Can You Use a Fire Pit as a BBQ?

This article will help you find ways to cook on your fire pit and find out what tools or added extras you might need depending on what you’re trying to cook.

Using a fire pit as a bbq is a great way to add an extra flair to your outdoor experience. With an added grill rack, you can use your fire pit to grill steaks, use skewers for cooking kebabs or cook stews and chili using cast iron pots as they used to in the olden days. For best results, use the right fire pit fuel, and avoid contamination and use protection when handling hot food on the grill.

Fire pits are versatile garden accessories. They can provide warmth on a cold night, add light to a dark garden, be used for cooking, and are an integral part of any good camp fire with marshmallows a must.

Can you use a fire pit as a barbecue?

The short answer is yes. You can convert fire pits to be used as a bbq with a few accessories and additional extras. You’ll turn your outdoor heating into an outdoor cooking station in no time.

However, there are a few tips to do it safely to prevent you from burning yourself and contaminating your food and your lungs.

One of the most important things to remember when using your fire pit as a grill is to ensure you use the correct fuel type. Not doing so will result in longer cooking times, too much smoke in your fire pit, and making your food taste different than expected.

Using good quality seasoned hardwood in your fire pit will help reduce smoke and provide you with a higher, longer burn time. You can, of course, use a hardwood bbq charcoal as well, which will act as your typical coal bbq does mix with some bbq smoking woods like Hickory to flavor your food.

Just be sure not to add any other things like cardboard, newspapers, receipts, or other burnable material into your pit, as these can produce a lot of smoke and release chemicals into the air and into your food.

Once you’ve chosen your fuel source for your fire pit, it’s time to set it up for cooking.

What’s needed to cook on a fire pit?

There are many different types of fire pits out there. Some are round, some are square, some are rectangular or hexagonal, and some are deeper than others.

The type of fire pit you have and what you are cooking will depend on what you need.

Typically though, to use a fire pit as a bbq, you will need:

A grill rack
Fuel – seasoned hardwood or bbq charcoal / kindling
Fire poker
Cooking utensils – Tongs, slotted spatula, fork, grill brush, meat thermometer
Source of ignition – Matches or lighter

The grill rack is the most important part as it will be what transforms your standard heat-producing fire pit into a cooking machine. Some fire pits come with grill racks built in, but if you don’t have one, you’ll want to find the diameter or dimensions of your fire pit and buy an appropriate one that will fit securely on or in your fire pit.

One of the downsides to using your fire pit as a bbq instead of just using a bbq is that you might not be able to regulate the heat properly—something you can do either by raising the rack or moving the wood/coals around your bbq.

What can you cook on a fire pit?

Anything you can grill on a regular grill or bbq, you’ll be able to cook on a fire pit grill as long as you have added the right grill rack to your fire pit.

This means you’ll be able to cook your typical barbecue food:

Steak
Sausages
Hot dogs
Burgers
Sweetcorn

Adding a grilling basket can expand your food choices, letting you cook fish quickly on your fire pit, along with other veggies like peppers, sweetcorn, aubergine (eggplant), courgette (zucchini), and more.

You could add a griddle or plancha to your fire pit and fry some onions to add to your burgers and hot dogs.

Summing up

Yes, you can use a fire pit as a bbq. With the right additions, you’ll be able to get cooking a wide variety of different foods and use your fire pit as you would typical coal or wood fuelled barbeque.

When it comes to night, you can remove your grill rack and use your fire pit as you first intended to heat your garden.

This dual functionality makes fire pits a great addition to anyone’s backyard. Just ensure you keep safe while using them, use the right fuel, and keep the kids and animals away.

Happy barbecuing!