Margot Ellison has been cooking over the fire pit behind the main lodge at Opal Brook Trail since 2014. The Open Fire evenings started in 2022 and have been running monthly since. These are her practical notes on what works.
The fire is not a stove ¶
The biggest adjustment for people used to cooking on gas or electric is that you cannot control the heat precisely. You can manage it, but not control it. This means you need to think differently about timing. You are not turning a dial; you are building a coal bed, moving the pan closer or further from the heat, and adjusting the airflow. It takes practice. The first few times you cook over a real fire, things will burn or undercook. This is normal and not a failure.
Why cast iron is the right tool ¶
Cast iron holds heat evenly and tolerates the kind of temperature swings that would warp a thin pan. It can go directly into the coals, hang over a flame, or sit on a grate. It does not care. The 10-inch Lodge skillet we use in the cabin kitchens and at the Open Fire evenings weighs about five pounds and will outlast everything else in your kitchen. The only maintenance it needs is to be dried after washing and rubbed with a thin coat of oil before storage.
What cooks well over wood fire ¶
Anything that benefits from high, dry heat: bread baked in a Dutch oven, meat seared directly on the grate, root vegetables wrapped in foil and buried in the coals. Beans slow-cooked in the Dutch oven for three hours. Flatbread cooked directly on the grate for two minutes a side. Eggs in the skillet with butter and a lid. The things that do not work as well are anything that requires precise low heat for a long time, like a delicate sauce or a custard. Save those for the kitchen.
The Dutch oven method ¶
A 5-quart cast-iron Dutch oven with a lid is the most versatile piece of equipment for fire cooking. You can use it as a pot over the fire or as an oven by placing coals on the lid. For bread: mix a simple no-knead dough the night before, let it rise, shape it in the morning, and bake it in the Dutch oven over a moderate fire for 35-40 minutes with coals on the lid. The crust will be better than anything you make in a kitchen oven. The inside will be slightly uneven. That is fine.
The Open Fire evenings at Opal Brook Trail ¶
We run Open Fire on the first Saturday of each month, April through October. The fire goes on at 5pm. We cook together, eat together, and clean up together. The menu depends on what is available. In summer that means fresh vegetables, stone fruit, and whatever Delia has found on the foraging walks. In autumn it is root vegetables, dried beans, and apples from the trees behind the main lodge. Free for lodge guests. $20 contribution for visitors. Email stay@opalbrooktrail.com if you plan to come.
The cast-iron skillet we use at the lodge is available in the lodge store for $42. It is the same Lodge 10-inch that has been in every cabin kitchen since 2014. It is a good pan.