How to Make a Camp Fire Grill - Zero Cost

Hello Instructablers.

One of Life's greatest pleasures is to prepare food on an open fire in the Great Outdoors. One of the simplest, yet most satisfying meals to cook on a camp fire is the humble grilled sausage or chop. There are hundreds of ways to cook sausages on a fire, but my favourite is the simple camp fire grill that I will share with you today.

The grill is made up of two grill panels that are connected by a hinge. The meat is positioned on one panel and then the other panel closes like a book, clamping the meat in position. This allows you to turn the meat and make any heat adjustments by simply rotating or moving the entire grill rather than each individual piece of meat. It also helps stop sausages from escaping into the fire.

This is not my invention; you can purchase one from a camping store easily enough, but being a typical Instructabler I prefer to make things rather than buy them. And if the materials are free then that's better still.

In this Instructable I have chosen to keep it as simple as possible so it can be followed without the need for welding or expensive equipment. Of course this design can be adapted to be as fancy as you wish; just imagine what would be possible with one of those DIWire Machines and a spot welder.

Step 1: What You'll Need

As with most of my I'bles, the requirements are flexible and dictated by what materials are available.

Probably the most important item is a decent pair of pliers. I also used a pair of nips as you will see in the pictures.

Next you need to find two similar sized panels to act is the grills. I found some racks from inside a discarded oven. To save yourself from the need to resize the panels try to choose panels that are an appropriate size for your needs.

Wire for tying it all together. I found some old fencing wire, but decided not to use it. I dismantled another oven rack for the wire. I just broke the welds that held the rack together and ground off the burrs (fencing wire would have been much easier as it turned out).

Heavy wire or rod for handles. I used the frame from the oven rack that I took the wire from.

Step 2: Make Your Handles

The handles have two functions. They are for picking up and turning the grill, and they form the locking arrangement that holds the grill closed and clamps the sausages in position.

Ideally the handle will be at least 400mm long and about 50mm wide, and sturdy enough to rotate the whole grill while laden with sausages.

Bend the rod as shown in the picture.

Tie the handles securely into position. This can be quite tricky. See the pictures for the technique I used - I preformed the ties so they would fit tightly in position before completing the tying.

Step 3: Join the Panels and Create the Lock

With loose wire rings join the two panels together at the edge opposite the handles. This forms the hinge that allows you to open and close the grill. Four rings should be sufficient.

The lock is a simple wire loop that holds the handles together. With the grill in the closed position wrap some reasonably heavy wire around the handles and twist the ends together. Cut off any excess.

At this point it might be a good idea to check the whole unit for sharp bits of wire the could scratch you. Cut them off or turn them in as necessary.

Your grill is now complete. Lets get cooking.

Step 4: Cooking

There's nothing nicer than sitting around a camp fire. And it's especially nice if you're using the fire to cook your meal.

Ideally you will be in the wilderness, but for the pictures I was using a fire pit in my back yard. If you like fire pits you can see my instructables for them here and also here.

To use this grill you will need to let the fire burn down to glowing coals with as little flame as you can manage. While the fire is burning down I like to heat up the grill to burn off any dirt that might have accumulated on it.

When you have some nice coals going, arrange them so they will provide even heat to the grill. Get some logs or rocks to support the grill over the coals. Make sure it isn't too close or the food will burn. I find that about 200-300mm is fine.

Give the grill a brush down to remove soot or dust, and open it up. Arrange the sausages on one side, and then close the other side over them and lock the handles together.

Place the grill over the fire and watch it cook. When one side is done turn the whole lot over. You might need to fine tune the position of the grill, or rearrange the coals to get the right heat. That's all part of the fun.

When the meat is cooked, simply open the grill and remove the sausages. They will be hot and they sometimes stick so tongs might come in handy.

I hope you have enjoyed my Instructable. Please feel free to post comments and questions.

And I have entered this in contests so please consider voting if you think I deserve it.