Guide to Wood Fired Cooking

Whether you're lighting your first braai or looking to perfect your live-fire cooking, you've come to the right place. Our collection of videos and step-by-step guides will show you everything from building the perfect wood fire to cooking steak, pizza, chicken and vegetables over glowing embers.

At Firemasters, we believe great barbecue starts with great fuel. Quality hardwood doesn't just provide heat – it becomes part of the flavour. That's why our guides focus on simple techniques, proper fire management and getting the very best from premium braai wood. Whether you're cooking on a kettle BBQ, pizza oven, fire pit or Argentinian Asado grill, you'll find practical advice that you can use straight away.

So grab a drink, light the fire, and enjoy learning the art of authentic wood-fired cooking.

How to Light a Wood Fire

Lighting a wood fire for a braai, BBQ, pizza oven or fire pit is easy when you use the right method. Start by building a small Jenga-style stack of kindling and place one or two natural firelighters in the centre. Build your hardwood around the kindling, using the largest logs at the bottom, then smaller logs, followed by medium-sized logs as you build upwards. A stack of 6–8 logs is usually enough for a family braai, but you can build it larger if you're cooking for more people.

Once lit, allow the fire to burn naturally from the inside out. The Jenga-style stack creates good airflow, helping the fire catch quickly and burn evenly. For the best results, use dense, low-moisture hardwood such as Kameeldoring or Sekelbos, which produces a long-lasting fire, intense heat and excellent cooking embers.

After around 30–45 minutes, the stack will collapse into a glowing bed of hot coals. Spread the embers evenly with a pair of tongs before cooking. Cooking over hot embers rather than open flames gives you better temperature control and delivers the authentic flavour that makes wood-fired braais and BBQs so special.

How to Cook Pizza in a Wood-Fired Pizza Oven

Cooking pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven is quick and easy once the oven is up to temperature. Start by preparing a simple pizza dough using a bread mix or your favourite homemade recipe, then leave it to prove until doubled in size. While the dough is rising, build a hot fire (see 'how to light a wood fire') using dense hardwood such as Kameeldoring (Camel Thorn). Its exceptionally low moisture content and high density produce intense heat and long-lasting embers, making it ideal for pizza ovens.

Once the oven is fully heated, move the fire to one side to create space for cooking while maintaining a rolling flame across the roof of the oven. A simple tomato sauce made from passata, tomato purée, oregano and fresh basil works perfectly as a base. Stretch out the dough, add your toppings, then cook the pizza directly on the hot oven floor. The high temperatures of a wood-fired oven cook the pizza in just a few minutes, producing a crisp base, beautifully melted cheese and the authentic flavour that only real wood-fired cooking can achieve.

How to Cook the Perfect Steak on a Wood Fire

Cooking steak over a wood fire is one of the best ways to enjoy the natural flavour of both the beef and the hardwood. Start by building a hot fire using dense hardwood such as Sekelbos or Kameeldoring (see How to Light a Wood Fire). Allow the logs to burn down into a bed of glowing embers before placing your grill over the coals. Cooking over embers rather than open flames gives you much better heat control and produces a beautifully even crust without burning the outside of the steak.

Keep the seasoning simple. Lightly coat the steak with a little olive oil, then season generously with salt around 40–60 minutes before cooking. This allows the salt to penetrate the meat, helping to develop a better crust and enhance the natural flavour. Freshly ground black pepper is best added after cooking, as it can scorch over the intense heat of a wood fire.

The most accurate way to judge doneness is with a meat thermometer. Aim for an internal temperature of 50–52°C for rare, 54–57°C for medium-rare, 60–63°C for medium, 65–68°C for medium-well, and 70°C or above for well done. If you don't have a thermometer, a typical 25 mm (1 inch) sirloin cooked over very hot embers will take approximately 2 minutes per side for rare, 3 minutes per side for medium-rare, 4 minutes per side for medium, and 5–6 minutes per side for well done. These timings are only a guide, as every fire, grill and steak is slightly different.

Once cooked, rest the steak for at least five minutes before serving. Resting allows the juices to redistribute throughout the meat, producing a more tender, juicy steak. Combined with the intense heat and subtle smoky flavour of premium braai wood, this simple method delivers outstanding results every time.

