Ah, summertime: it means camping, fishing, swimming, and, of course, burning your mouth on blackened hot dogs you jabbed on a stick and held too long in an open flame. Or does it? A variety of manufacturers make inexpensive campfire grills that claim to produce edible hot dogs, or even snazzier grill fare like kebabs. Most either screw-mount to a metal stake or have folding legs that can stand on uneven ground.
I’m inclined to think the stake-mounted model is preferable since you have more control over the distance between the heat source and the food. With the folding legs, you just have to hope it’s not sitting right in the fire or perched too far above the heat to cook properly. Also, the models from CampfireGrill feature a raised edge on all sides, which seems like a good idea (hence their slogan, “Our weenies never fall off!”). Street pricing starts around $15.
What do you think? Do campfire grills live up to the hype, or should I just go strip a branch and poke my dog the old-fashioned way? Let us know in comments.
Street Pricing [Google Products]
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9 Responses to Hot or Not? Campfire Grill
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I’ve used these myself, and they do work pretty well, if I remember right (was back when I was 16 or so). Very handy for camping trips, especially if your hiking into a place (in which case there probably won’t be one provided for you).
Buy a camp grill? No.
Simply take the small flat, round or square wire grill form a barbecue with you. When you build your fire ring, stack the sides high with rocks or use a pair or thicker sticks to hold the grill over the fire.
If it’s a small group and you’re backpacking, you can buy or scavenge three extendable radio antennas and a small packaging of thin steel wire. Just extend the antennas and bind them with wire into a tripod, then you can use the wire to suspend a small pot, or some veggies/meat. If you want to take the time, before you go you can take the time to carefully drill a small hole through the (extended) antennas at each joint – then you can insert bits of wire or small sticks to prevent the antennas from retracting if you want to cook heavier items.
Hot dogs cooked over a campfire should always be cooked on sticks (that’s just the way it is). – but a tripod or grill helps out a lot with water boiling and veggie cooking.
And when you’re sitting around the fire but not cooking, the tripod can set aside and be used to hang dry wet socks or other clothes.
Very hot…..
every good day of camping deserves a evengin of grilling
For the grill, eh have to disagree with you there. . .seems all that effort isn’t worth it when it’s, what, $15 for one done for you. Plus I don’t like the idea of stealing parts from grills, would rather leave them all put together.
The tripod idea sounds interesting though.
Perhaps I have too many grills
A gas grill on the porch, a weber in the garage, a small no-name butane hibachi, and a thrice used smoker. Not much harm in grabbing a spare grill – in my case.
The tripod is pretty great for lightweight and low impact backpacking, but if you’re camping somewhere where the wood is plentiful and suitable, all you need to bring is the small spool of steel wire and you can make much stronger tripods.
There’s certainly not as much need to get crafty, light and portable for car camping though.
Up here in Wisconsin a popular campfire grill is a tripod made out of electrical conduit, steel cable, a pulley, some small chain, and a spare grill element.
Works pretty well, you can adjust the height over the fire with one hand.
Having the legs at angles means you can push them into the ground to set the level, and they tend to stay there. When the legs are vertical and the ground is soft, the grill tends to sink when, say, a heavy steak is set on it. Ashen steak is not good eats.
Have used it. In my experience, building the fire beside the grill and pushing hot coals out of the fire and under the grill gives controlled heating. Add more coals as needed. I slanted the grill legs for stability. Placing a pot on a vertical-legged grill would be dangerous to the cook and puts food at risk, too. Using the coals means you don’t have flames scorching your food.
Whether you’re preparing hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, stews, cobblers or homemade biscuits, recipes seem to taste better when cooked over an open fire. The best parts of going camping are good friends, great food, and the great outdoors. Amazinggrill.com has many adjustable campfire grills available for your outdoor cooking needs, you are able to safely and effectively control how your meal is cooked above the flames. For me, the adjustable campfire grill is the only way to cook camping.