spread over only the bits that need the most cleaning. The stone will be clean the next time you fire up your Cru Oven.

You can usually purchase wood at your local garden center, hardware store, or big box store. A Google search of places to buy cooking wood or firewood near you may be helpful. There are also several companies that will ship cooking wood right to your door.

We recommend using only hardwoods. There are so many types of great wood that add their own nuance to the flavor that the fire provides. We absolutely encourage you to experiment with as many different types of cooking wood to find your favorite. We recommend to start using whatever hardwoods are readily available. Tending the fire is a skill and you can expect to develop preferences on wood type, the size of the wood pieces and on and on.To our customers living in areas where hardwood has become scarce, only use extremely well-seasoned wood. Email us at support@crunorthamerica.com and we can recommend some vendors that will deliver wood to you.

Depending on the severity of the crack, in most cases, yes. A crack in the stone will not impact its performance. We recommend taking a picture of the stone and sending it to us at support@crunorthamerica.com and we will let you know.

Because the refractory brick/stones take and retain the majority of the heat generated by the fire, most tables and surfaces may be used for your Cru Oven, provided that it can safely handle its weight. The underside of the
oven will become warm but not hot enough to damage the surface. With whatever surface/table you use for your Cru Oven, make sure that oven opening is at the edge of the table to prevent any flames from contacting the surface/table.

Tip -- When selecting a surface/table please keep in mind that the table’s height should be important consideration. You most likely do not want to be bending over too much when tending the fire or rotating pizzas/monitoring food.