All lit up. This smoky summer meal includes a rosemary-lemon grilled tenderloin, roasted pepper relish, and goat cheese potato dish.

Last Summer, I lit a fire and placed cement blocks around a circle on my family’s farm. As the farm crew walked down the hill after a hot day, I began cooking dinner.

I use a welded-iron rig I have developed for cooking on a live fire over the years. The crew cracked open seltzers and beers as they gathered around the fire. I buried potatoes and eggplants in the coals. I also hung a leg of venison, some cabbages, and a flatbread on a grill over the flames. We ate the roasted food for about an hour before piling broken pallets and tomato trellises onto the fire. We toasted to the end of yet another successful farming season.

This setup was great for a party, but I often start a fire in my grill. Another prominent option is a backyard fire pit. One of the most enjoyable ways to cook is by cooking a meal on a fire. It is also the oldest and most difficult way to cook. You’ll usually have several different foods cooking at the same time. Each food requires a different temperature and cooking time. There’s an element of magic in the experience. The heat and smoke of the flames will engulf the food.

The point is casual gear. Go ahead, get creative.

Large chunks of meat may come to mind when you think of cooking over a live fire. I can confirm that the leg of venison mentioned above was an absolute show-stopper. But vegetables are the unsung stars of this technique. When buried in coals for a few hours, vegetables such as beets or potatoes will emerge silky, smoky, and delicious. Blackened peppers can be used to create relishes, sauces, and soups. Charred scallions are a delicious dish on their own.

Below you will find the recipe for Goat Cheese Potato Salad.

The “How to Grill Vegetables” by Steven Raichlen offers a more straightforward approach to building rigs and fire. Both books contain excellent recipes.

I let the fire burn for an hour before cooking to create a thick bed of coals. Then, I spread the fire to create different cooking zones. In one area, I place the coals, and in another, I place the live fire. There is also some space between them for indirect cooking. The base of the suspended grating can be a circle of cement blocks, just like the lip of the kettle grill or firepit.

You can use any hardwood, but fruitwood will give you a sweeter smoke. Oak has a sour taste. Hickory, cedar, and acacia bring out nutty and piney flavors. All of them are delicious. Even hardwood charcoal can add a wonderful smoky flavor.

Below you will find the recipe for Roasted Pepper Relish.

When I cook for my family on the home grill, I build a fire and then let it burn out before adding packets of olive oil, potatoes, and garlic to the coals. I nestle the foil packets into the coals using long metal tongs. Then, I place the coals around and on top of them. Then, I remember the grill grates over the top. Peppers will only cook better with a bit of char. Pork tenderloin must be moved from direct to indirect heat and turned almost continuously to get an evenly browned roast.

Cast-iron pans placed directly in the fire provide a scorchingly hot surface for cooking. Many brands of fire pits, like Breeo or Solo Stove, offer a variety of accessories, including woks and grills, that will expand your repertoire of live-fire cooking.

Below you will find the recipe for Rosemary-Lemon Grilled Pork Tenderloin.

Remember that you can use all kinds of tools, even those not usually associated with grilling. Small-mesh fencing can be used as grill grates when propped on cinderblocks. You can use your grill rack on top for smaller items that might fall through the fence. A pitchfork can create an impromptu chicken rotisserie by skewering spatchcocked birds. The rebar can be used to skewer whole vegetables, such as zucchini, or minor cuts of meat, like chicken thighs. One end of the bar is inserted at an angle into the ground, which allows you to control the distance of the food from the flame. A square of sheet steel metal can be used as a griddle. Leather gloves will enable you to pick up coals and move them around.

The point is to have something other than fancy gear. Go ahead, get creative. Preparing a fire-cooked meal should be as fun as it is to enjoy the food.

Ingredients

• Pork tenderloin 1 1/4 lbs
• Olive oil one tablespoon
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• One bunch of rosemary sprigs
• One lemon thinly sliced across
• Kitchen string

Directions

1. Start a campfire with hardwood in a grill. Let the wood burn until it is reduced to coals. This should take between 60 and 90 minutes. Spread the coals in a mound along one side of your grill to create direct and indirect heat sides. You can also ignite hardwood charcoal and then spread it out to create two cooking surfaces: direct heat and indirect heat. For the same result, light half of the burners if you use a propane barbecue.
2. Sprinkle salt and oil on the pork. Use kitchen string to tie rosemary sprigs, lemon slices, and other garnishes onto the pork. Grill the pork alternately between direct and indirect heating, turning it every few minutes until the exterior is well-browned, and a thermometer with an instant-read register of 125°, 15-25 min. Transfer the pork to a cutting surface and rest for at least five minutes. Remove the kitchen string, and then slice the pork.