Fireplace Crane for Dutch Oven Cooking

What is a fireplace crane? Remember on Little House on the Prairie how they made their coffee in the fireplace? Well a crane is that pivoting arm that is secured to the side of the fireplace which holds utensils over the fire. But beyond simply hanging a kettle to warm water over the fire (which is great for making coffee, hot cocoa or tea in the winter!), you can do a lot of interesting fireplace cooking with a fireplace crane and a dutch oven!

The crane bolts into the side of your fireplace. The arm, which can pivot in and out of the fire, holds anything with a wire handle. An old water kettle with a handle works great to make hot beverages but for cooking food a classic cast iron dutch oven pots with a handle work perfectly.

How do you use it?
Simply hang the dutch oven over the fire and cook in it like you would a pot on your stovetop. Okay, well it gets a little hot in there, so it helps to prepare your pot full of all your fixin's beforehand.

This type of cooking is ideal for hearty soups, stews and braises. Just put your ingredients in the pot, close the lid, hang it on the crane and let the fire do the work! Check periodically to maintain a gentle boil and to test for doneness. When your stew is done, simply pivot the crane out of the fire, lift off your dutch oven (with heavy duty oven mits of course) and serve!

So where do you find a fireplace crane?
Easy, SpitJack.com has 'em! And they aren't that expensive despite being otherwise hard to find! SpitJack is one of the best sources for all your cooking with fire equipment including great accessories for fireplace cooking. Check them out! If you aren't that handy yourself, hire a handyman or fireplace repair person to install the crane which needs to be drilled into the brick on the side of the fireplace.

Want more tips and info about cooking in a dutch oven over a fire pit, campfire, grill or fireplace? Check out my Dutch Oven Cooking page!

Done with the Fireplace Crane Dutch Oven?
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