Fireside • Fire It Up
How to Cook Without Electricity When the Power Goes Out
Storms, ice and wildfire shutoffs can knock the power out for days. Here is how to keep hot meals coming, keep your food safe, and why a wood-fired oven in the backyard is the best kitchen to have when the grid goes dark.
To cook without electricity, move your cooking outdoors to heat that doesn't need the grid: a wood-fired oven like the Armageddon Oven or a Mattone Barile Grande, a charcoal or propane grill, a camp stove, or a Dutch oven over coals. Many gas cooktops can also be lit with a match. Never use a grill, camp stove, charcoal or generator inside your home or garage. They make carbon monoxide, which can kill.
Most kitchens quit the moment the power does. Electric ranges, microwaves and air fryers go dead, and even many gas ovens won't light without electricity. A wood-fired oven doesn't care. Feed it firewood and it grills, smokes, bakes, roasts and boils water for as long as your woodpile lasts. That's why off-grid cooks and homesteaders build one, and why the bigger your woodpile, the better you'll eat.
Cooking Without Power: Quick Answers
- Cook outside. Grills, camp stoves, fire pits, charcoal and generators go outdoors only, away from doors, windows and vents.
- Have lots of firewood. Dry, split, covered hardwood is the fuel that never runs out at the store. Stack more than you think you need.
- The Armageddon Oven is built for this. One wood-fired system grills, smokes, bakes, roasts on a rotisserie and boils water in Dutch ovens.
- The Mattone Barile Grande is the universal oven. Its big opening and large firebrick cooking surface fit pots, pans and full meals, not just pizza.
- A gas cooktop may still work. Many burners light with a match. Gas ovens with electric igniters usually won't.
- Keep the fridge and freezer closed. A closed fridge keeps food cold about 4 hours. A full freezer holds about 48 hours, a half-full one about 24.
- Boil water 1 minute to make it safe to drink when there's a boil-water notice, 3 minutes above 6,500 feet.
Safety First: Carbon Monoxide
Never cook with fuel inside
Charcoal grills, propane grills, camp stoves, kerosene heaters and generators all give off carbon monoxide, a gas you can't see or smell. Every winter storm sends people to the hospital because they brought a grill into the kitchen or ran a generator in the garage. Use them outdoors only, well away from doors, windows and vents, and never in a garage, carport, tent or enclosed porch, even with the door open.
- Put battery-powered or battery-backup carbon monoxide alarms on every level of your home and near bedrooms. Plug-in alarms without a battery go dark with the power.
- Know the signs: headache, dizziness, nausea, weakness and confusion. If anyone feels sick, get everyone into fresh air right away and call 911.
- Don't heat your home with a gas oven or cooktop. They're made for cooking, not heating a house.
- Keep a fire extinguisher near any outdoor cooking area, and keep kids and pets back from hot ovens and grills.
7 Ways to Cook Without Power
| Method | Fuel | Best for | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Armageddon Oven | Firewood | Grilling, smoking, baking, rotisserie, boiling and frying, all from one wood fire | Outdoors |
| Wood-fired brick oven like the Mattone Barile Grande | Firewood | Baking, roasting, Dutch oven meals, boiling water, all day from one fire | Outdoors |
| Charcoal grill | Charcoal | Grilling, a Dutch oven or pot on the grate | Outdoors only |
| Propane grill | Propane tank | Grilling, boiling water on a side burner | Outdoors only |
| Camp stove | Propane or butane canisters | Coffee, eggs, soup, boiling water | Outdoors only |
| Fire pit with a grate | Firewood | Grilling, Dutch oven cooking, foil packets | Outdoors |
| Gas cooktop | Natural gas or propane | Stovetop cooking, if the burners light with a match | Indoors, cooktop only |
Can you use a gas stove when the power is out?
Often, yes. Many gas cooktops have electric igniters but still let gas flow, so you can light a burner with a long match or a lighter. Check your stove's manual first. Most gas ovens are a different story: they use an electric igniter that has to glow before the gas valve opens, so they won't work at all without power. Never use a gas oven or burners to heat your home.
Grills, camp stoves and fire pits
A grill or camp stove is handy for a quick pot of coffee, but it runs on fuel you have to buy, store and eventually run out of. When the roads close, nobody is refilling propane tanks. A fire pit with a grill grate runs on firewood, but it cooks one pan at a time. For days or weeks without power, you want a wood-fired cooker built to do it all.
The Best Ovens for Off-Grid Cooking and Homesteading
The Armageddon Oven: an off-grid kitchen in one build
The Armageddon Oven was designed for exactly this: cooking for your family with no gas, no electricity and no pellets, for as long as you need to. You build it from masonry materials you can buy locally, and it's fitted with heavy-duty, American-made 304 stainless steel parts. Then it runs on nothing but firewood.
One build gives you eight ways to cook, all on firewood:
Meat SmokerA high-capacity 8 cubic foot smoker for bold, wood-fired flavor, and a way to make meat keep longer.
Wood Fire BBQ / GrillHeavy-duty and powered by natural firewood. Built tough enough to feed one, or an army.
