Ember Cooking

Ember cooking is the process of cooking food over the steady heat produced by hot, glowing embers rather than directly over flames.

A well-established bed of embers provides more even and controllable heat, making it useful for cooking items such as vegetables, bread, potatoes and meat.

What You’ll Learn

You’ll learn how to prepare a suitable fire for ember cooking, judge the heat of the embers, position food safely and manage cooking without relying on large flames.

The activity also develops camp cooking, food hygiene and fire-management skills.

Equipment

You will need a suitable campfire, firewood, cooking equipment and suitable utensils.

You’ll also need the food being prepared, clean water for hygiene and fire safety equipment appropriate to the campsite.

Prerequisites

Scouts should understand basic campfire safety and know how to behave safely around an open fire.

Basic food hygiene and simple camp cooking knowledge will also be useful.

Instructions

1. Prepare the fire

Build and light a suitable campfire and allow it to burn down until you have a good bed of glowing embers.

2. Spread the embers

Once the flames have reduced, carefully arrange the embers into an even cooking area.

Avoid spreading them too widely, as you want a concentrated and manageable heat source.

3. Check the heat

Allow the embers to settle before starting to cook.

The heat should be strong enough to cook the food but not so intense that it burns immediately.

4. Prepare the food

Prepare your ingredients before placing anything over the fire.

Keep raw ingredients separate from cooked food and use clean utensils throughout.

5. Position the food

Place the food on a suitable grill, pan, skewer or other approved cooking equipment.

Keep your hands away from the embers and use appropriate tools to move food.

6. Cook slowly

Ember cooking works best with steady heat rather than large flames.

Turn the food regularly and move it to a cooler part of the embers if it begins cooking too quickly.

7. Check that it is cooked

Make sure food is thoroughly cooked before eating, particularly meat.

Do not rely only on the outside appearance; check the centre of thicker foods as well.

8. Serve safely

Remove the cooked food using clean utensils and place it onto a clean plate or container.

Keep cooked food away from raw ingredients and dirty equipment.

9. Clear the cooking area

Once cooking is finished, remove cooking equipment and any remaining food.

Do not leave food scraps around the campsite, as these can attract animals.

10. Extinguish the fire

When the fire is no longer required, extinguish it safely and make sure the embers are completely out and cool before leaving the area.

Final Tip

Good ember cooking is all about patience. Let the flames die down and use the steady heat of the embers rather than trying to cook everything over a roaring fire.