BENEFITS OF A COOKING STONE:
- Excellent at searing a crust on cuts of meat
- Great for delicate items that could fall through grill grates: kebabs, fish, or bacon
- Sprinkle corn flour below pizza to prevent sticking
- Radiates heat evenly and prevents formation of hot or cold patches
- Includes handle kit for serving hot food at the table
- Will caramelize and brown marinated chicken
- 3/4″ thickness retains heat and can be used as a warming tray for items such as pots, pans, casseroles, or baked items. For this use, we recommend wrapping the stone in a linen towel to prevent others from accidentally touching the hot stone.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE:
- Heat stone from room temperature
- Heat stone evenly on the grill, in an oven, or over a fire, so that entire stone is exposed to the heat.
- Heat above the heat source, such as on a grill or inside an oven, not resting on an electric coil or gas range
- To determine if Cooking Stone is hot enough, splash water and confirm that it sizzles rapidly and intensely
CARE INSTRUCTIONS:
- Clean with grill scrape or use a pumice block or damp cotton cloth on a hot stone
- Avoid submerging in soap as it may linger in the porous stone
- Not recommended for dishwasher cleaning
- Ensure your stone is completely dry (even the middle can absorb water) prior to use
- Cooking Stones will stain (unlike our Food Slabs). If staining is a concern, consider a piece of foil between food & stone
- Surface is porous but will sanitize each time it is heated to cooking temperature
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- HIGH QUALITY: Our Cooking Stones are designed to last, and are able to stand the heat. Place them in the oven, on a grill or over a camp fire. Sure to be appreciated by everyday bread artisans and grill masters alike. These rectangular stones are up to the challenge and will likely far outlast your grandmother’s manmade clay ‘cooking stone’
- VERSATILE: These stones can remain in the oven all year long to help maintain steady oven temperature. Safely place baking trays in the oven right on the preheated stone. Use them on the grill, simply place the cooking stone directly on top of the grill grates. Cooking Stones can also be used over a camp fire, suspended above.
- AFFORDABLE: Our stones are smooth, and conduct heat as well as steel but with a far lower cost & carbon footprint. With enough mass to radiate and maintain a consistent temperature, the Cooking Stone is an ideal tool for cooking and serving meat, bread, and pizza. The hot stone will maintain its temperature to sear large thick cuts of cool meat or a large pizza resting on flour. These stones become nearly non-stick above temperatures of 325°. If cooking pizza, try corn flour before placing the pizza dough.
- SUSTAINABLE: American Stonecraft partners with working farms to sustainably harvest their fresh rocks and transform them into functional heirlooms. Our product protects your family from cooking on potentially dangerous corroding metals common on the grates and metals of mass-produced gas grills. Natural stone is a safer alternative. The Cooking Stone is made from 100% resin free igneous rock (not recycled countertop granite, like some competitors).
- WEIGHT & COLOR: 13″ x 8″ x 3/4″ option weighs 9 lbs. 7-9″ x 5-7″ x 3/4 small rectangle kits are approximately 3 lbs. The exact dimensions will vary. Both are in a dark gray color granite.
- GRILL SIZING NOTE: For use on a grill, select a Cooking Stone smaller than the borders of your grill. This will allow for proper grease and residue to flow into the grill box and keep the outside of your grill tidy and clean. It will also ensure the stone heats evenly to prevent damage.
FINISHING NOTES
Cooking Stones are honed to a near polish. They may feature minor pocks (holes), scratches, chips (particularly around the outer borders), and other superficial flaws. These are because they are natural, resin-free, and because those visual elements do not affect its performance. Any fissures or faults have been carefully evaluated with great care to ensure the longevity of your Cooking Stone. Variations in color tone should be expected.
RETURNS:
Cooking Stones are not eligible for returns because is a natural product subject to user considition. However, if you are having an issue, let us know and we will try to help. If the stone arrives and the packaging is shredded or compromised, please notify us and inspect for damage before using it.
THE FARM–TO–TABLE STORY
About 8,000 years ago, icy glaciers pushed boulders into the soil of America’s Northeast. As a result, a fresh crop of rocks ‘grow’ each spring when the winter’s freeze-thaw cycles force buried stones upward, a process called granular convection.
In the 1890s, before the railroads opened up rock-free farmlands in other parts of the United States, farmers removing stones from their fields piled them into what eventually became 215,000 miles of stonewalls, a distance greater than from the earth to the moon!
These stonewalls became the folklore of poets like Robert Frost, and the landscape of the Northeast United States. Because clearing rocks is never complete, American Stonecraft partners with working farms to sustainably harvest their fresh rocks and transform them into functional heirlooms. Not only does this endeavor share geology that has never been seen before, but it helps support working farms, preserving open space and protecting the stonewalls that are so iconic to this region.
Like many of us, the founder of American Stonecraft, Gerald Croteau, fell in love with these archaeological stone ruins as a youth. However, he became an economist and founded American Stonecraft in his late 20s after seeing the inside of a fieldstone for the first time. He was amazed at what he had overlooked for so long, and realized that there was a sustainable supply of these rocks that farmers could share at their farmstands. Diamond tools (being a relatively modern invention) revealed amazing colors, patterns, and geologies in the humble New England farm-gathered fieldstone that he wanted to help share with others!
Gerald rolled up his sleeves, spent several years as an independent craftsman touring at local arts and crafts shows, and taught himself how to make a number of fascinating products. We are now a small team of artisans, and each piece is signed by its maker(s), and produced under Gerald’s direct supervision.