We hear that many of you are spending time around the fire cooking, sipping, relaxing, and sometimes just zoning out to the crackle and dance of the flames. The key to enjoyment is building the perfect fire, but have you ever struggled to get it right? Not enough flame? Too much smoke? Burns out too easily?
Follow Steve's tips for a log cabin fire lay - it radiates a lot of heat and makes a great bed of coals. And remember the science behind it is airflow, airflow, airflow.
Here's what you'll need:
- Crumpled Paper
- Fat lighter (old pine wood with a high concentration of flammable sap) Can be foraged or purchased
- Small kindling
- Larger split firewood
- Wand lighter
- Crumple paper in the center of your Kettle or wherever you are building your fire. This provides the fuse and airflow for the fire to grow.
- Secure the base with 2 larger pieces of firewood on either side of the paper.
- On top of the base, add a row of small kindling & fat lighter with space in between for airflow.
- Lay another row of kindling in the opposite direction.
- Continue to criss-cross layers of small kindling.
- Add a row of larger firewood. And layer in same criss-cross pattern. Now you have a stacked grid that will provide maximum airflow and core heat for your fire.
- Grab your lighter and light the paper in several places. Once the grid has burned down, you can add larger pieces of wood in a teepee style, to promote… you guessed it, airflow.
Enjoy
Keep adding wood this way to enjoy the fire itself. Or, once you have a nice bed of coals (takes about an hour), start cooking!
We have a full line of cooking accessories for use with our kettles, as well as items you can use around any fire.
Now, go get lit!