Anyone doing fireplace cooking/grilling?

[lhfarm]

Have decided to take advantage of the large fireplace with a built-in crane and added Tuscan grill. Have been searching for good information on building and maintaining the "mother" fire for hours of cooking. Have done some practice fires, using a "log cabin" style to start. The grill is on one side of the fireplace and I'm building the fire on the other.

I been looking at the local historical society, but the books on cooking all focus on recipes. I'm guessing that fire building was an assumed skill that all pioneers learned at an early age.

Would like to hear from those who do fireplace cooking for tips on keeping the hot coals coming for hours of cooking and roasting.

Thanks,
Barry

 

[oosik]

When we lived in AK we had a fireplace in the living room. I threw a make-shift grill in the fireplace and grilled hamburgers. Took me (wife told me not to try, so I got to do the clean-up) about 6-8 hours to clean the grease off the stonework. The stone was Arizona sandstone and the grease splatters soaked in as though they were WD-40.

I would strongly recommend some sort of splatter shield to protect whatever is the facing on your fireplace.

Remember - during "historical" times the fireplace was often the only source for heat and cooking. Many homes were simply log cabins with dirt floors and local stone for the fireplace. Grease splatters were not much of a distraction from the "ambiance" of those homes. They didn't have bothersome smoke alarms that went off every time they cooked either.

 

[lhfarm]

When we lived in AK we had a fireplace in the living room. I threw a make-shift grill in the fireplace and grilled hamburgers. Took me (wife told me not to try, so I got to do the clean-up) about 6-8 hours to clean the grease off the stonework. The stone was Arizona sandstone and the grease splatters soaked in as though they were WD-40.

I would strongly recommend some sort of splatter shield to protect whatever is the facing on your fireplace.

Remember - during "historical" times the fireplace was often the only source for heat and cooking. Many homes were simply log cabins with dirt floors and local stone for the fireplace. Grease splatters were not much of a distraction from the "ambiance" of those homes. They didn't have bothersome smoke alarms that went off every time they cooked either.

The fireplace was built by my late FIL with cooking in mind. It is very large - 3.5' wide and 30" deep. I can place the Tuscan grill completely inside and even close the doors if needed. I've grilled different meats with no issues and the flavor is great.

I decided to try fireplace cooking because I love grilling and smoking and hate winter. We have 4 fireplaces, 2 of which are gas and one small one in the living room. I wouldn't try cooking in the small fireplace for the reasons you stated. But the big fireplace was, as I stated, made for cooking. We have had the place for 25 years and I never really had much interest in cooking, just built large fires.

The grilling I've done has given me a great appreciation for how hard women worked. It is hot and demands a lot of attention. No putting something in the smoker and walking away for hours. The wood fired kitchen stove was a major improvement and you quickly learn why.

So why even try? Because I have the fireplace and the time (I'm retired). Been doing a lot of reading and came here to see if anyone else might be fireplace cooking too. I'm really looking to improve my fire management skills. I have lots of dry oak, so I'm good there.

The picture is the grill full of lamb chops I did last night. They were wonderful.

 

[s219]

I love cooking potatoes in the fireplace. I wrap them in foil and then put them on the coals, rotating periodically. Small potatoes are done much quicker than expected, and will dry out if you're not paying attention. After I pull them out and remove the foil, I put a few pats of butter on the potatoes, then salt/pepper, and they are insanely good.

I'd like to try cooking scallops on a cedar shingle (or other charred wood of your liking). Seems like it would be a natural for a fireplace. Hopefully it won't stink up the house like a New England low tide.

 

[Egon]

For fire grilling you may have to add wood to the fire side and move hot coals to under the grill.

 

[lhfarm]

I love cooking potatoes in the fireplace. I wrap them in foil and then put them on the coals, rotating periodically. Small potatoes are done much quicker than expected, and will dry out if you're not paying attention. After I pull them out and remove the foil, I put a few pats of butter on the potatoes, then salt/pepper, and they are insanely good.

I'd like to try cooking scallops on a cedar shingle (or other charred wood of your liking). Seems like it would be a natural for a fireplace. Hopefully it won't stink up the house like a New England low tide.

Both great ideas. About how long do you cook the large potatoes?

 

[lhfarm]

For fire grilling you may have to add wood to the fire side and move hot coals to under the grill.

Egon,
Hard to tell from the picture, but I build a big fire about an hour before I want to grill and once the fire is nicely producing coals, I move them under the grill. That way, I can have a cool and hot side of the grill for indirect cooking.

One of my questions is how to keep my hot coal supply going. I stack the logs cabin fashion so the coals drop and I can scope them up. I'm guessing I should replace the burned logs in the same stacking fashion.

 

[/pine]

...I wrap them in foil and then put them on the coals,...

Sometime try them without the foil...the outside of the peel will char but the inside will protect the potato...the inner peel is the best part (after flaking off the charred part)

 

[teejk]

Isn't this why the "dutch oven" was invented? Don't know if I would ever consider grilling anything though.

 

[Egon]

Egon,
Hard to tell from the picture, but I build a big fire about an hour before I want to grill and once the fire is nicely producing coals, I move them under the grill. That way, I can have a cool and hot side of the grill for indirect cooking.

One of my questions is how to keep my hot coal supply going. I stack the logs cabin fashion so the coals drop and I can scope them up. I'm guessing I should replace the burned logs in the same stacking fashion.

You seem to have a good method. I'll not interfere.