Cooking on a Wood Burning Stove – a beginners guide

It’s that time of year we love when you get to kick off your wellies after a windy walk, make yourself a hot drink, stoke the flames and warm your toes in front of a roaring fire with some well-earnt comfort food. We’ll let you into a little secret about wood burning stove’s that you may not already know, whilst basking in its warm glow, you can also cook on it!

That’s right, you can cook, grill, boil and bake on your log burner. So, it’s an opportunity for adventurous, gastro types to put your culinary skills to work as cooking on a wood burning stove couldn’t be easier.

Nowadays, it’s not a staple of modern society but in years long past, our wood burning stoves were much more than just the centerpiece of the lounge – they were the focal point of the home and we used them for multiple tasks, including in the preparation of meals.

So yes, your stove can make a great backup if your power goes out but why not make the most of the wood you’re burning and utilise your stove for more than just heating. Here are some of our top tips if you are new to cooking on a wood burning stove:

• Prep your stove: Before you start cooking, ensure your ash grate is ridded. A good bed of ash will ensure a higher temperature and a clean burn.
• Use cast iron cookware: Cast iron will take longer to heat up than steel, but it retains heat better and will stay hot for longer.
• Save energy: Preheat your pans on top of the stove. This can save you energy.
• No temperature gauge: You are cooking on a stove so the temperature will fluctuate more than an oven. So, keep an eye on what you are cooking. You don’t want it to burn! With practice and observation, this is a fairly easy skill to master.
• Protect your stove and cookware: It is important to use a trivet or rack when placing your cookware on your stove. You don’t want to scratch anything.
• Always use dry wood: Wet wood produces huge amounts of smoke and chimney build up which is never good and can be dangerous!
• Fire safety: Like whenever you use your stove, always make sure the surround is clear of anything flammable. You don’t want to toast your home as well as your food.
• Wear oven gloves: It might sound obvious but you’d be surprised how hot things can get.
• Flame grill: When the fire has died down, the embers will still be hot. This is the opportune moment to use them for grilling, which can achieve an authentic flame-grilled flavour.

Here are some ways of cooking on a wood burning stove:

• Baked potatoes: Wrap them in foil and drop them in the ash pan. Perfect for bonfire night or a super-easy but filling dinner.
• Beef Stew: Cook beef, potatoes, carrots, and broth (with whichever herbs you prefer) slowly in a Dutch oven for a comforting stew.
• Campfire Chili: Brown ground beef, add onions, beans, tomatoes, and chili powder, and simmer over a low flame for 1-2 hours.
• Scrambled egg: Lay out a blanking plate, pop a skillet on top, crack open some eggs, season and hey presto, perfect scrambled egg.
• Sausages/kebabs/marshmallows: Your extinguished hot embers are ideal for grilling meats or melting marshmallows on a cold Autumn evening.
• Pizza: If you place an iron pot or heavy duty roasting dish over the stove, there you have it, your very own homemade pizza oven.

There are so many possibilities when cooking on a wood burning stove. So, whether you create a gastro masterpiece or pop on a good old classic like jacket potato, it brings a little more adventure to mealtimes.

If you’ve found this article useful and you’d like some more free recipe content – head over to our free digital cookbook for some more delicious recipe ideas!