When most people think of outdoor cooking, they think of one of two things: camping with cast iron and grills or a pinterest worthy, expensive outdoor kitchen complete with seating, fairy lights, and stainless steel everything.
Let’s face it. Most of us don’t have the money to dump into a luxurious outside kitchen and, while camping is fun, it’s not exactly something we want to do for every meal. What I want to talk about today is the practical practice of cooking outside for your family.
There are great benefits to cooking outside. First off, did you know that you pay more money on electricity when you use it the same time everyone else does? It’s called peak demand. Basically, it works a little like internet streaming. If everyone is online at the same time, your internet may slow down because more bandwidth is needed. When everyone is using electricity at the same time, it puts more strain on the power grid…causing prices to go up.
Usually peak hours are between 4 and 7 PM. Which is exactly the time most of us are home and cooking. You can cut a lot of that expense by bringing dinner outside. Another great benefit to outside cooking is the space. You can cook much more food on an open pit than you can in a stove. This means freezing meals for your family you can heat up later!
Burn Baby Burn-Keeping The Coals Hot
The most important part about cooking outside is keeping your temperature even. You don’t just need hot coals. You need them to STAY hot. To do this, you’ll need to set up two areas. One will be for constantly burning wood in order to produce a steady stream of coals and the other will be your actual cooking area.
To start out, I recommend using a fire pit. When you get a little more advanced you can start building fire brick enclosures to house hot coals and even weld your own coal cage!
Curry-licious Pork Chops…Outside!
Okay, I have a confession to make. This actually isn’t my recipe. It’s Female Foodie’s but TRUST me…you’ll never find a better pork chop recipe…ever!
Ingredients:
- 1/3 Cup of table salt
- 1/3 Cup of granulated sugar
- 3 quarts cold water
- 8 natural, bone-in pork chops, 1.5 inches thick
- 2 Tbsp ground cumin
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 2 Tbsp curry powder
- 4 tsp packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 2 cloves minced garlic (my little add to this superb recipe)
How To Cook:
- Add your sugar and table salt to cold water in a large bowl. Put your pork chops in and make sure they are submerged. Cover and stick it n the fridge for about an hour.
- Mix your spices and brown sugar together in a small bowl (note-I add two cloves of minced garlic to this process).
- Get your coals hot and cooking. If you’re using wood, you’ll want to start this process a few hours before cooking.
- Remove your pork chops from the brine and pat them dry. PLEASE DRY THEM THOROUGHLY! Your chops will be so much juicier if you do!
- Cover the chops with your spice rub on both sides and make sure to push the rub into the pork with your fingers.
- Add your pork chops to the grill and quickly brown the outside of them. Flip and brown that side too. About 2 minutes per side.
- Transfer the pork chops to the cooler side of the grill and wait until the pork chop’s temperature is 145°, about 7 minutes.
- Pull the pork chops off the grill and tent with foil and let sit for 10 minutes, then enjoy!
Grill-Baked Potatoes
One of the easiest things to cook on a fire pit is a good ole’ fashioned baked potato. All you have to do is clean your potatoes and place them in a nice little nest of hot coals, move them around every so often for even cooking, and test them frequently. You’ll know when they’re done when you can pierce the skin with a fork easily.
Tips For Outdoor Cooking
- Eat in season foods to both save money and add to your healthy lifestyle
- Big meals can be frozen!! Any time you cook outside add extra to feed your family for later.
- Prep. Prep. Prep! Plan ahead and prep everything the night before. It will save you SOOOOO much time!
- FRESH herbs and spices add much more flavor!!!
- Add some outdoor family activities to make this habit extra special!
What are some of your favorite outdoor meals? Share with us and let us know!
Kirvan Family Homestead 