Classes coming soon!

Want to learn how to cook over an open fire? How to manage your fire in a fire pit or a grill? Mixing and fixing in the old ways? I got you. I’ll be running a series of 3 live classes online via Google Meet at noon CST. I’ll do these first few classes on a donation via Paypal because this is going to be Beta testing of classes.

I’ll need the email addresses of folks who are participating in the live events. The videos will eventually go up on YouTube on our soon to be created video site!

I’ll also send out a list of materials you’ll need to follow along at home. Classes will happen on Jan 20, 27, Feb 3. Sessions will be about 45 minutes long with time for questions at the end.

This isn’t bushcraft. It’s how to use fire to cook your food. I’m operating on the assumption that you have access to a grill or fire pit. Don’t discount a picnic table top hibachi grill, they can be very useful!

Part 1: Set up yourself for success! Getting your gear and space set up.

Part 2: How to build and manage a cooking fire in a fire pit and a grill.

Part 3: How to use a fire to cook: veg, meat, container cooking

A Fire In Your Belly

Saturday 20 Jan

Part 1: set up yourself for success! Getting your gear and space set up.

Get out that rusty old hibachi you got in college! If you have a charcoal grill, drag it out! Got a fire pit? Dig it out! We’ll be cooking outside, so dress warmly! Any weather is outdoor cooking weather!

Materials you’ll need for three class sessions:

A charcoal grill (a little table top or hibachi grill is fine)
Lump charcoal (usually a 15# bag) regular charcoal works, too. Lump charcoal burns hotter longer per square inch of surface. Menards, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Fleet Farm, and Tractor Supply have these.
Fatwood (a fire starting material not necessary, but really nice)
3 TP tubes filled with dryer lint (fire starting material)
Lighter or matches
Lighter fluid
Fire extinguisher (you need some in your house anyway)
Squirt bottle with water in it
2-3 bundles of firewood (if you have a fire pit)
Leather gloves or oven hot pads
Long tongs for charcoal
Fire iron and blow tube for fire pit (not necessary if you don’t have a fire pit or access to a fire pit)
Long tongs for food
Something to cook (something easy like brats or kebabs or veggies)
Some kind of table or work surface you can put some of your materials on; a folding table, picnic table, or a folding chair.
Bleach/disinfectant wipes

Topics:

Cleaning before-during-after
Getting your cooking area ready
Fire ingredients; O2, ignition, fuel
Flame vs. coals; How hot is it?
Fast or slow cooking: size does matter.
smoke ; what it means. Transparent, white, gray, black
Hot smoke vs. cold smoke
Time vs. patience
Got an emergency? Squirt bottles, sand, fire extinguisher.

Saturday 27 Jan

Part 2: How to build and manage a cooking fire in a fire pit and a grill.

Materials you’ll need:

Bleach/disinfectant wipes
The stuff from the first session
Something to cook

Topics:

Cleaning before-during-after
Building a fire about cooking, not entertainment.
Fire ingredients; O2, ignition, fuel
Daylight cooking is best
Grilling
Fire pitting
Cleaning

Saturday 3 Feb

Part 3: How to use a fire to cook: veg, meat, container cooking

Materials you’ll need:

A charcoal grill (a little table top or hibachi grill is fine)
Lump charcoal (usually a 15# bag) regular charcoal works, too. Lump charcoal burns hotter longer per square inch of surface. Menards, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Fleet Farm, and Tractor Supply have these.
Fatwood (a fire starting material not necessary, but really nice)
3 TP tubes filled with dryer lint (fire starting material)
Lighter or matches
Lighter fluid
Fire extinguisher (you need some in your house anyway)
Squirt bottle with water in it
2-3 bundles of firewood (if you have a fire pit)
Leather gloves or oven hot pads
Long tongs for charcoal
Fire iron and blow tube for fire pit (not necessary if you don’t have a fire pit or access to a fire pit)
Long tongs for food
Something to cook (something easy like brats or kebabs or veggies)
Some kind of table or work surface you can put some of your materials on; a folding table, picnic table, or a folding chair.
Bleach/disinfectant wipes
Cast iron cooking pot
Ceramic cooking pot
Recipe for Butter Barley
Recipe for Nutty Grain and Peas
Food thermometer

Topics:

Cleaning before-during-after
Making sure your fire is a cooking fire
Getting your cooking vessels filled
Placement of vessels by or on the fire
Checking your food

Adjusting your fire

Light A Fire In Your Belly!

Material Culture

Daily Viking Meals