Insulated Baking OvenWood-fired flavor and serious heat retention for bread, casseroles and all-day baking.
Electric & Manual RotisserieAn all-stainless rotisserie. Crank it by hand when the power is out.
Pig RoasterHeavy-duty stainless components for whole pigs and big cuts of meat.
Uruguayan GrillAngle adjustments put the heat exactly where you need it, all on firewood.
Boil & FryHangs cast iron Dutch ovens over the fire at adjustable heights to boil water, simmer and fry.
Griddles and GrillsForged from ¼" thick 304 stainless steel. Versatile, rugged and virtually indestructible.
It's the most complete off-grid cooking setup we make, and it's built to outlast storms, seasons and generations. See the Armageddon Oven and get its free plans.
The Mattone Barile Grande: the universal oven
If you want one oven that handles everything, build the Mattone Barile Grande, our best seller. Its large arched opening (the Grande door is 19.25" tall and 27.5" wide) and its 24" × 41.5" firebrick cooking surface fit big roasting pans, several Dutch ovens, a stockpot and a full bake of bread at the same time. The 18.5" ceiling leaves room for tall pots and whole turkeys. The firebrick barrel soaks up heat from one fire and cooks for hours after, and it feeds 1 to 20 people.
Thinking off-grid or homesteading? Go big. The Mattone Barile, Cortile Barile and 28" Mattone Cupola are great pizza ovens, but they're built for pizza night, not for feeding a household day after day. The Armageddon Oven and the Mattone Barile Grande are the ovens for that mindset. Build them both and you can grill, smoke, bake and roast at the same time.
Whichever you build, insulation decides how long it holds heat. Wrap the oven in a thick layer of ceramic fiber blanket and close it up with a fitted door. A well-insulated Grande can still be warm the next morning.
Have Lots of Firewood
A wood-fired oven is only as good as the woodpile next to it. Propane, charcoal and camp stove canisters run out, and you can't restock them when the roads are closed. Firewood you stacked last summer is still there. So have lots of firewood, more than you think you need.
- Stack a season ahead. Firewood needs 6 to 12 months to dry. Buy or cut this year's wood for next year.
- Keep it dry. Stack it off the ground on pallets or rails, cover the top and leave the sides open to the air. Wet wood smokes, sputters and won't heat an oven.
- Burn hardwood. Oak, maple, ash, hickory and fruitwoods burn hot and clean. See the best wood for a pizza oven.
- Keep a spare axe and a sharpener. Lose or break your only axe and fueling your oven gets hard fast. Keep a spare axe or splitting maul, a hatchet for kindling, and an axe file or sharpening puck to keep the edges keen.
- Keep kindling and small splits in a dry spot close to the oven, plus matches and lighters in a sealed container.
- Know where to get more. Find firewood near you before you need it.
How much? It depends on how often you cook, but a cord stacked by the oven is a good start for a household that wants to ride out a long outage. If you're homesteading, plan on more.
A Day of Meals With No Power
Here's how a single day of wood fire can feed a family through an outage. With an Armageddon Oven and a Grande side by side, you can run more than one of these at a time.
| Time | The fire | What's cooking |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Small fire building up | Coffee water in a Dutch oven, eggs and bacon on the griddle or in a skillet at the mouth of the oven |
| Midday | Fire at its peak | Burgers, hot dogs and steaks on the grill, or pizza and flatbreads in the Grande |
| Afternoon | Coals raked out of the Grande, door closed | Bread at 450 to 500°F, a brisket or pork shoulder in the smoker |
| Dinner | Falling heat, 300 to 375°F | A roast, rotisserie chickens, or chili and stew in a Dutch oven |
| Overnight | Door closed, slow heat | Beans, oatmeal for breakfast, and a pot of water staying warm for washing |
Cook the food that spoils first. Thawing meat from the freezer is perfect for the smoker, the rotisserie or a pot roast. Got the heat but not the plan? Here's how to bake wood-fired bread in the falling heat.
Boiling Water Without Power
If your water system loses power, your town may issue a boil-water notice. To make water safe to drink, bring it to a full rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes if you live above 6,500 feet, then let it cool. Water that looks cloudy should be strained through a clean cloth or coffee filter first.
The Armageddon Oven's boil and fry system hangs a big Dutch oven right over the fire, and a stockpot set beside the fire in a Grande does the same job. Keep the lid on so it boils faster and uses less wood. Store boiled water in clean, covered containers.
Plan ahead, too. The usual advice is to keep at least 1 gallon of water per person per day for drinking and cooking, for several days, plus extra for pets.
Keeping Food Safe When the Power Is Out
- Keep the doors closed. A closed refrigerator keeps food cold for about 4 hours. A full freezer holds its temperature for about 48 hours, a half-full one for about 24.
- Use a thermometer. Keep an appliance thermometer in the fridge and freezer. Food in the fridge should stay at 40°F or below.
- Eat in order: fresh food from the fridge first, then thawing food from the freezer, then the pantry.
