Sweet potatoes cooked on a "Central American" style grill

[addicted-to-smoke]

[Sorry, not a Weber-themed thread, but ...]

So I'm at my inlaws this past weekend. Been wanting to fire up my mother-in-law's grill. She had it made for her last year. Reminds her of life in Nicaragua; says this is what they use there. I originally scoffed but its siren song pulled me in this visit. I figured its limitations were plenty, and I'd brought the pulled pork and pulled beef I made at home the day before. So, I suggested a side veggie. Something simple I couldn't really screw up on this rig!

1) truck wheel
2) angle iron or similar
3) weld the legs on




I asked about how to start it. Something about kindling. "Just pick some from the ground."


Like this??


Um, no. Not like that. I had visions of lighting a stick I'd smartly left poking through the bottom. Hey, I thought my "kindling snake" was looking good! But it wasn't meant to be. I was lost without my chimney.

"You need something to cover the HOLE in the middle." I knew that? But what I didn't know is she (my mother in law) had previously fashioned a charcoal holder/ashpan that looked VERY similar to a Happy Cooker's. Except, she made hers by smashing an old hub cap mostly flat. (No pic, sorry.)

"OK, so, you said you have a grill grate?" She did but couldn't locate it.

So she began to make one from sheet flashing found nearby.



"Of course" we only needed half of it. Out come tin snips. That's a brother-in-law doing the honors.




And a cooking grate needs ventilation, so she picked up the axe. See the slots being made?



Some lump charcoal was dumped in. By now, my eyes are glazed over in wonder. I'd already forgotten how we were going to get the fire started. No need to START a fire, it was already going across the yard. She went over to where the brushfire was happening to get some brushfire-made charcoal. That's her carrying it back on the sheet flashing.



And dumped in on top of the unlit, along with some thin bark to help the rest ignite. In the background, the previous brush cutting project began again, once the "light pull" Stihl could be persuaded.



A little oxygen push helped it take hold. An expired license plate did the trick.







By now, we had enough fuel, and any more might have been too much to allow the food to go on. I suggested we didn't need any more lit charcoal and so, she snuffed it with water to save it for next time.



Oh, and the "grill grate"? Of course, we didn't need that for potatoes so long as we could find the last of the foil.



I rotated, turned and repositioned them at 15 minute intervals and pulled them at an hour.



pulled pork and beef getting reheated



And here it is, with meat added to some home made chili. Delicious!

[JDD]

What a cool story, way to go. Weber? We don't need no stinkin Weber!

[JDD]

What size is that rim? I'll bet an 18" food grate will fit perfect. How about a lid?

[1buckie]

That's happenin' man.......I  liked your idea of the stick snake, but it seems the operators of this grill really know their rig !!!


Grate Lookin' Dinner !!!!

[addicted-to-smoke]

What size is that rim? I'll bet an 18" food grate will fit perfect. How about a lid?

Never saw a measuring tape but it looked like a 15" rim. The only "lid" is that oval plastic tub laying on the ground. No sort of cooking lid available. Maybe "next year's" model?

Earlier, I'd gone for a short walk up the hill to another field and saw this:



and also this:



Both of which got me thinking of one of those discadas. And some of those discs were looking quite worn ...

[WNC]

I love ingenuity, and use of what's ever available.
It seems like a lot of times we (humans) tend to make things more difficult than they need to be.

[blieb]

What an adventure!

[IQ2]

very cool!!