Cooking in the Wind

By Keith Fisher

I’ve been nursing a cold and forgot it was Friday, so I’m a bit late posting. I got a little sleep and dreamed I was cooking in Dutch ovens. It was summer and we were having a heat wave. The charcoal was so hot I wondered if I would sweat to death.

Then I woke up and looked out the window. Snow was piled up on the swamp cooler and icicles were hanging off the roof what a refreshing change. I was reminded of a cook off held on the fourth of July.

I love living in a place that has dramatic changing seasons.

Heres a Dutch oven tip for today:

If while you are cooking there is a serious wind to deal with, there are many options available.

The table, windscreen . . . many commercial tables come with a three-sided windscreen. They have tabs that fit over the lip on the table they block most of the wind.

For those who don’t have a commercial table, you can use a piece of aluminum roof flashing. Just wrap it around the pot, clamp it to itself with a paper clip.


I saw a cute idea of taking old license plates, stand them on end, connect them with wire and stand them up in a circle around the pot.


You can also close your cooking space in. A word of warning, however, charcoal fumes can kill you. Ventilation is important and the heat will melt a tarp.


Whatever method you use, you might still need to adjust your heat, there are a few tricks that with a little practice will help you. Pile extra coals on the windward side of the lid and under the pot. The wind will carry the heat over the oven. Whatever you do, remember it should be fun.



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