Episode 2: Firewood

In Episode 1, I showed you how to build the perfect fire, but you can't build a house without a solid foundation. In the case of fire pits and wood-fired cooking, our foundation is firewood.

Whether you're sitting around your Cauldron having a good time with friends or trying to cook the perfect steak, both are gonna suck unless you're burning seasoned firewood.

Seasoned wood is wood that has dried out enough that the moisture content is 20% or less. If your firewood is unseasoned (green), it's going to have a hard time igniting, produce less heat, and smoke like crazy.

Although I prefer to burn hardwood only in my Cauldron, when it comes to sitting around the fire, free wood is good wood- as long as it's seasoned. When it comes to cooking on your Cauldron, hardwood is essential.

A quick way to tell the difference? If it has needles or stays green year-round, it's probably a softwood. If it has broad leaves that drop in the fall, it's probably a hardwood.

Finding local tree services that sell firewood is one of the best ways to get seasoned wood. Most deliver, and some will even stack it for a little extra. If you're processing your own firewood, splitting it speeds up the drying process dramatically.

When it comes to cooking, not all hardwoods are created equal. Some of my favorites are oak, hickory, pecan, cherry, apple, and maple. They burn clean, produce great coals, and add excellent flavor to food.

And whatever you do, avoid burning treated lumber, painted wood, plywood, or mystery scrap wood around food.

Finally, store your firewood off the ground on a rack where it gets plenty of airflow. Sunlight helps, but airflow is the real key. Good airflow helps the wood dry faster and stay dry, which means cleaner fires, less smoke, and better cooking.

Good fires start long before you strike a match- they start with good firewood.

About Chris Wing (Cast Iron Chris)

After a lifetime of training in martial arts, fighting professionally, and running a gym, I began restoring cast iron professionally in 2019. I started sharing my hobby on social media in 2021, and after finding a lot of success, I closed my gym in 2023 to run “Cast Iron Chris” full-time. Beyond posting videos about “all things cast iron,” I fell in love with wood-fired cooking, with Francis Mallmann as a major inspiration. When I first cooked on a Cowboy Cauldron in 2023, I stopped cooking on anything else. I coined it “The World’s Most Badass Fire Pit” because it’s not only incredibly functional, but also a showstopper- so much so that I created an annual event called the “Cowboy Cook Off,” where everyone comes together to cook over a Cauldron. At the end of the day, it’s not just about cooking- it’s about food, fire, and the people around it.

Episode 2: Firewood

Cowboy Cauldron Co.

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