5 Tips for Grilling With Firewood
Grilling with firewood regardless of whatever state you live in or traveling to is a fantastic way to add flavor to your food, as well as create an enjoyable outdoor experience. However, using firewood for grilling presents a few unique challenges that may not be immediately apparent. Fortunately, with some preparation and planning you can successfully grill with firewood. With the right techniques and safety measures in place, you’ll find that grilling with firewood is not only safe but also extremely rewarding! Here are 5 tips for grilling with firewood so you can get started on the right foot this summer…
Decide on Your Firewood Beforehand
Firewood is not all created equal. Different types of wood will produce different amounts of heat, flavor, longevity, and coals. It’s important to decide on your firewood beforehand to ensure you’re getting the results you want to achieve. Some popular firewood types include fruitwood (cherry, apple, or peach), oak, maple, hickory, pecan, mesquite, and etc. Each one of these woods will provide different amounts of heat, flavor, and even duration of coals. It’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into before you start grilling. What’s more? Different seasons also affect the quality of your firewood. For example, firewood from the winter season is largely useless for grilling. It’s dry, brittle, and burns too quickly.
Use a Chimney Starter to Light Your Firewood
A chimney starter is a fantastic tool for lighting your firewood. It’s essentially a metal cylinder that you can fill with firewood. Once the firewood is lit, the chimney will trap the smoke and create coals. The coals are then poured into your grill, providing a consistent source of heat. That’s not all. A chimney starter is also a fantastic way to light firewood. It’s essentially a metal cylinder that you can fill with firewood. Once the firewood is lit, the chimney will trap the smoke and create coals. The coals are then poured into your grill, providing a consistent source of heat.
Keep Hot Coals Without Ashes
One of the biggest challenges of grilling with firewood is keeping the coals hot without creating a ton of ashes. You can do that by building a fire box or a barrier around the coals. This will trap the heat, while ensuring that the ashes stay inside the barrier. You can also use a grill with a firebox. A grill with a firebox typically has two levels, one for the coals and another for the food. A grill with a firebox is ideal for grilling with firewood because it keeps the ashes contained. It’s also easy to add or remove coals at any given time.
Don’t Forget the Frying Pan!
You may have heard that you can cook everything on a grill, but that’s not entirely true. Grilled vegetables and other delicate items will burn easily on a grill. If you’re grilling with firewood, it’s best to avoid grilling delicate items altogether. Instead, use a cast iron frying pan. Cast iron is extremely durable and will last for years. It’s also extremely versatile, allowing you to cook everything from fried eggs to vegetables, steaks, paninis, and more. What’s more? Cast iron is also a fantastic way to sear meat. You can use it to sear the meat on the stovetop, then transfer it directly to the flame of your grill. When done right, this method creates a crispy, caramelized crust. It’s truly one-skillet cooking at its finest!
Conclusion
Grilling with firewood is a fantastic way to add flavor and create an enjoyable outdoor experience. However, it presents a few unique challenges that may not be immediately apparent. Fortunately, with some preparation and planning you can successfully grill with firewood. With the right techniques and safety measures in place, you’ll find that grilling with firewood is not only safe but also extremely rewarding!