Using an open fireplace to cook indoors

Cottage_Economy · 18 August 2014 at 8:00PM

I have a 1950s semi with an open fire. In the winter this is going almost every evening, and during the weekends it's going all day.

I keep thinking there must be some way to cook using some of the heat coming out, whether that is putting a pot on the hearth next to the fire or in the embers under the grate.

Does anyone do this and can give me some tips on how to do it, including any advice on pots to use?

Runnerduck · 18 August 2014 at 8:45PM

i have cooked jacket potatos in the woodburner wrapped in foil but it needs to be low or they will burn, i'm not sure about an open fire, i cook completely in a woodfired oven in the winter and it's no good taking times from a recipe book it's trial and error but i can do full roast dinners with all the trimmings and bake all sorts of cakes now, i would use an old very solid pan myself

babyshoes · 18 August 2014 at 9:18PM

We've done veggies such as potatoes, butternut (takes forever if whole!) and courgettes in foil parcels in the coals of an open fire. I bet you could cook other things in parcels, like a pork chop with a layer of apple slices to keep it moist, or a chicken breast with stir fry type veggies and a splash of stir fry sauce, or soy sauce and honey.

Use heavy duty foil if possible, and be generous enough to have a few layers. Try to keep them away from actual flames or the foil can catch fire!

[Deleted User] · 18 August 2014 at 9:20PM

Housewives in years gone by had a trivet that fixed on to the bars of the grate to keep the kettle on to heat water, I've seen them at antiques fairs not too expensive or you could find a trivet with legs to stand next to the hot coals in the grate and heat things in a saucepan on that. If you're cooking on an open fire, coat the outside of the kettle/pans with a film of washing up liquid, it makes it much easier to get the soot from the fire off them. It takes a very long time to get water boiling if it's not actually on a heat source but you should be able to heat things up fairly quickly by standing the pan as close as you can to the coals.

PasturesNew · 18 August 2014 at 9:24PM

We always had a toasting fork hanging alongside the fireplace - and we'd often make toast.

During the power cuts of the 1970s I remember mum would put a heavy-bottomed saucepan on the fire to heat up tinned soup. She'd grown up in a house that didn't have an oven - when they wanted to bake stuff mum had to run it down to the bakehouse to be cooked.

THIRZAH · 18 August 2014 at 9:28PM

My grandparents used to have a curved trivet on legs that stood in front of the grate. The kettle was always kept on it so they had hot water and they would boil potatoes on the fire too. As far as I can remember it was about 4 inches wide so the pan or kettle was partly on the trivet and partly in the fire.

GwylimT · 18 August 2014 at 9:32PM

You can cook things in tinfoil as long as they are wrapped properly, fish can be cooked very easily. In our last house we had an open fire and a wood burner so we would often put a saucepan on top of the wood burner instead is using the stove.

honeythewitch · 18 August 2014 at 11:54PM

Cast iron is best if you have it. The coals should be glowing rather than flaming, arrange the coal so the pan is secure and treat it like a hob.

This is the way I learned to cook as a small child. :eek: It was normal then, but I suspect nowadays I would be whisked to a place of safety.

jackel · 19 August 2014 at 8:27PM

Back in the dark ages there was a program on the radio (Diddy David Hamilton) who had a spot on saving money. Someone recomended to wrap jacket potatoes in foil and put them in th ash tray to cook. Never tried it but the thread has revived the memory and I shall put it in the woodburner tray this winter. My grandmother very oftain put a saucepan of potatoes/veg on the fire if she ran out of pennies for the gas - it worked ! jac. xx

Cottage_Economy · 21 August 2014 at 8:33PM

Oh wow! Loads of good ideas.

I did try once to do jacket potatoes near the ashpan, but I think the fire must have been a bit hot because when I went back a few hours later there was nothing but a small piece of foil. The potatoes had been incinerated.

I remember seeing a blog once where someone hung a joint of meat from underneath their mantle so it spun slowly and cooked in front of the fire, but I have no idea what they used to hang it up with.

I have cats though, so I'd have to police a joint for hours or they'd maul it.

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Using an open fireplace to cook indoors

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