Cooking With Wood in a Collapsible Grill

Using clean cooking wood instead of (or with) charcoal in a flat pack grill: which woods, how to burn down to coals, and how to cook over them.

Both Slot Grill models are built to burn charcoal or clean cooking wood. Wood-fired cooking takes a little more patience, but it is a great skill at camp where wood is allowed and plentiful.

Good wood

• Seasoned (dry) hardwoods: oak, hickory, pecan, mesquite, fruitwoods like apple or cherry.
• Split small, wrist-thick or smaller, to fit the firebox and burn down evenly.
• Dry: it should sound hollow when knocked together and show cracks at the ends.

Avoid

• Treated, painted or stained lumber, pallets and plywood.
• Green (wet) wood: smoky and sputtering.
• Resinous softwoods like pine for cooking; they leave soot and bitter flavor.
• Any wood from outside the area where firewood transport rules apply. Buy it where you burn it.

Cook on coals, not flames

1. Build a small kindling fire in the firebox.
2. Add splits a few at a time.
3. Let them burn down to glowing coals, 30 to 45 minutes.
4. Rake coals into a two-zone layout (how).
5. Keep a split burning at the far end to make fresh coals and rake them over as needed.

Wood plus charcoal

An easy hybrid: a charcoal base for steady heat plus a small chunk of hardwood on top for flavor. You get the convenience of charcoal with some smoke.

Fire safety on any collapsible grill

• Outdoors only. Burning charcoal makes carbon monoxide, which you can't see or smell. Never use it in a garage, tent, camper, vehicle, boat cabin or under a roof or awning.
• Non-combustible, level ground. Soil, gravel, sand, concrete, pavers or a fire-safe pad.
• Clearance. Away from walls, vehicles, tents, overhanging branches and dry grass. Kids and pets kept back.
• Seated tabs. Check every tab is fully in its slot before you add fuel.
• Water and gloves at hand. Hot steel looks exactly like cold steel.
• Leave it alone until cold. Don't move or take apart a lit or warm grill.

Mistakes new flat pack owners make

1. Too much charcoal. A small firebox gets very hot. Start with half a chimney and add.
2. No cool zone. Without an empty end, a flare-up has nowhere to go.
3. Cooking on black coals. Wait for gray ash.
4. Old ash left in. It blocks airflow; empty it before every cook.
5. Heavy oil when seasoning. Thin coats cure; thick coats turn gummy.
6. Packing it warm. Wait until steel and ash are cold, every time.

The one-minute care habit

Most carbon steel problems come from skipping the last minute of a cook. After the grill cools, scrape the grates, empty the ash, and wipe a whisper-thin coat of oil or Seasoning Balm on the cooking surfaces. Store it dry. That habit is the difference between a grill that darkens into a slick patina and one that shows orange freckles every spring. If freckles do show up, it's not a disaster: see surface rust.

Questions people ask