How to Cook on an Argentinian Asado Fire Cage

An Argentinian Asado fire cage is one of the most versatile ways to cook over live fire. With adjustable grills, a rotisserie, meat hooks and an ember-making fire basket, it allows you to cook different foods at different temperatures, all at the same time. Whether you're preparing steak, chicken, venison or wood-fired vegetables, the key is learning to manage your fire rather than simply cooking over flames.

Start by building two separate fires using dense hardwood such as Sekelbos or Kameeldoring (see How to Light a Wood Fire). Allow the logs to burn down into glowing embers before cooking. By moving hot embers where they're needed, you can create high heat for searing steaks while maintaining gentler heat for slower cooks such as rotisserie chicken or larger joints of meat. Adjustable grill heights make it easy to fine-tune the cooking temperature without constantly rebuilding the fire.

Simple preparation often delivers the best results. Steaks need little more than olive oil and seasoning before being seared over hot embers, while chicken, venison and vegetables all benefit from the subtle smoky flavour produced by premium hardwood. Vegetables such as peppers, aubergines, sweetcorn and mushrooms roast beautifully over wood fire, and even fresh pineapple develops an incredible caramelised flavour when cooked over the embers.

The real advantage of an Asado fire cage is its flexibility. By carefully managing the embers and adjusting the cooking height, you can prepare an entire meal over a single wood fire. Whether you're cooking for family and friends or catering for larger groups, an Asado-style grill combines authentic live-fire cooking with outstanding control, making it one of the most rewarding ways to barbecue.

How to Smoke Meat on a BBQ

You don't need an expensive offset smoker to enjoy authentic smoked meat at home. A standard kettle BBQ or any barbecue with a lid can produce excellent results. The key is to cook using indirect heat and quality smoking wood. Start by building a small fire using dense hardwood such as Sekelbos (see How to Light a Wood Fire). Once the wood has burned down into hot embers, move the coals to one side of the barbecue and place the meat on the opposite side so it cooks gently in the circulating heat and smoke.

Prepare your meat with a light coating of olive oil and your favourite seasoning or rub, then allow it to rest while the fire comes up to temperature. Around 10–15 minutes before cooking, soak a handful of whiskey barrel wood chips in water. Scatter the soaked wood chips over the hot embers before closing the lid. The chips will smoulder slowly, producing a clean, aromatic smoke that infuses the meat with subtle oak and whisky notes without overpowering its natural flavour.

For tender cuts such as venison, smoking for around 60–90 minutes is usually enough to develop a rich smoky flavour before finishing over direct heat to create a crisp, caramelised crust. Larger cuts of beef, pork or lamb can be smoked for much longer at lower temperatures. Whatever you're cooking, maintaining a steady temperature and clean smoke will always produce better results than cooking over large flames.

How to Cook a Whole Chicken on a BBQ

Cooking a whole chicken on a BBQ is much easier than most people think. The secret is to use indirect heat, allowing the chicken to roast like it would in an oven while still picking up the delicious flavour of real hardwood smoke. Spatchcock (butterfly) the chicken by removing the backbone with a pair of strong kitchen scissors, then flatten it by pressing firmly on the breastbone. This helps the chicken cook more evenly and reduces the cooking time.

Light your fire using quality hardwood such as Sekelbos (see How to Light a Wood Fire) and allow it to burn down into glowing embers. Arrange the coals on either side of the barbecue, leaving the centre clear. Place a tray of chopped vegetables—such as potatoes, carrots, butternut squash and onions—in the middle, then position the chicken directly above them. As the chicken cooks, the juices drip onto the vegetables, adding incredible flavour while keeping everything moist.

Season the chicken generously with butter and your favourite BBQ seasoning or rub before placing the lid on the barbecue. Cook over medium indirect heat for around 90 minutes, checking every 30 minutes and adding a few small logs (or a little lumpwood charcoal) if the fire begins to fade. The chicken is ready when the thickest part of the breast or thigh reaches an internal temperature of 74°C. During the final 10–15 minutes, add a few soaked whiskey barrel wood chips to the hot embers to give the chicken a subtle smoky oak flavour.

This simple one-pan method produces tender, juicy chicken and beautifully roasted vegetables using just one barbecue. It's an easy, affordable and enjoyable meal that's perfect for feeding the family, impressing your friends and making the most of authentic wood-fired cooking.