How to Roast Meat Over a Fire

Using a Tin Kitchen or Reflecting Oven

Feb 1, 2009 Kim Kenney

Roasting meat over the fire is simple and tasty! Follow this advice for a delicious main dish.

Many different cuts of meats taste delicious when roasted in front of a roaring fire. Chicken, beef, pork, and venison roasts will take on the flavors of the fire without tasting like they were “smoked.”

There are surprisingly few seasonings involved in roasting meat over a fire. Salt and pepper are all you need to create a tasty, moist roast. Let the fire do the rest!

Using a Tin Kitchen or Reflecting Oven

Meat is roasted on the open hearth using a tin kitchen or reflecting oven. The tin kitchen looks like half of a miniature barrel, with a cast iron spit inside. There is a small door on the back of it so you can peek in and check your meat without turning the entire tin kitchen around, or leaning in too close to the fire.

There are several holes on the end of the tin kitchen, which is how you turn the roast while roasting. You should move the spit a quarter turn every fifteen minutes to ensure even cooking of your roast.

Kinds of Roasts

Some cuts of meat, such as venison, are better if they are marinated first. Most meats, such as beef, chicken, and pork, do not need a marinade at all. You may wish to wrap venison or pork roasts with bacon.

Sprinkle some salt and pepper all over the roast, and thread it onto the spit. Put the spit into the slots inside your tin kitchen and place the entire unit on the hearth, right in front of the fire.

For an easy side dish, especially with a beef roast, place quartered potatoes and chunks of carrots in the bottom of the tin kitchen. The juices from the roast will drip onto the vegetables as they cook and flavor them.

Regulating the Heat in a Fireplace

Cooking over the open hearth is more an art than a science. You cannot turn the fire to 350 degrees and set your timer. The fire’s temperature is inexact, and it takes a lot of practice to know how hot the fire is.

The fire itself and the hot coals burning beneath the logs give off the heat used to roast meat. It takes experience and practice to regulate the heat.

If your fire is burning too hot, and your roast looks like it is cooking too fast, you should add wood to the fire. This sounds counterintuitive, but what happens is this: the energy that was giving off all of that heat gets absorbed into the wood to ignite it, thereby reducing the temperature. You can also move the tin kitchen further away from the fire.

If your fire isn’t hot enough, you have to add wood consistently to build a larger fire. If your fire is not hot enough, this will add cooking time.

The fire requires constant attention to keep it going. It is important to pay attention to it and try to keep the heat as even as you can.

Where to Find a Tin Kitchen

Finding a tin kitchen isn’t easy. An authentic vintage tin kitchen is nearly impossible to find in an antique store.

You will most likely have to have one made for you. Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts manufactures them, but there is often a waiting list. Local tinsmiths may be a viable alternative for you.

For more information on open hearth cooking:

Open Hearth Cooking

How to Bake a Pie on the Open Hearth: Building a Fire and Using a Dutch Oven

The copyright of the article How to Roast Meat Over a Fire in Recipes is owned by Kim Kenney. Permission to republish How to Roast Meat Over a Fire in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A tin kitchen in front of a fireplace	Placing the spit into the tin kitchen	The roasts before cooking
Peeking in the door of the tin kitchen	Carving the cooked beef, pork, and venison roasts