Better than Store Bought! DIY BBQ Accessories: Tongs, Skewers, Grills

On their garden plot, owners usually try to create a recreation area, install a comfortable gazebo and a barbecue oven.

For ease of maintenance of the oven and cooking use the following accessories: grill grate; skewers; poker; scoop; tongs; fire fan; stand for cauldron.

To make it convenient to work with the stove, they build table top. To make barbecues multifunctional, barbecue inserts.

Accessories for the care of the barbecue oven

BBQ ovens clean after each use, otherwise they will not last long. Items for care and maintenance of cleanliness - a scoop and a poker - are purchased in a store or made by hand.

Photo 1. Metal scoop and poker for barbecue. These items are used for cleaning after cooking.

The poker is used to scoop out burnt-out coals and also to stir them while cooking food over the fire. It is selected based on the following criteria:

• length;
• weight;
• material of manufacture;
• manufacturing method.

The poker should be comfortable to use and should be suitable for height. The accessory should be heavy, but not too heavy so that your hands don’t get tired. The following materials are preferable: steel and bronze. Experts choose a poker hand forged.

The accessory can be made independently using welding. For this, take a metal tetrahedral rod 10 mm thick, bend and weld a poker handle of a convenient size. Bend the other end and beat it with a sledgehammer, then clamp the resulting tool in a vice and twist it several times.

The scoop is used to collect coals and chips when cleaning the stove. You can make it yourself from sheet metal, screwing a handle to it. The scoop should be made quite roomy.

Cooking Accessories

To cook food on a barbecue, in addition to the device itself, additional accessories are required, including a grill and skewers.

Lattice

Meat, fish and vegetables in barbecue ovens cooked on a grillManufacturers suggest using nickel-plated and cast iron products.

Nickel plated grilles they are inexpensive and perform their function, but in the process of use they bend, the coating cracks and crumbles. In damaged areas, the metal is subject to corrosion and the grate becomes unusable.

Cast iron grate — a durable and long-lasting accessory. Cast iron does not oxidize. Such grates have a non-stick coating. They are expensive, but they will last a long time.

Photo 2. The process of cooking fish and meat on a barbecue using a cast iron grate.

You can adapt it for cooking on a barbecue grate. Before you put food on it, put the grill grease with oil.

Homemade grates can be made from stainless wire. When making an accessory, the wire diameter 5 mm welded with argon. The size and shape of the cells, as well as the size of the grate itself, are chosen by the master at his own discretion. Stainless steel products are not subject to damage at high temperatures, do not deform or oxidizeTo prepare food, such a grate is lubricated with oil and cleaned after use.

Skewers

You can cook meat and vegetables in a barbecue by threading them onto skewers. These are available commercially, but you can also make them yourself.

To make skewers you will need: 60mm thick stainless steel wire. The wire is cut into pieces 80 cm long, heated over a fire and cooled. After these procedures, the steel becomes pliable and suitable for giving it the necessary shape. Then, using a hammer, the wire is given the desired shape. Ten centimeters one end is left intact and folded into a ring to form the handle of the skewer.

There are craftsmen who make wooden decorative handles. The other end of the skewer sharpen for easy threading of pieces of meat.

Sharpening is done on a sharpening machine or an emery wheel. To give strength products are hardenedTo do this, they are heated over a fire and cooled in cold water.

Very dense material is used to make bags for skewers, which are convenient for storing products and taking them with you into nature.

Benefits of DIY Accessories

DIY Accessories have a number of advantages over those produced on a conveyor belt:

1. Hand-made products, will cost significantly less factory.
2. Possibility to be independent determine the size and shape of the future accessory.
3. Handicrafts have a unique design.
4. The soul of the author lives in every product, so it's a pleasure to use.

Making components with your own hands

Some items, such as a table, a barbecue or tongs, can be made by hand.

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Building a Brick Table Outside

The table top performs Workplace functions in the barbecue area. This is where the food is prepared, the final serving of the dish takes place, and the barbecue oven itself is installed.

For building a brick countertop the project is being developed. Individual requirements for the length, width and height of the working area are taken into account, and the location of the recess for installing the stove is determined. Gas cylinders, barbecue cleaning products, and other necessary things for organizing outdoor recreation are usually stored under the countertop.

For construction prepare tools and materials:

• brick;
• concrete;
• cement mortar;
• reinforcement or metal grating;
• plywood;
• roulette;
• chisels;
• nails, screws;
• grinder and grinding discs for concrete.

Stages of countertop construction:

1. The basis of the building is brickwork. The height is determined by the kitchen worktop and the barbecue countertop is made one layer higher than the brickwork.
2. Plywood is placed on the resulting structure, cut to the shape of the future work area. On the sides they construct casting mold. The plywood sides are fastened with screws or nails. The tabletop is made thick 4-5 cm.
3. On plywood lay a metal mesh or reinforcement.
4. Stir the cement mortar, following the instructions.
5. Pour the solution onto the countertop.

After the solution has dried, the countertop is made smooth. using grinding discs. If desired, the product can be faced with marble, artificial stone or tiles.

Barbecue insert in brick barbecue

Installing a grill in a brick barbecue makes the oven Multifunctional device for cooking food on coals.

Barbecue inserts are selected based on the following parameters:

• The size of the oven and your needs. Barbecue size 90 cm designed for 9 skewers, 70 cm — on 7.
• Strength of the frame. Choose a barbecue grill so that the frame does not bend. Materials used: cast iron, heat-resistant steel.

Photo 3. Barbecue insert in a brick barbecue. Equipped with wooden handles for easy removal and cleaning.

Barbecues for insertion are equipped with:

• grill grates of different sizes;
• grate;
• a box for burning coals.

For comfortable cooking on skewers, slots are made in the body of the grill.

Barbecues will be equipped with handles for its convenient removal and cleaning. Short support legs.

You can make a built-in barbecue with your own hands from a metal sheet. For this you will need the following tools:

• welding machine or bolts and a screwdriver;
• jigsaw, grinder;
• drill;
• tape measure, set square.

During the work use personal protective equipment.

They do drawing and project, which indicate the dimensions of the future product. The drawing is transferred to a steel sheet and the parts are cut out along the contours with a grinder. The edges are connected with a welding machine, and legs are welded from metal corners. The barbecue is made height 15-20 cm. They attach the grill and make holes for the skewers.

BBQ tongs

Another essential accessory is barbecue tongs. Professionals use tongs to turn steaks over during grilling, not a fork. to keep the meat juicy. This same accessory is necessary for removing the finished product from the heat.

The tongs must be heat-resistant. Choose metal tongs with a long handle, so as not to get burned, and with jagged edgesto hold the product securely.

To serve food on the table, use tongs with a short handle. Manufacturers offer multifunctional models. with built-in thermometer.

You can make your own barbecue tongs from metal. The following is suitable for these purposes washing machine drum or sheet metal of identical thickness.

The future tongs are drawn on the metal in an unfolded form and cut out with a grinder according to the drawing. They are leveled, unevenness is rubbed down, and then bent in half. Wooden plates are attached in places where the cook will hold the tongs with his hand.

How to extend service life

To make your handmade accessories last longer, Avoid getting water on hot metal And mechanical impact. Do not leave metal items outdoors. It is recommended to always use quality fuel and clean barbecue accessories immediately after use.

Useful video

Watch a video that shows the process of making a stainless steel barbecue grate.