4 cookware tips for cooking on a wood fire

Cooking over an indoor fireplace or outdoor firepit can be an enjoyable and even convenient way of preparing a number of favourite foods. Here are four kinds of cookware that will help you prepare your meals over a fire

A flat, iron hotplate and a wire-mesh grill, complemented by one or two stainless steel, aluminium or cast-iron trivets on which to set pots, are inexpensive and can be purchased from camping, kitchenware and hardware stores.

• You can put together your own trivet with three sturdy shelf brackets and some nuts and bolts.

While specialist cookware is available from many camping goods stores, most sturdy modern-day kitchenware can be used with success over an open fire. Of course, cookware with plastic handles is not recommended.

• Cooking in the fireplace will char and blacken your pots, so remember to choose some old ones with flameproof handles.
• Flimsy baking dishes and oven trays can easily be burnt through, and glass and enamel ware are also generally not suitable. However, stainless steel, cast iron and aluminium pots and pans are fine for boiling, stewing, steaming and deep and shallow frying.
• Containers to be used for hanging on a hook should have the appropriate inverted U-shaped handle.

This type of pot has legs and is designed to sit above the coals, which eliminates the need for a trivet — a good investment if you plan to do a lot of fireplace cookery.

A camp oven (also known as a Dutch oven) is made from heavy-gauge aluminium or cast iron and will allow you to bake bread and cakes as well as stews and savoury meat dishes, including the all-important traditional roast.

• Place the oven in the glowing coals, pile them high up the sides of the oven and heap coals over the lid for all-round heat.
• Take care when removing the lid not to let coals and ash fall into the food.
• Food to be baked should be placed on a raised rack on the bottom of the oven to prevent it from sticking.
• Make sure the oven is well greased before use.

Cooking over a fire is easy — all you need is plenty of wood, some basic cooking utensils and the right cookware. Keep these tips in mind and choose the cookware that will suit you best.