How to use your Bushcraft Grill in the Snow or Winter
A how-to guide with images about using your Expedition Research Bushcraft Grill in the snow or winter.
How to use your bushcraft grill
At an elevation of about 4500ft in December, we took the Bushcraft Grill into the Olympic National Forest to snap some photos of the Bushcraft Grill in action. In this simple guide, we will show you our preferred method for bushcraft cooking in the snow.
fuel
Dry fuel is paramount when wanting to start a fire in the snow. For this demonstration, we brought our wood fuel into the forest with us. We used our 45L Dry Bag to transport some of our pre-cut split fuel which we used for burning and for the fire base and grill supports.
the set-up
Split logs in half and place a 1/2 log section (about 4-6" in round) into the snow open faced. You can also use another split 1/2 log section as a wind block if needed. Remember that air flow is important, so any wind block may be removed once the fire is burning nicely.
The fuel in the photo was used to start the fire and you can add three to five times this amount shown over 8-15 mins.
Our goal here is to burn wood to make a glowing hot bed of coals. Never cook on new flames, you're just going to burn your food.
Cool your beer
Just sayin'.
Hot coals
Once you have added fuel three to five times to your original fire, you should have a nice bed of hot coals and now you are ready.
Using two 1/4 split sections of a log (4" original log diameter) will give you a 2" clearance from the fire base. When cooking on coals, it's important to keep the grill close to the hot coals.
Now your cookin'
We removed the original wind shield to stoke the coals. If you need more heat, you can add more wood fuel under the boiling pot and move the coals under your food once they have lost most of their flame. You should not add wood fuel under your food.
The stainless steel mesh leaves some nice marks.
We used our hot water for some soup.
The Base
Using a split log to cook on may sound a little strange, but here's what's left after our meal in the snow.