If you are planning a camping trip this year and plan to do some cooking over the campfire, you might be wondering what the best campfire grill is. Having a campfire grate will allow you to cook some delicious meals during your next camping trip, and you won’t need to worry about packing a traditional grill with you.
If you are looking for some ideas of what to cook during your camping trip, check out these camping meal ideas! Being able to cook over the open campfire is a fun way to cook while camping that will make you feel like you are truly “roughing it”! Sure, you could cook with a traditional propane or charcoal grill, but where’s the fun in that?! Cooking over the fire is a fun and unique experience that you should try at least once while out camping.
Cooking over the fire is a great way to cook food while camping without having to bring a ton of equipment with you. Some campsites come with a grill, but most of the time you’ll need to bring your own. A campfire grill is typically small and easy to bring almost anywhere with you!
This list will go over some of the best camping grills so you can find one that fits your needs and works best for your ideal camping adventure!
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Why should you cook over the campfire?
Cooking over the campfire not only gives food a smoky taste, but it is also environmentally friendly! Campers typically make bonfires, so it makes sense to use them for an actual purpose rather than just to sit around.
Cooking over a campfire also reduces the need for campers to use resources like propane and charcoal which can be harmful to the environment and cost campers money. A campfire is free, so why not use it to cook your food!
What foods can you cook over the campfire?
Campers can cook most food over the campfire. With a campfire grate and a griddle, you can cook practically any meal! You can cook classic camping dinners like hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, and other surprising foods like eggs and bacon if you have the griddle attachment!
A campfire grill gives campers the option to cook almost any kind of food over the fire. If you can cook it on a traditional propane or charcoal grill, you can definitely cook it over the campfire!
How do you clean campfire grills?
Campfire grills are easy to clean by using just soap and water and a grill brush. If your campfire grill is extra dirty, consider soaking it in hot, soapy water for an hour before scrubbing. Don’t forget to dry your campfire grill completely after washing it to prevent rust from forming.
To sterilize your campfire grill (such as after placing raw meat on it), leave the campfire grill in the flames of the fire for a few moments. This will not provide protection from all bacteria, but it is better than nothing! Let the grill cool completely before handling.
Adjustable Campfire Grill
An adjustable campfire grill is a great option if you are looking to cook foods at different heights above the campfire. This swivel grill allows you to change the height of the grill so you can cook foods quickly in the open flame, or cook food slowly higher above the heat.
An adjustable campfire grill makes it easy to rotate food over the fire for even cooking, and even rotates a full 360 degrees. This high quality grill has a unique feature that allows you to swap out the campfire grate for a hook so you can hang a pot, cast iron skillet, or dutch oven securely over the fire. This is a good option if you are looking to boil water while camping. Simply switch to the hook attachment, hang the pot of water, and wait for the water to boil!
This grill has an 18×18″ surface area cooking grate with a 1″ lip around the edges to keep food like hot dogs from rolling off easily into the fire.
With this grill, you don’t need to worry about getting too close to the fire to adjust the height, either! Campers can easily swivel the grate up or down or left to right while maintaining a safe distance away from the hot flames. This adjustable height grill is a great option if you are cooking over a very large fire that would be otherwise too hot to get close to.
Additionally, if you are camping with children, they will be able to help assist with campfire cooking without parents worrying they are too close to the fire. They can help adjust the height of the grate without getting burned and stay a safe distance away from the dangerous flames.
Lastly, it is fully collapsible and portable! Campers can set up this grill in just minutes, and it even comes with its own burlap bag to store the grate in.
Foldable campfire grill
The best campfire grill for campers without much room for storage in their campsite or car is a foldable campfire grill. This foldable campfire grill has foldable legs and folds in half for easy storage.
Often times campers do not have enough room to pack all their camping gear, so a foldable grill is perfect if you don’t have much space in your tent or car. Check out these tips for organizing camping gear to help utilize all your space and get everything crammed into your car!
This grill is made from high-quality steel, making it sturdy enough to withstand high temperatures and years of outdoor cooking! It has a large grilling surface measuring 24 by 12 inches. It also has a height of 9 inches making it perfect for cooking foods quickly over an open fire.
The best part about this campfire grill is that it has both a grill gate and a griddle. This makes it easy to cook foods like eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, etc. over the fire without worrying about the foods slipping through the grate! Many foldable campfire grills only have the grate option, so this is one of our top picksfor the best fire camp grill!
