Nashville, Tennessee鈥揵ased will quickly tell you that he is neither a professional chef nor a trained photographer. Still, in the past two years, he鈥檚 turned documenting mouthwatering fire-based cooking (mainly involving massive, sizzling hunks of meat) into a full-time career via his more than . Here are seven of Wolf鈥檚 tips to help you nail the best meals of summer.
Choose Your Fuel Wisely
This is perhaps the most heavily debated decision in the fire-cooking community. While your access to different types of wood may dramatically change your choice (there isn鈥檛 much mesquite back East, for example), Wolf looks for two general criteria when choosing fuel. 鈥淚 tend to only use hardwoods, and specifically fruitwoods,鈥 Wolf says. 鈥淭hey break down into coals really well. You want a wood that gives off a good flavor but isn鈥檛 so overpowering that it鈥檚 impossible to taste your food.鈥 You also don鈥檛 necessarily have to go with wood. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have anything else, lump charcoal is fine. Five-pound bags are really easy to carry,鈥 Wolf says.
Mind Your Temps
鈥淐ooking with fire is all about putting your food on at the right time,鈥 Wolf says. Put a steak on when the flames are hot and licking everything, and you will burn it to a crisp. Put it on too late, when the fire isn鈥檛 hot enough, and you鈥檒l be eating raw meat. How do you know that sweet spot? 鈥淭he prime time to put it on is right as the coals and the wood are starting to transition from a black to a gray and right as things are starting to break into coals. You will hear it. You will get that sizzle鈥攖he amazing sound of the steak hitting the grill,鈥 Wolf says. In addition to sight, Wolf uses touch to gauge if his fire is ready. 鈥淪ome woods burn really hot, and some don鈥檛 burn as hot. Carefully put your hand about four inches from the fire. If you can hold it there for longer than four seconds, it鈥檚 not hot enough. If you can leave it there for only one second, it鈥檚 too hot. It has to be in that two-to-four-second range,鈥 Wolf says.
Be Disciplined
This isn鈥檛 your propane barbecue or Traeger grill that will hit the temperature you want with a turn of a knob and the touch of a button. The fire will dictate the best time to put your food on and take it off. Wolf suggests respecting that fact. 鈥淵ou want to make sure you give ample time for your fire to be ready, as well as know that once it is ready, it is go-time. That doesn鈥檛 mean, 鈥楲emme go grab another beer.鈥 That means, 鈥楪ood luck, you have to cook now.鈥欌
Make Sure It Looks Good
鈥淵ou eat with your eyes first,鈥 Wolf says. 鈥淲ith any classically grilled meats, people usually associate grill marks as something that is attractive, but I like an amazing crust throughout the whole meat.鈥 Wolf puts olive oil on the meat, and then marinates it with salt to help that crust form. He suggests being extra careful when cooking with oil over a flame, because once it lights up, you might have to wait as long as 30 minutes for a grease fire to die down. He also suggests trying a cast-iron skillet. 鈥淚t really gives that crust you鈥檙e looking for. The key is letting your all-metal skillet sit over the fire for two to three minutes before you put the steak on,鈥 Wolf says.
Keep the Seasoning Simple
鈥淚f you鈥檙e camping or RVing, all you need is high-quality salt,鈥 Wolf says. 鈥 from Oregon is fantastic. That鈥檚 pretty much all I use.鈥 He prefers sea salt for its strong flavor. 鈥淵ou need less of it than kosher salt, so you get a lot more bang for your buck on sea salt,鈥 Wolf says.
Pack a Plan B
Yes, you will wow your friends if you perfectly cook a whole lamb filled with wild foraged herbs over a spit. You can just as easily wreak havoc on a camping trip if you mess up that elaborate recipe and your whole group goes hungry. Wolf鈥檚 suggestion is to be ambitious in the scope of your meal for the group, but hedge your bets with something you know you won鈥檛 mess up. 鈥淒on鈥檛 be afraid to fail鈥攋ust bring a second thing to cook,鈥 he says. 鈥淚f you want to cook it, have fun, but bring something you know how to do.鈥 Burgers are an excellent backup.