Self Care: Cooking over a fire takes practice — but it’s worth it

Jean Robert (JR) Mallet, a former chef turned outdoor adventure blogger at Off Track Travel, cooks pizza over a fire on Vancouver Island. Gemma Taylor

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There’s something primal about cooking over a live fire. You’d think, given our ancestral roots, we’d be naturals at it. If only. Speaking from experience, the results are often charred on the outside and still raw on the inside.

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Cooking over an open flame takes practice. But once you master it, the payoff is pretty sweet. Food just tastes better outdoors, smoke-kissed and eaten under an open sky. Outdoor meals linger in our memories long after the embers die out.

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Yet unlike cooking on a stove, live fire demands your full attention.

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“Live-fire cooking requires patience, intuition, and respect for the process. You have to understand the behaviours of the coals, airflow and heat zones. The fire is not something you simply control; it’s something you learn to read and work alongside,” says Daniele Mereu, executive chef at Janevca, the celebrated dining room inside Victoria’s historic Rosemead House, where open-flame cooking is the main event.

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How to build a cooking fire

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Almost any fire setup can work for cooking, but the key is to create hot embers rather than cooking over flames, says Jean Robert (JR) Mallet, a former chef, now full-time outdoor adventure blogger at Off Track Travel.

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“Medium-sized logs (around 15 to 20 centimetres thick) are ideal because they burn long enough to produce lasting embers without taking too long to get going. I like to keep an active fire burning on one side and then move (with tongs) the hot embers over to a separate cooking area when ready,” he says.

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Choose your wood wisely

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Wood isn’t just fuel, it’s flavour. Mereu prefers well-seasoned hardwoods because they burn cleanly and provide consistent heat.
“Oak is one of my favourites because of its versatility, while fruitwoods can add beautiful aromas to certain ingredients. The most important thing is using quality wood that enhances the food rather than overpowering it,” he says.

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A special note for those cooking in the Rockies or on the Prairies: birch, pine and fir are poor choices for cooking wood. They hold more moisture, which causes smouldering and pushes unwanted smoke flavour directly into your food. Whatever wood you use, make sure it’s properly dried.

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Master your heat

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The most common mistake home cooks make is cooking directly over flames.

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“It’s whimsical and looks like something out of a movie, but in reality, the flames will quickly burn the outside of your food before it’s cooked through,” says Mallet.

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Jean Robert (JR) Mallet says the most forgiving foods when cooking directly on embers are those with a natural wrapper or thick skin. Gemma Taylor

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Expect it to take at least 45 minutes to produce a bed of glowing embers.

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“A strong coal base gives you better temperature control, more even cooking, and deeper flavour,” notes Mereu.

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For safety, Mallet recommends having a pair of heavy leather gloves and long metal tongs on hand.

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What to throw on the fire

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For novices, Mallet recommends trying anything that can be held on a stick, such as hotdogs or bannock, to start off.
“When cooking directly on embers, foods with a natural wrapper or thick skin are the most forgiving, such as acorn squash and corn (cooked with the husk),” he says.