A fireplace or fire bowl can provide a great outdoor focus – just make sure it doesn’t create too much smoke
7:00AM BST 24 Aug 2014
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The other Friday evening we asked some friends over for supper. When the time arrived, I was unprepared and flustered, while the Husband was tetchy after a stressful week. Then he announced I would be lighting the fire bowl. Spark and tetch levels rose: more fuss, smoke, complications.
But come 3am, we were still all out there, chilled, chatting and enjoying the glowing embers, oblivious to the odd shower. The combination of mellow wood smoke, evening air and semidarkness is captivating and relaxing.
One of the problems with having fire bowls or outdoor fireplaces near the house, of course, is smoke. I have been experimenting and talking to experts about how this can be avoided, or at least reduced.
We invested in a Kadai fire bowl, a simple design that looks good even when not in use. I asked Christo Mckinnon, who imports the bowls to the UK, for advice.
Kadai bowls, ranging in size from 30cm to 230cm, have been used for centuries across western India for cooking.
I was particularly impressed by the smokeless fuels – walnut shell and vine briquettes, and vine root logs – in the Kadai fire bowl range. These light easily, burn brightly, are effective for cooking, last well and, most importantly, result in very little smoke.
My husband and I tend to use the barbecue for serious quantities of food, but enjoy cooking on the fire bowl or pit as we can sit round it with friends. We hot smoked a chicken the other night in the Kadai bowl using a rotisserie. The smoky flesh was succulent and delicious.
I also consulted Barbecue Ben, or Benjamin Bartlett, who is president of the British Barbecue Association. Last year he judged the World Barbecue Championships in Morocco. The variety of “smokers” (wood-fired barbecues) varied immensely. The Moroccan team in long white coats sat on stools and cooked a goat for three hours over a huge open fire pit, while the Germans had flashy, stainless steel affairs.
Different types of wood are key to flavour. Ben loves apple and oak as a general-purpose wood to get the fire going, before adding soaked wood chips for flavour. Hickory adds smokiness, but Ben suggests soaking small wood chips in whisky for three to five minutes, or cricket ball-sized chunks for 10 minutes, before adding them to the fire to flavour the meat.
He recommends spraying the meat (using an indoor plant mister) with unsweetened apple juice regularly to moisten and caramelise it. Cider can be used as well to give the meat a real taste of apple. Ben uses Glovenoven gloves. His book BBQ Manual: The Whole Hog (Haynes, £21.99) provides a wealth of information.
Nic Snell, of Certainly Wood, says that wood with less than 20 per cent moisture delivers minimal smoke and great heat. His kiln-dried wood is top-notch, resulting in fires with very little smoke. He also sells Flamers natural firelighters (£5.99 for 50).
I have also used smokeless fuels, such as Ecoal and Homefire Smokeless, adding smelling wood and sprigs of rosemary or thyme for ambience.
Outdoor fireplaces can be a great focus in your garden. If we have people over for the weekend, we leave the embers glowing day and night, letting our firepit transport us to a magical place.