Lastly, this grill is easy to set up and store. You won’t need any tools whatsoever- simply unfold the legs, stand it up, and it is ready to use! It even has carry handles for easy transport, and a storage bag to keep things clean.
Swing campfire grill
A swing campfire grill is a great option if you are planning to cook a lot of food over the campfire. This swing campfire grill is made of heavy duty carbon steel that is resistant to high heat so you can use it directly in the flames. It comes with a grill swing, chain latches to adjust the height, and 6 hooks to hang all your grilling tools.
It has an A-shaped structure, making it perfect to use on any terrain, even the beach! It has 5 different hook heights for height adjustment so you can cook food at different heights depending on how fast and warm you need to cook the food.
Additionally, it is super easy to set up and use, and has durable material strong enough to hold up to 30 pounds of food! It only weighs 22 pounds and is compact when taken apart, so it can be easily transported for any of your outdoor adventures!
Swing campfire grills also make an awesome camping gift for friends and family that love to camp! They will love being able to cook food on their camping trip in a different way instead of using a typical grill!
Double layer campfire grill
The best campfire grill if you are looking to cook most of your food over the campfire is a double layer campfire grill. This type of grill has both a grill and skillet, so you can cook practically anything over the fire! The skillet makes it easy to cook foods like bacon and eggs, while the grill is great for foods like chicken or hamburgers.
Earlier in this list, we mentioned a grill that also has a skillet. The great thing about this grill is that you can adjust the height of both the grill and the skillet, whereas you cannot in the previous grill. Simply put the stake in the ground, and rotate 360 degrees to find that perfect placement over the fire. It also uses a “lift and set” process to adjust the layers so you don’t need to waste time unscrewing or maneuvering parts.
It has over 300 square inches of cooking space, so you’ll have plenty of room to cook all your delicious food! Additionally, this has a simple design making it easy to take down, store, and set up. No tools are required, and is perfect to use over hot coals or a fire pit!
PS. Check out these tips to help keep your food cold while camping (even without electricity) so your food doesn’t spoil!
Rotisserie campfire grill
Looking to slow cook some meat over the campfire during your next camping trip? A rotisserie campfire grill might be a great choice! This grill has a stainless steel rotisserie that stops in 4 positions for even cooking and a slow-roasted flavor!
Additionally, this grill also comes with a 24×16 inch grilling surface so you can cook other foods while your meat slowly cooks and rotates over the fire. It also has two hooks on either side so you can hold your cooking equipment such as a pot or kettle.
This grill is perfect for anyone looking to slowly cook meat over the fire without needing to use charcoal grills or propane!
Reviews of this grill say they are happy to have saved using so much propane from traditional grills. Other’s used this for “campsgiving” and roasted their turkeys over the fire for Thanksgiving dinner, which is an awesome way to spend some quality time with family and friends over the holidays while also enjoying the great outdoors.
Portable campfire grill
If you are a camper who is always on the go, or you are looking for a campfire grill you can quickly and easily take anywhere like the beach or picnic, a portable campfire grill is for you! This portable campfire grill is a bit different than the rest of the grills on this list. Instead of putting the grate over the fire, you put the fire inside the grill!
Simply build your fire in the stainless steel grill, and place the grill over the top. This allows you to have more control over where you are cooking with the fire instead of being tied to cooking where the fire pit is at your campsite.
You can even use this grill for just a fire. If your campsite doesn’t have a fire pit or you are backcountry camping and want an option to make a fire safely, just use this funnel-shaped grill without the grate! It will keep your fire contained and is wind resistant to keep your fire roaring all night long.
Additionally, its simple design allows you to set it up or take it down in just one minute! The foldable design has only 5 parts, and has its own carrying bag to make transporting and packing easy!
Campfire grills are also a great way to camp cheaply! No need to buy a big, fancy, expensive grill- bring a simple campfire grill with you instead and save yourself hundreds!
What’s Next?
We hope this list gave you some good options for the best campfire grill for campers! Whether you are tenting or going camping in an RV, cooking over the fire is a fun way to truly experience all that camping has to offer. Even if you just use the grill for one meal during your camping trip, it will still be a fun way to cook in a way that you usually don’t get to experience!
Don’t forget to get your camping planner so you can start planning your next camping trip!