Is it doable to cook over the flame of a cooking gas stove at home. Is it dangerous? Couldn't it be even better as an open fire over coal or wood, since gas is cleaner?
Cooking over an open flame at home
fire
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In Spain, the traditional way is using something like this:
Or a pan with holes. The big day to do it is called Magosto and it's celebrated on 11/11, but it varies from town to town. It's one of the closest things to a barbecue, you first roast chorizos, then you roast chestnuts.
If you don't have access to those tools, your best option is to put them close to the fire. Make a small cut in almost each chestnut (to release moisture). The ones without the cut will pop and tell you when they start to be done. Start checking for doneness at that point.
Maybe you already knew about the cut, but I know some people don't roast at home because they don't know it can be done in a regular oven if the cuts are in place to avoid the chestnuts popping wildly.
As long as you have a dutch oven and are planning on using it, look for camping recipes for dutch ovens. Usually when camping the suggestion is to put a certain number of coals under the dutch oven and a certain number on top to basically simulate oven-like conditions. You can make warm breakfasts and warm dinners this way. You can even bake bread and other baked goods in a dutch oven (Irish soda bread works very well in one).
Other options for cooking in the fire include wrapping food in foil packets. For example you can wrap up salmon with seasonings or a packet of beef and vegetables. Foil packet dinners will be quicker and easier than most dutch oven dinners but the heat control is not as precise.
Another option if you want to invest in some gear is to get a pie iron. A pie iron is basically two sandwich bread shaped pans that clamp together. You can get one in cast iron, which will hold up longest. Using a pie iron you can make cake, cornbread, and all sorts of warm things sandwiched between toast.
Finally if you have some sort of grate that goes over your fire you can also attempt foods similar to grilling.
With your existing tools you can make some fine meals. With a few more purchases you can make enough food variety to keep you happy for an entire winter of power outages - on the dinner front at least.
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Best Answer
It is similar to cooking over a propane grill. Gas grills often have stone or ceramic bricks in them to help retain heat, but it is the burning gas that provides it. Cooking over a gas stove should be similar.
That said, I wouldn't grill meat or fish directly over the flame; it may work, but the cleanup may not be worth it. If you want to char a pepper or some bread and get the 'grill' feel, that should work fine. I see chefs do it all the time on TV, and it looks easy enough and doesn't make a mess.