Building Your Own Barbecue

Building Your Own Bbq

You like Charcoal Barbecues. You like cooking out of doors and also you like the way charcoal-grilled meals taste.

Possibly for you we have a certain DIY, rugged self-reliance feel when it comes to barbecuing: I'm not cooking in a namby-pamby fitted kitchen, I'm cooking in the great outdoors with nothing but a tray of hot coals and a pair of tongs! It's really no great coincidence that individuals who make their own burgers from scratch are more likely to cook these on a bbq compared to a frying pan.

If we stretch this DIY aesthetic just a little, it's no terrific leap to begin fantasising about constructing your own.

Do-it-yourself Gas Barbeque can take many forms.

The most prevalent is probably the three-sided brick structure with supports to hold the actual grill at about waist height (and immediately has become the greates reasons to construct your own, it is custom, tailor-made for your personal use and will not fit other people quite as nicely; that has to give you a buzz, certainly).

An alternative choice may be the brick-lined fire pit; considerably more bending down, which is a pain in the lower back, nonetheless in some way pleasingly primitive.

Last but not least, starting to show up in the UK are Mediterranean-style bbq 'kits' made up of pre-fabricated, shaped concrete, frequently with a chimney and even some with a preparation area as well as sink to one side - now you actually are shifting the kitchen out of doors.

On the other hand, constructing your own BBQ has not got to be a major building project.

You might try a rather more short-term and improvisatory path.

Points to Consider

Regardless of the size of your task, there are two elements that you need to appreciate and take into account when designing and also constructing your own barbie.

1, air delivery. Be it wood, charcoal or anything else, you are establishing an element that has to include burning fuel.

To get a great burn, you require good airflow.

Air is a supply of oxygen and no oxygen equals absolutely no fire.

The air ideally needs to pass through the actual fuel from underneath, so you will need some kind of grill for the briquettes or what ever to sit on and it has to be pretty strong so as not to flex in the heat.

2, various foods want different heats.

The simplest way to adjust the amount of heat the food receives is not to mess about with the flames, it can be easier to raise or lower the food itself.

Which means you need some way of adjusting the height of the grill.

Bricks

The simplest brick barbecue is likewise the most temporary.

Acquire some house bricks, stack them no more than a couple high, put a grill on the top and create a fire beneath.

It may not be pretty, it is not adjustable, it is going to leave a burn mark and regular house bricks probably will not endure repeated exposure to the heat.

But it will perform the job and there is a particular 'roughing-it' feel that is quite nice once in a while.

For a long term brick Charcoal Barbeque, even if you're not a bricklayer, the building work really should not be beyond you.

Especially if you take a little guidance and make it easy for yourself by ordering a brick barbecue kit.

Like this, you know the materials are suitable for the task (heat-resistant!) and it will also at least come with some rudimentary instructions.

Besides, the internet is stuffed with step-by-step guides and videos to help you. if it is your first time with bricks and mortar then take heart from the fact that you are creating a very simple structure - simply three small walls forming an open rectangular shape - and take your time, you want it to be a masterpiece of design and not an eyesore.

Buckets of Fun

For a smaller scale, perhaps travel-sized homemade bbq, acquire a galvanised bucket (with no, a plastic one will not really do).

Punch a few holes completely around, about 2 or 3 inches up from the bottom (a hammer and nail will do or for a tidier job, make use of a drill) which is your airflow sorted out.

Next, make some more holes a couple of inchesl higher up and thread through some heat-resistant steel rods.

Here's your fire rack so the gaps between the rods have to be smaller than the size of the actual fuel (briquettes?).

As for the food, that is going to sit on the surface of the bucket.

Either find a small grill for the position or just put it all on kebab skewers which are longer than the bucket is wide.

It's kind of Heath Robinson, however it is also great fun and so long as you are not attempting to feed too many people, it is perfect for camping out or perhaps picnicking; much better than those one-use foil tray affairs.

On a final note, whatever you build or make, consider where you put it.

For example, overhanging trees are a no-no, as is being too near to wooden garden storage sheds.

This is a particularly important facto for brick and concrete barbecues as they are generally rather difficult to move if you get it incorrect.