>>65873I've got an ultralight stove which works great for boiling water and nothing else because it puts out way too much heat for cooking so I guess I'll add some goodness to this thread....
HOW TO COOK (not grill) WITH FIRE
If you want to truly cook with fire, here are some pointers:
Cooking is all about controlled temperatures which means using either a tiny fire or using heat removed from a larger fire.
Cooking with tiny fires can only be learned on site or by trial & error - it isn't difficult, just a practice in controlled burning. It is fun in the back yard during a power outage, but....
As a lover of large fires and fishing, I prefer to cook slowly (while fishing for something better to grill) using heat from larger fires and I do this in two ways.
1) Remove coals from the fire and place under and around your cookpot or pan. The amount and size of the coals will vary depending upon whether I want a low, medium or high heat and for how long I want the heat. It is possible to keep a low simmer for 20+ minutes this way once you've mastered the art. Practicing at home will help, especially if you force yourself to eat your mistakes.
2) Place your pot, can, pan etc. close enough to the fire to catch the heat, but far enough away to prevent it from burning. A good rule of thumb for med-low temp cooking is to place it at about the same distance you can handle about 4 seconds exposure to your hand. This is a good way to cook oatmeal, rice etc, but you must rotate your pot occasionally and give it more time than normal.
Again, I use this to cook other food while I am fishing for the main course, so if I come back empty handed I've still got some good stuff to eat
