cooking on the engel fire

   Getting THE most OUT of outdoor wood fired cooking with YOUR ENGEL FIRE

More than just a beautiful outdoor fire place. The Engel Fire also functions as an all-in-one outdoor cooking solution.

In order to get the ‘ultimate’ Engel Fire experience, we have worked closely with Celebrity Chef Michael Van de Elzen to develop the following information. On this page you will find a series of tips and tricks on how to use your outdoor fireplace to its full potential, with the full range of different cooking methods.

Once the basics are in place, you’ll discover your own personal ways of preparing and serving the incredible flavours that only wood fired cooking can offer.

Preparation is the key to your success.

Ensure you plan your meal ahead. Doing as much as you can before your guests arrive will free you up to sit back, relax, and enjoy the atmosphere that the Engel Fire provides.

preparing the fire

Before you cook on your Engel, fire it up first. You need to proof the oven and grill. Load it up with some dry wood and do a quick burn with the flue open (flue handle up). Once finished, lightly oil the grill bar with some cooking spray.

Establishing a fire for cooking

Your choice of fuel determines the quality of your fire. Wood that has aged for a year is ideal for wood fired cooking. 

Manuka, Kanuka and Macrocarpa as well as wood from oak, fruit or nut trees are also great burning options to use in your outdoor fireplace.

Bigger pieces of hard wood are perfect for slow cooking, while a large lump charcoal generates the right conditions for cooking on the grill. 

Burning your outdoor fire with smaller pieces of wood works well to generate a hotter oven which is perfect for wood firing pizzas and focaccia bread.

Quick advice for cooking with your engel fire

When cooking on your outdoor fire, don’t use mouldy or musty wood as it results in an unpleasant smell that will taint your food.

Don’t leave too much bark on your wood as it creates a bitter smoke.

Pine is ideal for starting your outdoor fire because it burns quickly, but it imparts an acrid flavour and should never be used for the cooking.

Never use treated wood for wood fired cooking.

Refrain from overloading the fire basket of the Engel Fire as pieces of wood may fall behind the basket.

COOKING ON THE STONES:
wood fired Pizzas & Breads

Before using your outdoor fireplace as a Pizza Oven, always ensure that the fire basket has been cleaned out. Ash acts as an insulator and will prevent the bricks from heating to the required temperature for outdoor wood fired pizza cooking.

Light your fire and with the fire basket rolled forward and bring the temperature of the stones up to 300 degrees (check the heat with your laser probe as supplied by Engel Fires).

When your fireplace has reached the desired temperature, push the basket back and load your pizzas, or breads straight onto the hot stone. You can now control the temperature by opening and closing the front doors and the flue.

In just 3-5 minutes you will have the ultimate crispy wood fired pizza!

For best results you want a VERY hot outdoor oven, the hotter the better. This is what gives the pizza the rise it needs.

For thinner breads like focaccia or large loaf tins place it into a well-oiled shallow baking tray at around 220 degrees. This is also the ideal temperature for wood firing breads in larger loaf tines.

For a perfect finish to your wood fired breads brush them with a good amount of water and a drizzle of oil.

COOKING ON your wood fired GRILL

Before grilling your meat on your Engel Fire ensure the flames have burnt down to smouldering embers and bring your meat up to room temperature before grilling on your outdoor fireplace.

Oil the meat and season with flaky sea salt and a good crack of fresh pepper (always oil the meat – not the grill).

Once you have placed the meat onto the wood fired grill, cook it until you have some good char marks, this will make it easier to remove and turn.

Rest your meat before cutting. Loosely wrap larger cuts of meat with tinfoil for at least 20 minutes while smaller cuts like chops and steaks should be rested for up to 10 minutes.

Raise the grill to the top of your outdoor wood fired BBQ for cooking food at a lower temperature, this is great for infusing a smoky flavour. Things like brined chicken work well using this method of wood fired cooking. 

For more detail on how to BBQ like a pro, read our comprehensive guide here.

COOKING ON your outdoor ROTISSERIE

Establish your fire for around 15-30 minutes and when you are ready to start cooking, push the fire basket to the back of your outdoor fireplace. Make sure you have enough wood to fuel the fire for around 90-120 minutes. Feeding more wood into the fire if necessary.

Skewer the meat and/or poultry onto the rotisserie shaft, ensuring that it is central and equally balanced. Secure with the rotisserie forks and tie with cooking string if required.

Feed the rotisserie shaft into the holes on the outdoor fireplace from right to left making sure it fits into the rotisserie motor and plug in to a standard 240v power supply.

