Cooking Over a Fire Pit in the Garden

Why Cook Over a Fire Pit?

There is something quietly satisfying about cooking supper in the garden with nothing but wood, foil and a long pair of tongs. Food cooked over embers picks up smoke, a little char and a faint sweetness from the wood, flavours you simply cannot get from a kitchen hob. It also keeps everybody outdoors on those long June evenings when nobody wants to go inside.

The good news is that you do not need expensive kit. A fire pit, a bag of seasoned hardwood, a bundle of kindling, heavy-duty foil, a few skewers and a pair of long-handled tongs will see you through a whole summer of easy dinners. Start simple, learn how your fire behaves, and build from there.

Siting the Fire Pit and Staying Safe

Most fire pit accidents come down to where the pit sits, not how it is built, so spend five minutes getting this right.

• Keep it at least two to three metres from hedges, fences, sheds, tents, washing lines and overhanging branches. Sparks travel further than you think.
• Choose level ground, ideally bare earth, gravel or short mown grass. Long dry grass in late summer is a genuine hazard.
• Use a pit with legs, or stand it on a base of stone or gravel. Never put it directly on decking, and be wary of paving slabs, which can crack with sudden heat.
• Avoid lighting up over exposed tree roots or dry peat, which can smoulder underground for hours.
• Keep a bucket of water and a bucket of sand within arm's reach, plus leather gloves and long tongs.
• Mark a boundary with a ring of stones and keep children and dogs outside it. Tie long hair back and avoid loose sleeves.
• Never use petrol, paraffin or lighter fluid. A couple of natural firelighters and dry kindling are all you need.

Do check the rules where you live, too. Many UK councils, allotment sites and smokeless zones restrict open fires, and rented properties often have clauses about them.

Building the Fire and Waiting for the Embers

Build small and feed gradually. Start a little teepee of dry kindling, light it, then add slightly larger pieces once it has caught. Hardwoods such as oak, ash, apple, cherry and birch give long-lasting embers and sweet-smelling smoke. Avoid softwoods like pine and fir, which spit and burn away too fast, and never burn treated or painted timber, plywood, MDF or driftwood, all of which release unpleasant things into your food.

Now the important bit: wait. Flames are for looking at, embers are for cooking. After roughly thirty to forty minutes the wood will collapse into a bed of glowing grey-orange coals. Rake them into an even layer about five centimetres deep with a stick or poker. To judge the heat, hold your palm at cooking height: if you can manage four or five seconds before pulling away, that is a nice moderate heat. If you must cook straight away, set a grill grid over the flames and accept that you will be turning things constantly.

Foil Parcels: The Beginner's Friend

Foil parcels are forgiving, need almost no equipment and produce very little washing up. Tear a square of heavy-duty foil roughly thirty centimetres across, pile your ingredients in the middle, drizzle with a little oil, season, add a knob of butter, then fold the edges together and crimp them into a sealed parcel. Leave a small pocket of air inside so the contents can steam.

• New potatoes with sliced onion, rosemary, garlic and butter, roughly twenty-five to thirty minutes.
• Salmon fillet with lemon slices, dill and a splash of white wine, fifteen to twenty minutes.
• Halloumi with peppers, red onion and smoked paprika, about fifteen minutes.
• Banana split lengthways, stuffed with dark chocolate and a pinch of cinnamon, eight to ten minutes, eaten with a spoon.

Turn the parcels with tongs every ten minutes or so. Test potatoes by pushing a knife through the foil. If you are cooking for a crowd, write names on the foil with a marker pen.

Skewers, Sticks and Simple Grids

If you are using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for half an hour first so they do not burn through. Metal skewers are better still and last for years. Thread ingredients loosely rather than packing them tight, so the heat can reach between the pieces.

Chicken thigh works far better than breast because it stays juicy. Alternate with halloumi, peppers, red onion and cherry tomatoes, and cook over embers rather than flames, turning every two minutes. Chicken needs ten to twelve minutes, until the juices run clear and there is no pink in the middle. A simple grill grid laid over the coals is the easiest option of all, especially for sausages, corn cobs and flatbreads, but brush it with oil first.

For a traditional touch, make bannock. Mix a handful of self-raising flour with a pinch of salt and enough water to make a firm dough, wrap it spirally around a clean green hazel stick and hold it above the embers, turning slowly for about ten minutes until it sounds hollow. Finish with marshmallows, held over embers rather than flames, or they will simply catch and drop into the ash.

Tidying Up and Doing It Again

Let the fire burn right down, then douse it with water, stir the ashes with a stick, and douse again. Never walk away while there is any warmth left. Clean wood ash is rich in potash and can be scattered thinly on the garden, though keep it away from acid-loving plants such as blueberries and rhododendrons, and never use ash from briquettes or firelighters on beds.

Scrub the grill while it is still warm, then store everything dry. If your fire pit has a cover, use it, as a dry pit lasts far longer than one left out in the rain. With a little practice you will find yourself planning the whole week's meals around the embers.