Hearth Cooking: An Ancient Cooking Technique Revisited

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To be historically accurate, I should note that Captain Cuttle may have cooked on a fireplace burning coal, in which case he would have placed his cookware on a grate over the coal. In North America, we burn wood. Had he been burning wood, and he might have, then this is how he would have cooked his meal. With the exception of the chicken turning on a string in front of the fire (an ancient and practical way to roast a fowl), Captain Cuttle would have cooked on the hearth in cookware that was positioned no more than a few inches from the fire, and held above the hearth on a little stand so embers could be shoveled underneath. The best height for the cookware is about 2 1/2 inches above the hearth. Captain Cuttle would have been using an iron trivet, but two common red bricks can be fashioned into the perfect stand of the correct height. Set two bricks on their broad side parallel to each other so you can straddle them with a saucepan, frying pan, griddle or grill, and have space to shovel embers between them.

Taming the Flames

We are used to cooking with bottom heat on our kitchen stove and when grilling on the barbecue. Controlling heat on the hearth is precise, and different from both the kitchen stove and the barbecue. On the hearth, you control heat by shoveling embers under the cookware to increase heat, and you decrease heat either by letting the embers die down naturally, or by shoveling them back into the fire. Through the thoughtful use of embers you have complete control over temperature. Four small embers may be enough to melt butter in a small saucepan; a double fireplace shovel-full spread under a grill will cook a  savory steak.

Safety issues are basic. When you have embers on the hearth, be sure to maintain a strong fire in the fireplace to pull fumes and smoke up the chimney. Always keep embers within a few inches of the fire; always shovel them back into the fireplace when done, and always use common sense.

The best way to learn to cook like Captain Cuttle is to make something simple, such as a frittata or scrambled eggs. Set two bricks on their broad side within a few inches of the fire. Straddle them with a frying pan and use the fireplace shovel to place embers underneath. Add butter to the pan. When it melts, swirl it around the pan, then add your eggs. If the pan doesn’t get hot enough, add more embers, if it gets too hot, take some away. Always remember that the embers will never be hotter than the moment you shovel them underneath the pan. You are always cooking on falling heat which, in practice, means you probably won’t burn what you are cooking if you look away.

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