A gas fire pit is a great way to stay warm when you’re outdoors on a cold winter’s day, and it helps to add a rustic flair to your outdoor spaces. Because these fire pits generally don’t release smoke, they’re also preferred over wooden fires. But does their versatility stretch to using them for cooking?
You can cook on a gas fire pit. That said, not all fire pits are designed for cooking, so you should follow the manufacturer’s instructions. You can use most pits for simple cooking tasks such as toasting marshmallows – however, it’s a different matter when cooking meat.
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If you’re wondering how to determine if your gas fire pit is right to cook with, you’re in the right place. This article will give you the answers to any questions you may have about cooking with gas fire pits and help you make the most out of your new gadget.
How To Determine if You Can Cook on a Gas Fire Pit
Before you break open your packet of marshmallows, there are a few considerations you should be aware of when it comes to cooking on a gas fire pit.
Most gas fire pits use propane, butane, or natural gas. If your fire pit uses this type of fuel, it’s safe for cooking and will not emit off any harmful fumes or chemicals that can affect your food. If your gas fire pit uses a different fuel source, you’ll need to check before cooking on it.
Aside from the fuel, you should also consider the decorative elements of your fire pit.
Most modern fire pits include features such as lava rocks and fake wood. While these make your gas fire pit more attractive, they also make it unsuitable for cooking.
This is because food juices and grease can drip into the crevices between these rocks and create a mess. They may also drip into and clog your burners, which would need to be cleaned before you can continue to use your fire pit.
What To Cook on Decorative Fire Pits
If you have a decorative fire pit like the ones described above, you should avoid making most meals. This also includes using your fire pit as a grill – as with cooking steak and other meats, there’s a risk of juices dripping through the grill grates and creating a greasy mess among your rocks.
However, you can cook simple food items like marshmallows. These aren’t as messy as meats, and most people tend to pull their marshmallows out of the fire before they melt and create a gooey mess.
So, if you’re planning a family night with your loved ones, don’t think twice about tearing open the marshmallows and pulling out the graham crackers and chocolate to create the perfect s’mores.
With a bit of creativity, you can also use your gas fire pit for pot and pan cooking. Unlike cooking meat directly in the fire, or using gas grills, cooking in pots and pans reduces the risk of juices and food grease clogging your fire pit. You can use the heat from the fire in the fire pit to cook your meal, and this is a good way to make soups, stews, and even eggs in a pan!
That said, this depends on how hot the fire in your gas pit gets. Not all gas pits get hot enough for the heat to penetrate your cookware, and you may find yourself waiting for hours without making any progress on your meal.
You can also wrap your meat or vegetables in aluminum foil and roast them over a grill. While there’s still the risk of juices leaking into the lava rocks below, it’s lower than if you had directly placed the food items over the grill.
For a better idea of how to use a grill top to cook with a gas fire pit, check out this video from Eric’s Camping Adventures. In this, they use a propane fire pit for cooking while staying at a campground:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U86tiOUZO40
How To Use a Gas Fire Pit To Cook
If, after reading the previous section, you still want to cook over a gas fire pit, there are some safety precautions you should keep in mind:
- Monitor your food, and check if anything is leaking onto the lava rocks below.
- Cook in an ovenproof dish to reduce the mess.
- Clean your gas fire pit between uses.
That said, occasionally, you may have no choice but to use your gas fire pit for cooking. For example, if you can’t find dry wood when you’re camping, a gas fire pit is the best alternative. However, to ensure you can use it effectively for a long time, it’s always best to be careful when cooking with a gas fire pit.
How To Make S’mores Over a Gas Fire Pit
As mentioned above, s’mores are the perfect meal to cook over a gas fire pit. They shouldn’t get anything messy, and the clean-up will be minimal.
However, if you’ve never made s’mores before, you may wonder how to go about it. You will first need to toast the marshmallow – and here’s what you should do:
- Place a fresh marshmallow on one end of a metal roasting stick. Don’t add additional marshmallows, as they will not melt at the same time or the same speed.
- Find a place on your gas fire pit where the flame isn’t too high.
- Place your marshmallow right over the tip of the flame. However, don’t let it make contact with the flame – this will cause your marshmallow to burn before you realize it.
- Gently rotate the marshmallow to prevent one side from over-roasting and the other from remaining raw.
- If you don’t think the marshmallow is roasting fast enough, you can dip it into the flames. However, don’t allow it to stay inside for more than 2-3 seconds at a time.
- Once the marshmallow is evenly golden-brown, you can pull it away from the flame. It should also have started to sag around the skewer – but just a little. If it’s sagging too much, it’s a sign that it has melted.
- Blow on your gooey treat to help it cool down just a little. Your marshmallow is now ready to add to your s’mores.
To use your marshmallows to create the perfect s’mores, you should:
- Take a graham cracker and place a piece of chocolate on it.
- Slide your still-hot marshmallow off the metal skewer and onto the piece of chocolate
- Cover the marshmallow with another graham cracker. Press down slightly so that the chocolate melts from the heat of the marshmallow.
- Eat it and enjoy!
