Many outdoor enthusiasts swear by barbecue using the traditional pit method.
The least expensive way to make a traditional, outdoor barbecue pit is to build it directly on top of non-flammable ground. While there are many other ways to build barbecue pits, such as with metal, brick or concrete blocks, and numerous commercially available options, the traditional depression in the ground will produce as fine a product as any of the others at a much lower cost. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Select a location for your barbecue pit where it will not create a fire hazard. Watch out for any low-hanging trees, nearby shrubbery or flammable ground cover. Dig a shallow pit with a shovel, keeping the removed dirt nearby to smother the fire if needed. Tramp the dirt firmly along the sides and bottom of the pit.
2. Gather desired materials such as bricks, concrete blocks or large rocks to use as risers at each of the four corners of your pit. Distribute the heights of these materials as evenly as possible to enable you to raise or lower your grilling rack on a flat plane so that food won't roll or slide off the rack.
3. Recycle an old grill rack from a defunct barbecue grill or purchase a new one. Situate the bottom unit of each corner riser and experiment with placement of the grill rack. Practice using your various riser pieces until you have them distributed in a way that will allow you to evenly raise or lower your grill rack to utilize the desired amount of heat from your barbecue pit. Keep the grill rack surface even at all times. Place an alternative set of risers nearby to temporarily hold the grill rack while you are adjusting the riser heights and the rack contains cooking food. Always use a pot holder to reposition or remove the rack.
4. Build a traditional fire ring around your BBQ pit for safety's sake to prevent accidental injuries. Allow extra space if you plan to do Dutch oven cooking, so that the pot can be placed in a safe spot within the fire ring yet not be in the center of the fire.
5. Create a tripod apparatus with sturdy metal poles for hanging kettles if you plan to cook soups or heat water in your barbecue pit. Shove one end of each evenly spaced pole into the ground and then bring all three together over the top of the pit. Wrap wire in a figure 8 pattern to secure these poles to each other at the top. Test these modifications and any others for sturdiness to create many increased cooking options for your barbecue pit.
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