Update as promised: Just had my first grill on the Santa Maria grill. It’s really fun to be able to adjust the height but making the ambers takes a ton of wood and time. I think I need to get a bigger fire box to make more amber.
The build: the table cost about $100 with the fire proof brick costing like $70-80. I was going to build the grill myself but I found a nice Santa Maria grill on eBay from Argentina. The table is fun because it’s modular and I can build a small yakitori grill or an oven to bake some wood fire dessert. My goal was to replicate the grill at Asador Etxebarri. I think I’ll need to buy a small grate to raise the amber to keep the temperature high. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it though
by dynastyreaper
6 Comments
Very nice good job 👍🏼
Awesome DIY fire table!
I see the wood burners/ember makers listed as fire baskets or braseros online. Or if you have a welder, you could DIY one with rebar.
One question, if you make a little oven, what are you use for a top?
As someone who braai’s a lot. First of all there is much better wood for this like Namibian Stekelbos or other very very hard wood.
Second what works quite good is to use some nice big chunks of charcoal for kamado bbq’s like fogo and light them with the first hot coals from your wood fire. That way you can start grilling faster and the big chunks simply work better with this style of grill. The fire a bit less “fires of hell” hot which is not a bad thing.
You just keep burning wood during your grill so you just need a small bit charcoal to start and the rest you just keep making during your cook.
You really do not need a grate to raise the coals unless you want to melt steel. Even you want to burn wood below the grate it’s not necessary.
Awesome setup! FYI its “embers” not “ambers”
Sorry, as a Santa Marian- this is not a SM grill.
The carnivore in me approves of this message.