Wood was always the fuel...There's something magical about food cooked over/with hardwoods reduced to coals and embers...Nothing compares to it!!! Foods take on a character/flavor all their own that really can't be duplicated ~~ Good quality hardwood lump charcoal burned down runs a close second...but no cigar!
truer words were never spoken, unka bob.
those steaks are beautiful to behold. and boy, i wish i was holding one now.
i remember one canoeing trip where i brought a couple of marinated london broils to make over the campfire. i took out my little pack grill, folded out the legs, and placed it just off the side of the burning split logs.
unfortunately, i forgot to bring plates, so we improvised and used pieces of the cardboard that the beer came in.
after it was all gone, one of the guys still wanted more. so in the dark of the night, he started cutting into a piece of the corrugated cardboard that i used to slice up the meat and ate a few chunks. it had swollen with the juices from the meat, so unable to see well he thought there still was some meat left.
he commented that while it was still tasty, that last piece of meat was kinda tough and chewy.
so you are quite right about cooking over a split hardwood fire. i've only gotten "that" flavour by that method, and it can't be beat.