Cooking with propane

[Firstrmc]

Here's a question from my DW. She just used the oven to make her darling husband (that would be me) an apple pie. It was only a frozen pie so don't be thinking how wonderful she is but the directions said 60 minutes and it actually took almost twice that time. Is this normal or could there be a problem that we should address? We're used to cooking with electric so this cooking with propane could take some getting used to but we're just checking.

 

[Overlord]

Get an oven thermometer, one of the all metal and glass ones that can either sit on or hang from the oven rack, to test the correlation between the markings on the knob to the actual oven temperature.

If temp is not the problem, sometimes folks use a pizza stone on the rack or bottom shelf to even out the cooking characteristics of these RV ovens.

What altitude are you at? High altitudes require longer cooking times too.

After these suggestions, I'm pretty much out of advice, except for maybe she should try out the convection/microwave unit, if you have one.

On edit: Do the dollar(or strip of paper) bill check to make sure that the oven door gasket is sealing all the way around.

 

[Firstrmc]

The thermometer is a great idea. It's not the altitude because we're in Florida but I'm definitely getting her the thermometer for Christmas. Nothing is too good for my DW.

 

[LCBoyer]

On RV ovens you have to be certain the thermostat for the oven controller is in the mounting bracket and centered in rear of oven

 

[Art-n-Marge]

It was quite the contrary for us. We found that the bottoms burnt too much. So we went to Home Depot and got a terra cotta tile cut to an 11" square (don't remember the thickness) and this sits right above the burners but on top of the bottom part of the oven. Since then everything comes out much more even since the heat is somewhat diverted away from the bottom of the pans.

We find the stovetop burners seem hotter than our gas stove at home when cooking things up there too. Maybe it's the propane regulator. We kinda like cooking and baking in the rig now that we are used to it.

 

[NCFischers]

The pizza stone will help even out the heat in the oven.
Art,
If you cook with natural gas at home, it doesn't burn as hot as propane.

 

[jackel1959]

The oven thermometer and the pizza stone are right on the mark. We also find that we need to pre-heat for about 20-30 minutes to get to the desired temperature. Propane cooks much "cooler" than electric or natural gas.

Jack

 

[DQDick]

We used to use all the suggestions above until we really started learning and using the convection oven. Haven't lit the stove for a couple of years now. Convection oven for all of it.

 

[Firstrmc]

My DW is very grateful for all the suggestions and we intend to implement them to figure out how best to use the stove. She is also leaning towards using the convection oven quite regularly since she's not too keen on the open flame. DQDick ... She asks me to inquire what kind of convection microwave you're using. Don't know why but I'm sure you understand why I just do what I'm told.

 

[BigBoomer-TC]

We tried the pizza stone and still found the temps way too inconsistent....I really think it is the propane which is much hotter than NG.
Sue has mastered the convection microwave oven and now I can proudly say that here Christmas cookies and cheesecake are just as good if not better than ever!
We have not use the oven since starting to use the convection oven but it is good when we boondock although we can still use the micro and convection with the inverter.

Merry Christmas,

Les and Sue

 

[HOOK-MOC]

We have had success with ours but added pizza stone for more even heat. Once DW mastered the convection , however , she rarely uses oven.

 

[WaltBennett]

It's not the propane, it's the crappy & cheap way the ovens are made. The tile/stone really does help, but you also really need a thermometer if you're going to attempt to use the oven at all. I've had four different RV/trailers since '88 that all had the same unit but with different paint & trim. None worked well. Several people have told me they've complained to manufacturer's reps at trade shows and the only answer given was that no one wanted an oven that worked any better. That's why microwave/convection combos have become so popular, and ovens are being left out of many RVs in favor of space for a dishwasher.

 

[bethandkevin]

My DW says what you experience is normal compared to what she has experienced. She has gotten very used to hers. She says if you have the Corian cook top cover, leave that in place when baking-it makes a big difference. She is a big time baker and loves her oven in Hannah. Just finished Miller family recipe hot-out-of-the-oven bread for breakfast. YUM!

 

[WeBeFulltime-MOC]

We normally have a pizza stone in our lp oven when baking in it (rarely). Last week while baking cookies, Sharon found that they did better without the stone.

 

[mhs4771]

We used the oven once in our Montana, before we figured out the Convection/Microwave. So we opt'd to leave the oven out when we ordered the SOB, have three storage drawers in it's place. Another advantage of the Convection, it exhaust the heat outside (good in hot weather, maybe not so in cold temps) vs the propane oven that can really heat up the inside.

 

[davidaf-KEY]

We just started using the Convection oven this week. What a neat deal. I've avoided it for years in both the S&B and SOB. Finally I broke down and tried it. Man have we been missing out! Guess I avoided it 'cause I was afraid mom would pop up out of nowhere and bop me for putting metal in the micro

 

[ffaucheux]

The functionality of the little oven in an RV is BTU+heat mass -cold load. These little ovens do not maintain heat mass like the ovens at home. When you bake from frozen, like the frozen biscuits that are almost like homemade, or pies if still frozen, they really have a hard time maintaining heat. Or put another way, uncooked food load cools the oven.

 

[TYR]

Have gotten used to the oven, but I had heard about putting ceramic tiles in it. This was the first I'd heard about the pizza stone, which makes sense. Guess what! I have a pizza stone! Duh! Think I'll pop that baby in there and see if it makes a difference. What the heck; I hardly make pizza, so I'll put the stone to good use.

I do use the convection micro, but more during Summer to keep the rig cooler. Here in NJ during Winter, keeping the Monty cool isn't really an issue.

Glad someone posted about this! Thanks!