Cooking over a fire/primitive cooking

[primalclaws1974]

I love to cook food over a wood fire. I mean a fire built on the ground, not in a grill or fire pit. The problem I have is that it's hard to set up a structure that will support the weight of the food. Has anyone tried to do this in a nature-way? I know that you can buy cast iron sets that will support a pot, but I am looking for guidance on how to make one from scratch.

 

[sidevalve]

Depends on if you mean in the wild or a bit more permanent and second if you will be carrying the thing [ie camping/trekking] or using a vehicle to transport it. If it's the former try the boy scout manual [no really] there is some really good stuff in there.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

On a bushcraft course I did we made a number of ways of making them naturally. They all had the same reliance on fresh new wood being cut down to use because this lasts longer than old wood. We could cook a stewed for 4-6 people people using some of these methods without needing to worry about burning the wood to the point of it breaking. In fact done correctly, it will last repeatedly.

So the question is "what is it you are trying to achieve? "

A several uses, cooking vessel hanging off something solution, or a replacement grill? 2 totally different things.

 

[CoffeeTalk]

Is it something like this you were looking for to make yourself?

Or something more like this? :

A separate tripod with chain and/or hooks to hold your pots is not so hard to make yourself, and easily to pack, but it need to be made of something that can stand the heat, no not aluminium.
A tripod pan, where you can take the legs of is often a good solution, you can have it flat or curved . The flat ones are often more versatile in my opinion.

 

[SamClemensMT]

I love to cook food over a wood fire. I mean a fire built on the ground, not in a grill or fire pit. The problem I have is that it's hard to set up a structure that will support the weight of the food. Has anyone tried to do this in a nature-way? I know that you can buy cast iron sets that will support a pot, but I am looking for guidance on how to make one from scratch.

I guess the best way to go about it would be to pretend we were living in a post apocalyptic era and you have no other choice but to set up a hearth for cooking outdoors. Put pencil to paper, make a plan, and execute it. I'm sure you'll pull it off with flying colors.

 

[worldmachine]

I have never tried this type of primitive cooking, but have been watching Bear Grylls demonstrate a lot of these techniques on his survival programmes. It looks like fun and i would like to try it without using any cooking equipment as in a survival situation. Using wood to make a cooking rack would be one method, fish would be ideal to cook in this way.

Outdoor cooking is always going to be a challenge i imagine but should be rewarding and give a sense of achievement and fulfillment. If it is a necessity such as a survival situation then i think a person will find ways to cook and eat in almost impossible situations as your natural survival instinct will kick in and you will do whatever it takes.

 

[tipoywizard]

Is it something like this you were looking for to make yourself?

Or something more like this? :

A separate tripod with chain and/or hooks to hold your pots is not so hard to make yourself, and easily to pack, but it need to be made of something that can stand the heat, no not aluminium.
A tripod pan, where you can take the legs of is often a good solution, you can have it flat or curved . The flat ones are often more versatile in my opinion.

It is very common in our place especially during the times when the LPG and electricity are quite costly. The only downside for that one is the smoke. Sometimes we have are using large stones as flatform for our cooking others used hollowblocks.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Somewhat like fireplace cooking. I've seen the Two Fat Ladies do this, and Paula Deen did it!!

 

[queenbellevue]

Only when bbq-ing though, since it's pretty much impossible to control the heat source if you're cooking over an oven fire.

 

[Berties]

have under taken a few survival courses which involved cooking on open flames,starting fires ,using what you can find as tinder,spruce sap was a good starter,
have wrapped food in soaked bark and cooked it in embers,and steamed rabbit over fern leaves,

 

[thegrey]

My son built a nice firepit in our backyard. All he did was dig a hole about 2 feet deep, and three feet in circumference. Then he stacked nice rocks around the top that we collected from the lake bank. We can't wait until we can cook over it! The only problem we're having is finding a big enough grate to fit across the top. If anyone has any inexpensive suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

 

[sidevalve]

I have never tried this type of primitive cooking, but have been watching Bear Grylls demonstrate a lot of these techniques on his survival programmes. It looks like fun and i would like to try it without using any cooking equipment as in a survival situation. Using wood to make a cooking rack would be one method, fish would be ideal to cook in this way.

Having seen many of his programs I would prefer to die quickly rather than from the internal parasites/dysentery/bowel problems he must face. If you want to see a wilderness survivor try Ray Mears.

 

[Corzhens]

As per my post in the other thread, we had a barbecue party this month in a mountain resort. Aside from the barbecue, we also had some other food like prawns and other dishes. After dinner, the guests engaged in some games and afterwards, we came up with the hot dogs on stick. The burning log in the bonfire served as the cooking area. Not to forget, those hotdogs had matching marshmallows. The young guests, mostly college students, enjoyed roasting in the open fire.