Build a Barbecue
Posted by ReadyMade
by Simon Martinez; Photos by Greg Scheidemann
Simon Martinez was tired of singeing his fingers whenever he cooked in his backyard fire ring, so he set his mind to building something better. Martinez, a landscape architect and an avid camper, zeroed in on the idea of using gabions--wire cages filled with rocks used by highway construction crews to reinforce embankments. Built-to-order gabions were too expensive, so he used stock panel (a type of farmyard fencing found at building supply and feed stores) and piles of rocks excavated years ago from the property around his upstate New York cabin.
Note: You will be making a total of 3 boxes or cages: a large base and two smaller boxes or flanks that sit atop the base. Each of the cages are assembled with wire, filled with rocks, and closed with the top piece of stock panel. It’s very important to build the barbecue exactly where you want it as the base and flanks will be very heavy when completed and moving them will most likely damage the stock panel. If you must move it, remove the top panel and all of the rocks before doing so.
Skill Level
Hard
Active Time
Weekend
Cost
$$$
- 2 combination or multi-type stock panels (aka Cattle Fence Panel) 16 feetx50 inches (They are big, so bring a hacksaw or bolt cutter to the store, or ask the store for help cutting them in half or in thirds to make transport easier.)
- One roll of 13 or 15 gauge galvanized steel wire
- 200-300 medium- and small-size rocks, preferably flat
- 12×24-inch galvanized steel expanded grate (available at hardware stores)
- 28-inch-long piece of ¼-inch galvanized steel wire rod
Materials
- Hacksaw
Tools
To make the base, use a hacksaw to cut the following dimensions of stock panel: top and bottom pieces to 48×41 inches; left and right sides to 41×16 inches; front and back sides to 48×16 inches.
Create your box by connecting the side panels and the bottom panel by tightly wrapping a few inches of galvanized steel wire around the rods.
Once the box is made, fill it with medium-size mostly flat rocks. Fill in the smaller spaces with smaller rocks as you go. Attach the top panel with the wire.
To make the flanks, use a hacksaw to cut the following dimensions of stock panel: top and bottom pieces to 12×41 inches; front and back to 12×18 inches; outer and inner sides to 41×18 inches. (The inner sides face the cooking fire and they must be identical so your grill surface sits level. Cut the panel for these sides so you can take advantage of the cross wires at 6 inches and 12 inches above the base, which are your choices for how high you will rest the rods that hold the grill above the coals.)
Create your box by connecting the side panels and the bottom panel by tightly wrapping a few inches of galvanized steel wire around the rods.
Place the empty cage on top of the base. Line up the sides of the flank exactly with the outer edge of the base. Connect the bottom of the flank to the top of the base by tightly wrapping a few inches of galvanized steel wire around the rods.
Fill the flank with medium-size (mostly flat) rocks. Fill in smaller spaces with smaller rocks. Attach the top panel with the wire.
Repeat the whole process to make the second flank.
To make the cooking grill, attach the two steel rods to the 24-inch-long sides of the steel expanded grate.
Insert the metal grate between the two flanks by holding the grate on a slight diagonal and slide in the rods on one side so they rest on the perpendicular rods of the stock panel. Lower the other side and rest the opposite end of rods in the other flank.
Tips for Use:
Remove the grill to make a fire using paper, twigs, and split logs or charcoal briquettes. When the fire burns down to hot coals, insert the grill either 6 or 12 inches above the heat depending on what’s cooking.
The lower rocks in the flanks closest to the fire may heat up, so avoid touching them with bare hands.
Over time, the ash will settle between the cracks and on the rocks creating a hard-packed surface. You can hose the grill down every so often if you want or just let it be washed by the rain.
Variations:
Make it mini by cutting all of the measurements in half.
Skip the side flanks: after assembling the center block, place two stacks of four bricks each on either side of the fire to support your cooking grate.
Use bricks (new or found) in place of the rocks.
