Welcome to Cook Like a Pro, in which we ask some of our favorite chefs for their essential techniques, along with advice on fearlessly frying, flipping, seasoning, and more.
Chefs everywhere know it: Fire is where the magic happens. The closer you get food to mankind’s OG kitchen appliance—smoldering wood—the more of that smoky, primal quality it takes on. Lee Desrosiers at Achilles Heel in Brooklyn is expert at this. While other chefs install custom-designed wood ovens, he works with an iron fireplace built nearly a century ago to cook rib eyes, carrots, and more. Turns out, the one tool you need to make a wood-fired meal yourself is right there in your living room.
Watch Desrosiers cook a steak in the fireplace:
Upgrade your fireplace arsenal with a few heavy-duty essentials.
Firewood
Well, obviously. Hardwoods like oak not only lend good flavor but also burn longer and more consistently than soft stuff.
Cast-iron skillets
These burly pans can take the heat, and you won’t worry about charring or scratching them.
Set of fireplace tools
Here’s your opportunity to actually use that little shovel.
Long heatproof tongs
Important for keeping your paws a safe distance from the flame while moving the steak.
Fire-resistant gloves
Splurge on Steiner welding gloves ($22) if you’re nervous.
Metal cooling rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet
We promise it’s a better place to rest hot cast-iron pans than your newly finished hardwood floor.
Instant-read thermometer
If ever there was a justification for the Thermapen (from $80), which reads temperatures in an instant, it’s when you’re reaching into the fireplace to check on a steak.
Two bricks or a heavy-duty Dutch oven
Elevating the pans above the coals allows the food to take on a smoky flavor without burning. Bricks are great for this, but any sturdy overturned pot will work just fine.
To cook the meat and butter without burning them, you need indirect heat. Beside your burning embers [1], set two bricks a foot apart so their longest, skinniest sides are on the hearth [2]. Rest a heatproof wire rack on top [3], then cook steak [4] to desired temp. Rest it off heat.
• If you can’t remember the last time you had your chimney inspected and swept, please do not cook food in it. (Have it cleaned annually.)
• You need a fire extinguisher, period, whether or not you’re planning to cook steak in your fireplace.
• The wood you use should be hard and seasoned. That makes it less likely to throw off sparks.
• Be sure to have sturdy fireplace tools and gloves on hand. Got it? Okay, now go have fun.