Playing With Fire Pits

There's no doubt about it. This is the season for cooking outdoors. Everyone turns to their Weber grills, creating the perfectly blackened dog or burger. However for those with a wilder side, there the fire pit. This is more primal , being in the vein of what our ancestors used. Yet, despite the primitivism of it, it produces wonderfully roasted meat.

Fire pits were the subject of today's Al Fresco column in the New York Times Dining section. the article, written by regular Alice Hart, explains how to dig and use one. It's a great deal more exciting than a regular grill and the result is closer in a way to the original barbecoas that pirates and early settlers used to grill and roast meat. The hardest part is the actual digging. If you're set on it, have help, namely two other people to help dig . Cut the ground into strips so it's easier to replace later on. From then it's like setting up a small oven, with the addition of bricks and a metal sheet or grate. Logs and coals are added afterwards to build and maintain a fire.

The result will not be a quick cooking dinner. Fire pit cooking does take a while namely eight to ten hours to result in a finished product. The meat should be double wrapped , first in aluminum foil and then in two layers of wet newspaper. This protects the meat and keeps it from the charring. The end result is well worth it though .Fire pits can produce cuts where the pork or beef just falls off the bone with a buttery tenderness. What meats to use? A good pork butt or beef brisket is the best and most flavorful.

If you;re tired of grilling , then try the fire pit method.Yes, it's more involved with a snail's pace cooking time, but you'll be pleased with the result. You'll have the most mouth watering, juiciest cuts of beef and pork this August. What a perfect summer party treat!