FeatherSticks · Cooking
Grilling over a Campfire: Coals, Grates, Heat Zones & Times
Great grilling starts when the flames die: wait for the coals.
Quick facts
- Time
- 45 min fire + 10–45 min grilling
- Difficulty
- Easy to moderate
- Best for
- Steak, sausages, chicken, fish, veg
- You need
- Grate, tongs, gloves, thermometer
What you need
- Folding campfire grill grate
- Long tongs
- Heat-resistant gloves
- Probe thermometer
- Wide long-handled spatula
- Cloth, oil and foil for cleaning
- Separate boards for raw and cooked food
- Water container for fire safety
Step by step
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1 Burn down to coals
Burn hardwood for 30–45 minutes until the flames sink and the coals glow red under a grey ash coat.
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2 Rake heat zones
Pile coals 8–10 cm deep on one side, spread a thin layer in the middle and leave the far side almost bare.
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3 Set the grate
Rest a grate level on dry, flat stones 10–15 cm above the coals. Press it: it must not wobble.
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4 Preheat and test
Heat the grate 5 minutes, scrape and oil it lightly, then hold your palm at grate height and count the seconds.
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5 Sear, turn, move
Sear over the hot zone, turn once or twice and move the food to the cooler side before it burns.
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6 Probe and rest
Probe the thickest part: poultry 74 °C, minced meat 71 °C, whole cuts and fish 63 °C. Rest meat 3 minutes.
Common mistakes
- Grilling over tall flames instead of waiting 30–45 minutes for coals.
- Building one even coal bed with no cooler zone to escape flare-ups.
- Putting a grate on wet or river stones that can burst.
- Judging doneness by colour instead of with a probe thermometer.
- Moving cooked meat onto the plate that held it raw.
- Throwing water on a fat fire.
- Using unidentified or toxic green wood for skewers and rafts.