Hang the drip tray from the shaft to catch the juices. If you intend on cooking vegetables at the same time on your outdoor fireplace, you can place them in the tray to be continuously basted with the cooking juices.

Boned out whole lamb works well and its’ easy to fit a whole lamb onto an Engel Master rotisserie outdoor cooker.

Try using meat rubs on larger cuts of meat to bring a wonderful flavour to your wood fired rotisserie cooking.

Low AND SLOW cooking

Place large pieces of hardwood into the basket of your Engel Fire and allow it to burn right down to smouldering embers so that your outdoor fireplace has established a constant heat.

With the fire basket positioned at the front of your fireplace, lower the grill and place your meat onto it. Raise the grill to its highest position and close down the flue and the doors, remembering to keep an eye on the temperature - aiming for about 140 degrees.

Depending on the size of your cut of meat, the low and slow cooking method will take up to six hours on your outdoor fireplace, or until your meat has reached an internal temperature of 55 degrees.

Once cooked, remove the meat, wrap in cling film and rest for a further hour before carving.

MOIST COOKING on the engel fire

Place your meat into an oven tray seasoning it well with a meat rub. Pour over some beer, cider or mexican chilli paste until it’s half way up the meat. Cover with greaseproof paper and tin foil.

Place the oven tray into your Engel Fire and cook, low and slow in your outdoor fire as detailed above. Allow the meat to rest in the juices for an hour before removing. 

Strain off the floating fat and place the rest of the juices into a pot, reducing until flavoursome.  Shred the slow cooked BBQ meat by pulling apart with forks before pouring over the reduced cooking juices.

wood SMOKING in your engel fire

Place your fish and/or meat on a wire rack and place on the grill, putting the grill positioning up to its maximum height.

Your wood chips need to be damp which ensures that they only smoke and there is no flames. Place two cups of the wood chips onto the embers of your Engel Fire and close the flue butterfly and doors. Make sure to check every 20 minutes adding more wood chips if required.

The smoking method on your outdoor fireplace can take up to four hours depending on the thickness of the fish. You can check by pulling apart the meat slightly in the thickest part to see how cooked it is. Once the centre is just turning white remove from the fish from your outdoor smoker. If you smoke it any longer - it will start to become dry once cooled.

You can try brining your fish in a salt water brine and then brush with soya, limes, brown sugar and chilli before smoking for a delicious Asian influenced flavour.

For a more comprehensive guide to all things ‘wood fired smoking’, read our detailed beginners guide here.

CONFIT GARLIC

Peel the garlic and place into a small pot covered in olive oil, rosemary and salt. Bake in your Engel Fire outdoor oven until tender.

ROASTED TOMATOES

Roasted tomatoes are great for sauces and salads. Cut tomatoes in half and place onto a bed of salt in a roasting tray and cover with herbs like rosemary and thyme. Roast in your Engel Fire until golden.

ROASTED RED PEPPER

Cover peppers in a touch of oil and salt. Place onto the grill of your outdoor cooker above the burning fire and char until dark. Place peppers into a bowl and cover in cling film for 10 minutes. Rub off skins and remove the seeds.

ROASTED LEMONS

Cut lemons in half, place onto an oven tray and gently salt. Place into your Engel Fire outdoor oven and remove when lightly coloured. Leave the lemons to cool. Remove pith and finely dice. Add to salads or hummus for extra flavour. 

HOT SMOKING BABY POTATOES

Lightly oil and season your baby potatoes before placing onto the grill of your Engel Fire and raise the grill up to the top position of the outdoor wood fired oven. Roast until cooked through.

things to Cook While Your wood Fire Cools

Once you have added your last piece of wood and the Engel is slowly cooling down below 150ºC, give these recipes a go.

SLOW COOKING JOINTS OF MEAT

Pork shoulder cooked in apple cider, garlic and herbs works well. Cover and cook in the Engel Fire at 150 degrees for about 4-5 hours.

SLOW ROASTING FRUITS

Cut fruits in half and sprinkle with brown sugar. Roast until tender and serve hot with vanilla cream.

DRYING OR DEHYDRATING

Drying or dehydrating in the Engel Fire works well once the temp drops >100. Try tomatoes, apples and even cut onions. Just place onto a wire rack to ensure airflow all around the items.

ROAST ROOT VEGETABLES

Season, lightly oil and wrap root vegetables in tinfoil. Place directly into the slow, burning down embers of your outdoor wood fired oven. Cook until a knife can pass through. Reheat the next day or use cold in a salad with a curry yoghurt dressing.