Has anyone cooked on a inglenook fireplace?

code-a-holic

As the title really!
I have one and would love to make full use of it, but have been a bit nervous.
Im used to an aga so cant be too much different, but any handy tips from you lovely people?!

Here's a link to a piccie.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35471356@N02/3286811287/

Pink.

Hi code-a-holic,

I have an inglenook fireplace but mine has a dog basket grate and it probably would be possible to use it to cook but I never have.

In your case, looking at the pic the fire is set in a chimney breast so unless you can work some way to hang a fire proof pot above the actual fire, I'm not sure how you would go about it.

Pink

code-a-holic

Well it was just in the oven i was thinking about..... didnt make myself very clear!
On the left of the chimney breast we have stacked logs at the moment but have boiled a kettle on it.
On the right of the chimney breast is an oven but the doors are missing. My dad is a dab hand with metal - and has promised to make some doors.
We believe the idea is to chuck hot ask in the bottom bit and the top is then a bread oven/slow cooker/pizza oven!
But im struggling with keeping the fire going for long periods of time. If im out for a few hours it will go out or if i get distracted elsewhere in the house etc, so if i was slow cooking then the temprature will suffer.
I need a fire making course!!!

Pink.

If it's an oven then I imagine it's designed to be cooked in, so if your Dad can fix the door and you can keep the fire going then there's no reason why it wouldn't work.

Pink

jcr16

i've used an aga to cook on as my mum has one, but never an ingle nook. but i just have to say i am now slightly jealous at your absolutly gorgeous kitchen. it is beautiful.

Patchwork_Quilt

That really is a lovely kitchen. The only thing that worries me is ventilation. Where does the steam go if you cook? Also, you may have to think about food splashes. However, tell me how you get on, as we have a multi fuel stove in the living room and I sometimes think the heat from there could be better used.

What do you burn, by the way? We find that the best thing to keep the fire going is smokeless fuel brickettes. Not very romantic but they do stay red hot for ages and the fire can be revived with a bit of wood if necessary.

trying-very-trying

It looks very similar to the fire/oven that my gran had, and it's a bit like the one they used on the victorian farm programme. I know that there's a book based on the victorian farm, so maybe you could see if you can borrow the book from the library. I'm sure it'll have something in it about cooking with and control of the kitchen fire.

RAS

try looking at stuff on pizza ovens in magazines like Mother Earth News?

And either the Victorian farm or Green Valley books/DVDs.

The old ovens were designed so you light them, waited til the wood turned to hot embers, with the doors open and either pulled the embers out or used the oven above. They were not kept going for long periods.

code-a-holic

Thank you for your replies - i have a list of books to find now!

I was making bread rolls this evening..... so decided to put a few in the fire oven as a tester. The fire has been going all day today.
The rolls cooked in the same time as the aga and look the same. RESULT!

Nice to have a play. We wont have the fire lit that often now until next winter so wont get much opportunity to play with the oven. Its a good feeling to make use of an original feature though.

champys

I have a big fireplace in the kitchen as well, but sadly not what they call a 'four a pain' around here - i.e. a bread oven. Our neighbours have one, and they casually cook all sorts of things in it. They were very excited when I introduced them to the 'artisan bread' I had learned about on this site, and now they often invite us round for pizza and they make their own bread in it all the time; But also roasts and things (had rabbit once, was very good!). Like with an Aga, they simply shove in the tins or pots they are cooking in, then sit and drink wine until it is ready - no stress. Very French, I guess!
I also cook in my fireplace, but mostly use it for grilling: I have a fabulous, simple contraption that I can set up in seconds to place a rack over the fire (like a barbecue) for that authentic smokey flavour. The fire is always hot enough in winter as it is our only source of heating in the kitchen. As you can see from this link, mine looks rather more basic than yours! Oh - I also bought a special cookery book about cooking in the fireplace, but haven't done much with it yet.

Debt_Free_Chick

Any steam or other cooking fumes should go up the chimney.

Any baking/cooking splashes should just burn off.

As the OP suggests .... just like an AGA .... or any other traditional range (not the huge modern cookers which are labelled as a "range"). Warning - AGA snob here