Metal grill alternatives

[dwardo]

I have been doing all my cooking over the past few years on an open fire and its wonderful. The thing i dont like is i keep copping out and using a small metal grill i once found in the peak district.
The fire i can obviously take with me easily but i would like to loose this grill but im lost for alternatives.

I have not tried to many natural alternatives as i didnt want to ruin what food i take with me or i could end up hungry for a few days

So the aim of this thread is what techniques/alternatives are there to metal grills ?



(food usually meats, breads etc)

 

[Silverback]

I have one of these and it is brill. Not cheap but very well engineered and highly portable. Check out the Carabiner mug as well

 

[Hellz]

I have one of these and it is brill. Not cheap but very well engineered and highly portable.

I've had my eye on these for a while now. How sturdy are they? Would they cope with the weight of a cast iron pot?

I'm tempted...

Patrick

 

[dwardo]

They do look cool but i was after a more bushcrafty jobby

 

[Silverback]

I've had my eye on these for a while now. How sturdy are they? Would they cope with the weight of a cast iron pot?

I'm tempted...

Patrick

I would say not - they are only rated to take 560g of food which is basically a pack of sausages and a few rashers

They do look cool but i was after a more bushcrafty jobby

Apart from the usual green stick spit held up with two forked sticks it is gonna be tricky manufacturing a grill out of locally available natural materials that wont burn through before your grub is cooked however never say never I am sure with the wealth of knowlege on this forum someone will come forward with a solution

 

[Richardpotts]

An alternative 'grill' has to be the hot rock option - find one or a few non-porous (ie granite much better than limestone) and dry rocks, lob them on the fire (if they're seriously wet - such as having been submerged in a lake they'll explode...) let them get scortching hot and voila! you have a grill plate :-D

 

[Silverback]

Did think about the hot rocks option however I almost exclusively camp in the Chilterns which is famous for its Buck's Diamonds or Flints as they are commonly known. Toss one or two of those babies into the fire and let the dancing begin . However if you have a favourite spot or several favourite spots it might be worth enduring the pain of lugging a few rocks/stones as recommended by Richardpotts and leaving them there where they will hopefully be of little interest to anyone but you and will not stick out like a sore thumb

 

[warthog1981]

get a hinged barbecue grill £1.99 some folks could tell you how handy mine has been sausages bacon nan bread or french pastries the list goes on

 

[havingagiraffe]

Is it safe to cook stuff on galvanised mild steel such as weldmesh fencing, bits of shopping trolley or old Land Rover grilles?

:sad6: for wandering slightly . in advance for the good information. :You_Rock_

 

[dwardo]

"french pastries" i like it lol "if yer roughin it yer doin it wrong!" in my opinion also......

I like the hot rocks jobbie but always been a little put off by the whole exploading rocks thing

I wonder if theres a specific green wood that lasts longer than most ?

 

[Longstrider]

Is it safe to cook stuff on galvanised mild steel such as weldmesh fencing, bits of shopping trolley or old Land Rover grilles

Not something I'd be very comfortable with I'm afraid. Galvanising coats the steel in a layer of zinc as far as I'm aware, and heating zinc up to the sort of temperatures that your grill will reach over a fire will give off some pretty nasty fumes. Not sure it wouldn't be easy to transfer some of that zinc plating onto the food either, as "cooked" galvanised steel usually sheds its coating in little tiny flakes.
If galvanised mesh was the only stuff available I'd like to give it a severe roasting in the embers once or twice (get it red hot or hotter) and give it a darned good scrape and clean to remove the coating before I cooked on it.
Once you've done this to wire mesh etc it tends to rust like mad, so I'd only want to use it for the short-term (i.e one camp). I reckon you are far better off hunting down a piece of stainless grill than using galvanised stuff anytime.

EDIT : To add.. Most shopping trolleys that I've seen are chrome plated rather than galvanised and would therefore probably be fine to use as would shopping baskets. It's just galvanised stuff I'd steer clear of.

 

[Glen]

If you can find a way to support it above the fire/embers a standard oven tray works well, A mini oven tray would be better for carrying though Should be possible to suspend it from a tripod and tie out the sides to tripod legs to stabalise it.

 

[havingagiraffe]

Not something I'd be very comfortable with I'm afraid. Galvanising coats the steel in a layer of zinc as far as I'm aware, and heating zinc up to the sort of temperatures that your grill will reach over a fire will give off some pretty nasty fumes. Not sure it wouldn't be easy to transfer some of that zinc plating onto the food either, as "cooked" galvanised steel usually sheds its coating in little tiny flakes.
If galvanised mesh was the only stuff available I'd like to give it a severe roasting in the embers once or twice (get it red hot or hotter) and give it a darned good scrape and clean to remove the coating before I cooked on it.
Once you've done this to wire mesh etc it tends to rust like mad, so I'd only want to use it for the short-term (i.e one camp). I reckon you are far better off hunting down a piece of stainless grill than using galvanised stuff anytime.

EDIT : To add.. Most shopping trolleys that I've seen are chrome plated rather than galvanised and would therefore probably be fine to use as would shopping baskets. It's just galvanised stuff I'd steer clear of.

Thanks for the good information.

 

[jamesoconnor]

http://www.4x4touring-gear.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=723

Doesn't say how heavy it is though.

 

[TheMagicalBadger]

I've used those little steel cake cooling rack/grills. very very light, seemed happy enough to hold a full 2L kettle along with lots of meat and another pan... and it has survived many uses without any damage.

Depending on how many people are cooking, you can take 1 or 2 or more and just overlap them slightly to maintain a bit of rigidity

I got mine from sainsburys for a couple of quid for something about 20cm * 40cm but i'm sure you can get them from various places in various sizes.

 

[richardnhunt]

On visits to Norway, in the wilds of the camping goods store!, metal tripods suspending a grill seem quite common. Anyone use one or know where you can get them in the UK?

Rich

 

[andy_pevy]

How about this one frm Ikea :-

http://tinyurl.com/yut4fy

I use a couple of them when I am out with the Scouts.

Andy

 

[pothunter]

Try these, use a tubular steel frame to reduce weight, I'm considering buying one myself.
www.purcelltrench.com/grills