For a more chocolatey variation, you can also spread Nutella Chocolate Hazelnut Spread (available on Amazon.com) over each graham cracker half before following the method described above. For other twists to the traditional s’more, try changing the chocolate (use dark chocolate or flavored chocolate instead of milk chocolate) or try a different cracker (such as vanilla wafers, chocolate graham crackers, or digestives).
How To Make Hotdogs Over a Gas Fire Pit
Aside from marshmallows, hotdogs are perhaps the best food to grill over a gas fire pit. You won’t have to worry about messy lava rocks and clogged burners if they are cooked correctly.
Before assembling your hot dog, you’ll first need to roast the wieners over your gas fire pit. Here’s what you should do:
- Use either hot dog wieners or cocktail wieners to make your hot dogs.
- Slip one hot dog wiener onto the roasting stick. A double-pronged marshmallow roasting stick is best, as it can hold the frank firmly in place. I recommend the Begatter Marshmallow Roasting Sticks from Amazon.com – they’re affordable, come in a four-pack, and have a carry case included.
- Place the frank over the fire. Don’t put it into the fire, as it will heat up too quickly.
- Rotate the hot dogs as they cook. Keeping it in one position increases the risk of the hot dog burning or bursting open.
- Hot dog wieners come mostly pre-cooked, so they won’t take long to be ready. Once they turn brown and their skin starts bubbling, they’re ready to eat.
As you may have noticed, roasting hot dogs over your gas fire pit does have the potential to create a mess. If the wieners aren’t monitored, they can burst and get juice all over your lava rocks. However, if you’re confident in your hot dog roasting skills and can keep a careful eye on them while they cook, they shouldn’t create too much of a mess.
Once your hot dog wieners are ready, it’s time to pull them away from the fire. Then, slide each out into a hot dog bun, top with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
How To Clean Your Gas Fire Pit
As mentioned above, there are occasions when you may have no choice but to use your gas fire pit for cooking. If so, you should clean it as soon as you’ve finished using it.
If lava rocks are allowed to retain moisture, they can explode the next time you turn on your gas fire pit. Clogged burners can reduce the heat from the fire. They also affect how efficiently the fuel in your gas fire pit is burned – and when natural gas and propane aren’t burned efficiently, there’s a risk that they might create carbon monoxide as a by-product.
Here’s how you can clean your lava rocks:
- Turn over the lava rocks until the greasy side is facing down.
- Cover the rocks with aluminum foil
- Turn on your fire pit. The heat from the fire pit will burn off the grease on the lava rocks, and the aluminum foil will ensure the heat is directed inwards into the lava rocks rather than escaping into the atmosphere. If you notice your fire pit starting to smoke, don’t worry – this is just a sign that the grease is burning off from the lava rocks.
- Leave the fire pit on for 30 minutes. However, if the lava rocks stop releasing smoke earlier, you can turn off your pit before the 30 minutes is up.
- Wait until the fire pit cools down completely.
- Take off the foil and check if all the grease has burned up. If not, repeat steps 2 through 5 until your lava rocks are clean.
- Once your lava rocks are completely clean, you can remove the aluminum foil. Your rocks and gas fire pit are ready for use once more!
If you notice your lava rocks look like they’re falling apart, it’s a sign that they need to be replaced. Some fire pit manufacturers sell refillable lava rocks. Alternatively, I recommend using the American Fireglass Medium Lava Rocks from Amazon.com. They are available in two different sizes and work well with both propane and natural gas fire pits.
The method for cleaning clogged burners will depend on the model of gas fire pit you have. Some gas fire pits burn tubes and flex hoses rather than burner ports.
However, no matter which model you have, you should always make sure you have turned off and removed the fuel source before attempting to work on your fire pit’s burners. You will also need to remove the filler material (such as lava rocks or fake logs), so you should have a place to store them.
If your burners are stubbornly clogged and will not get clean no matter which method you try, it’s a sign that it’s time to contact a professional for help.
Final Thoughts
You can use your gas fire pit for cooking, but you shouldn’t use it for anything more than roasting marshmallows and perhaps hot dog franks, unless you have no other option. If you try to use your gas fire pit for cooking different foods such as meats, you risk juices and grease creating a mess in the lava rocks and even clogging your burners.
If you’re unsure whether you can use your gas fire pit for cooking, check the manufacturer’s instructions.
Sources
- Dinner then Dessert: How to make S’Mores (4 Ways!)
- Food: Nutella S’mores
- Wikipedia: Digestive biscuit
- Kauffman Gas: 7 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Propane Gas to Cook, Indoors and Out
- Eat This, Not That: 16 Best Hot Dog Toppings
- Barbeqa: How To Roast Hot Dogs On A Campfire?
- Food for Thought: How to Perfectly Roast a Frank on a Campfire
- HomeSteady: How to Clean Gas Grill Briquettes
- My Backyard Life: How to Clean Lava Rocks in Your Fire Pit or Grill
- DiSanto Propane: Foods to Roast Over Your Propane Fire Pit
- Celestial Fire Glass: Can I Roast Marshmallows on a Gas Fire Pit?
- Backyard Toasty: Can You Roast Marshmallows on a Propane Fire Pit?
- Firepit: Can I Cook Food on a Gas Fire Pit?
- Outdoor Barren: Is It Safe to Cook Over a Gas Fire Pit?
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