- Cook it or toss it. Throw out meat, poultry, seafood, milk, eggs and leftovers that sat above 40°F for more than 2 hours. Food that still has ice crystals or is at 40°F or below can be cooked or refrozen.
- When in doubt, throw it out. Never taste food to decide if it's safe.
- Cook meat all the way through. Use an instant-read thermometer. Ground meat to 160°F, chicken and turkey to 165°F.
What to Keep on Hand
- Lots of dry, seasoned firewood, split, stacked off the ground and covered.
- Kindling, matches and two lighters, kept dry in a sealed container.
- A spare axe and an axe sharpener. Your axe is how you fuel the oven. Keep a second axe or splitting maul, a hatchet, and an axe file or sharpening puck.
- Cast iron: a skillet and two Dutch ovens with lids. They work in the oven, on the Armageddon Oven's boil and fry arm, on a grill and over a fire pit.
- Long tongs, a pizza peel and a metal ash bucket with a lid.
- Thermometers: an infrared thermometer for the oven, an instant-read for meat, and an appliance thermometer for the fridge.
- A manual can opener, heavy-duty foil and a big pot for boiling water.
- Water: at least 1 gallon per person per day for several days.
- Shelf-stable food that cooks easily: rice, beans, pasta, oats, flour, canned meats and vegetables.
- Battery-powered carbon monoxide alarms, headlamps and spare batteries.
Outage Cooking Mistakes
- Cooking with fuel indoors. No grill, camp stove, charcoal or generator inside the house or garage, ever.
- Running low on firewood. The woodpile always shrinks faster than you think. Stack more.
- One dull axe. If your only axe breaks or goes missing, you can't split wood. Keep a spare and keep both sharp.
- Wet firewood. Green or rain-soaked wood smokes, sputters and won't heat the oven. Keep it dry and covered.
- Waiting for the storm to stock up. Firewood, water and propane disappear fast once a storm is in the forecast.
- Opening the fridge and freezer over and over. Every peek lets the cold out. Plan what you need, grab it and close the door.
- Building too small. A small pizza oven is great for pizza night, but it won't feed a household for a week. Build an Armageddon Oven or a Grande.
- Firing a brand-new oven too hard. A new oven needs its 6-day curing schedule first. A big fire in a wet, uncured oven can crack it.
- Forgetting the coals. Hot ashes stay hot for days. Dump them into a metal bucket with a lid, away from the house and anything that burns.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you cook without electricity?
Cook outdoors on heat that doesn't need the grid: a wood-fired oven like the Armageddon Oven or a Mattone Barile Grande, a charcoal or propane grill, a camp stove, or a Dutch oven over coals. Many gas cooktops can also be lit with a match. Never use grills, camp stoves or charcoal indoors.
What is the best outdoor oven for off-grid cooking?
The Armageddon Oven. It's a grill, 8 cubic foot smoker, insulated baking oven, rotisserie, pig roaster and boil and fry system in one, and it runs on nothing but firewood. For a universal wood-fired oven with a big opening and lots of cooking space, build a Mattone Barile Grande.
Can you use a gas stove when the power is out?
Often. Many gas cooktop burners can be lit with a long match or lighter even when the electric igniter is dead. Check your manual. Most gas ovens won't work without power, because their electric igniter has to heat up before the gas valve opens.
Is it safe to use a grill or camp stove inside during a power outage?
No. Grills, camp stoves, charcoal and generators make carbon monoxide, a gas you can't see or smell that can kill. Use them outdoors only, away from doors, windows and vents, and never in a garage or enclosed porch.
How long does food last in the fridge without power?
About 4 hours if the door stays closed. A full freezer keeps food frozen for about 48 hours, and a half-full freezer about 24. Throw out perishable food that sat above 40°F for more than 2 hours.
How do you boil water without electricity?
Hang a Dutch oven over the fire on an Armageddon Oven's boil and fry system, set a stockpot beside the fire in a wood-fired oven, or use a grill side burner or camp stove outdoors. To make water safe to drink, keep it at a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet.
How much firewood do I need for a power outage?
More than you think. A cord of dry, split hardwood stacked and covered by the oven is a good start for a household that wants to ride out a long outage, and homesteaders should plan on more.
What can you cook in a wood-fired oven during a power outage?
Almost anything: pizza and flatbreads, bread, eggs and bacon in a skillet, roasts and whole chickens, smoked meats, stews, chili and beans in a Dutch oven, roasted vegetables, and pots of hot water.
Build a Backyard Kitchen That Never Needs the Grid
Our free plans show you how to build a wood-fired oven that grills, bakes, roasts and boils water on nothing but firewood, with a complete materials list and step-by-step instructions. Price your whole build locally before you buy a thing.
- Plans for every BrickWood oven and its base
- Complete materials and tools lists
- Emailed to you as PDFs, ready to print
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Building for off-grid living? See the Armageddon Oven →
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This guide is general information. Follow your local emergency management, health department and fire officials during an outage, and follow the manufacturer's directions for any grill, stove or generator. Food safety figures follow U.S. government guidelines.
