Get some charcoal burning in your homemade barbecue pit.
Barbecue pits are a great feature in the backyard. They are more rustic than a brick mortared barbecue, but provide the same yummy grilled and smoky flavored food. While fire pits generally need to be dug quite deep, a charcoal barbecue pit should be be shallower, which makes this an easy DIY job. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Dig the hole for your barbecue pit. A size approximately one foot deep and two feet across should be fine. You can make it a square, rectangle or circle as you prefer. Make sure the floor of the hole is relatively even and the sides are straight up.
2. Lay an inch of gravel onto the floor of the pit, then pack the floor tightly with a layer of firebricks.
3. Mix your mortar as per the manufacturer’s directions. Butter the bottom of a firebrick with mortar, then place it along the edge of the pit, on top of the base of firebricks. Do this around the whole perimeter, then continue laying firebricks up the sides of the pit. Make the wall extend above the top of the hole for the height of approximabely two bricks.
4. Add a second row of bricks to the wall portion that is above the hole, to give a nice, sturdy edge for your charcoal barbecue pit. Let this cure for 24 hours.
5. Place four evenly spaced firebricks on the bottom of the pit, then sit the metal grate on top. The grate will hold the charcoal, with the bricks allowing for ventilation room under the grate.
6. Dry-lay a perimeter of pavers around the sides of the pit at approximately a two-foot width. This is necessary to give a fireproof perimeter, but it also adds a bit of a decorative border to the pit.
7. Place the metal grill over the top of the barbecue pit walls, and your charcoal barbecue pit is ready for use.
Tags: charcoal barbecue, above hole, your charcoal, your charcoal barbecue