FireBrick question Traditional Grill Design Discuss FireBrick question in the Outdoor Kitchens and Living Rooms forums; i have an outdoor BBQ. the sides are cinder block and the bottom is 6" concrete. will i need firebrick ...

[TheCreator]

i have an outdoor BBQ. the sides are cinder block and the bottom is 6" concrete. will i need firebrick on the sides?

[Dutchoven]

Originally Posted by TheCreator

i have an outdoor BBQ. the sides are cinder block and the bottom is 6" concrete. will i need firebrick on the sides?

Creator
I would recommend it...over time you will see cracking and spalling(flaking off) of the concrete otherwise...maybe not so much with the block if they are cinder block as opposed to concrete block but a good idea nevertheless as it will lengthen the life of your barbeque...fire it slow too as there will be a lot of moisture in there
Best
Dutch

[mvk112]

Question on firebrick splits - can I put them on the top rack of my gas grill, or should i use a second pizza stone up top there? Also, can you use the firebricks to actually cook on?

Hoping to try some pizza's out this weekend on the grill.

[dmun]

can you use the firebricks to actually cook on?

Absolutely. It's what forms the bottom of almost all our brick ovens. They're designed to withstand thermal shock, and if one of them cracks or breaks, they're cheap to replace.

[mvk112]

Thanks for the reply. Why use pizza stones at all when you can get a bunch of fire brick splits for a lot less money?

[dmun]

Why splits? Whole bricks have more thermal mass, are less likely to shift, and can be reused when you finally build that brick oven.

Don't ask me about pizza stones. Some days my skills are hardly up to planting a pizza in a thirty six inch circle, let alone landing one on a pizza stone.

[mvk112]

I figure the 1-1/4" splits will fit onto my grilltop better than whole bricks. I'm thinking 6 splits for the grilltop and another 2 on the top rack. That will give me about a 12-1/2"x16-1/2" cooking surface and still give me enough room to get the pizza onto the grill easily, at least that is what I'm hoping.

How long will the stones take to get up to heat? An hour or so?

[RTflorida]

dmun, on more than one occasion I have missed the 36" circle, smacking the peel on the entry arch...not pretty, and again my neighbors are treated to "colorful" language from beyond the fence.


RT

[david s]

Like Julia Childs said "I always cook with wine and sometimes I add it to the recipes"