[JK_44]

Look what arrived today!

Pretty excited to give the new grill a test run in the back yard. I'll let you know my results.

Initial impressions:

Nice heavier duty case, simple set up and smart design. Looking forward to cooking on it.

 

[protechie]

Argh. I'm so close to buying this thing but I keep holding out for some reason. One thing I keep thinking of is cooking with wood. I like to set my wood fire, let it burn down a bit, and then grill meat. With the height of the grill on this pit it looks like regular sized logs would have to burn down quite a bit, pretty much to the point of just being coals, before I could set the grill on it. I'll allow for that generally being a better cooking method, but I don't always have the time or patience to wait for the wood to burn down that long. For those that have this in action, am I right on this or is the height sufficient that it wouldn't have to burn down too long to cook over wood? I only bring charcoal on about half of my trips and I don't really want to lug it around every trip just to be able to cook on this pit.

 

[CampfireDefender]

Argh. I'm so close to buying this thing but I keep holding out for some reason. One thing I keep thinking of is cooking with wood. I like to set my wood fire, let it burn down a bit, and then grill meat. With the height of the grill on this pit it looks like regular sized logs would have to burn down quite a bit, pretty much to the point of just being coals, before I could set the grill on it. I'll allow for that generally being a better cooking method, but I don't always have the time or patience to wait for the wood to burn down that long. For those that have this in action, am I right on this or is the height sufficient that it wouldn't have to burn down too long to cook over wood? I only bring charcoal on about half of my trips and I don't really want to lug it around every trip just to be able to cook on this pit.

I'll jump in and answer this one for ya. Generally, with the Pop-Up Pit, your first logs are going to burn significantly faster down to coals and as the ash blocks the airflow everything slows down.
I've attached a picture of some logs in the pit with the grill grates on there to give you an idea of the height.

It is a different way of cooking and takes some getting used to, but it is very consistent once you get the hang of it.

We're all about taking care of you guys and getting you something you actually want to us, so if you buy one and it doesn't work as expected just shoot me a private message and I'll give you a full refund.

Cheers,
Triston

 

[Dr.AndyDVM]

3 Dutch Oven Test

I want to thank Cameron and Sig at Cascade River Gear. They let me use the store's demo Pop up Pit this weekend. They were also kind enough to let me use a brand new grill grate as well. I wanted to know if this system would work with my style of camping which relies heavily on Dutch Oven cooking.

I found the kit to be lightweight and easy to set up. The grates were stainless steel and consisted of three grates that were linked together. The grates were suprisingly heavy and came with their own carrying case and support angle aluminum.

For this test I used a cast iron 14" deep, and two anodized GSI aluminum DO's a 12" and a 10"

I took Shapp's advice and bought some 12" aluminum pizza pans for $5 from WM. I really wanted to test the system so I grabbed my 14" cast iron DO to cook up 6 cornish game hens with potatoes, etc. It weighed at about 40 lbs. I added a 12" aluminum with dinner rolls, and an apple pie in a 10" aluminum DO.

Because I needed a full coal-set on the 14" I wasnt able to stack all three ovens. So I had to cook with the 14" and the 12" side by side. There was barely enough room on the grates for both ovens. The plates came in very handy because I was able to have 3-4" of the plate hanging over the edge over the grate. I think I will try to see if Campfire Defender sells a 4 grate set or sells the grates in singles.

I did stack all 3 ovens to see how the system handled that much weight. The grates bowed a little but sprang back straight when the ovens were removed. There was at least 55 lbs of DO and food.

I will say that I think this system would do best with anodized aluminum Dutch Ovens. Of course, if you are interested in a light weight fire pan, you probably already own aluminum DO's.


I think this system is very cool. I intend to have a log fire in it this week.

 

[Cascade River Gear]

I want to thank Cameron and Sig at Cascade River Gear. They let me use the store's demo Pop up Pit this weekend. They were also kind enough to let me use a brand new grill grate as well. I wanted to know if this system would work with my style of camping which relies heavily on Dutch Oven cooking.

I found the kit to be lightweight and easy to set up. The grates were stainless steel and consisted of three grates that were linked together. The grates were suprisingly heavy and came with their own carrying case and support angle aluminum.

For this test I used a cast iron 14" deep, and two anodized GSI aluminum DO's a 12" and a 10"

I took Shapp's advice and bought some 12" aluminum pizza pans for $5 from WM. I really wanted to test the system so I grabbed my 14" cast iron DO to cook up 6 cornish game hens with potatoes, etc. It weighed at about 40 lbs. I added a 12" aluminum with dinner rolls, and an apple pie in a 10" aluminum DO.

Because I needed a full coal-set on the 14" I wasnt able to stack all three ovens. So I had to cook with the 14" and the 12" side by side. There was barely enough room on the grates for both ovens. The plates came in very handy because I was able to have 3-4" of the plate hanging over the edge over the grate. I think I will try to see if Campfire Defender sells a 4 grate set or sells the grates in singles.

I did stack all 3 ovens to see how the system handled that much weight. The grates bowed a little but sprang back straight when the ovens were removed. There was at least 55 lbs of DO and food.

I will say that I think this system would do best with anodized aluminum Dutch Ovens. Of course, if you are interested in a light weight fire pan, you probably already own aluminum DO's.


I think this system is very cool. I intend to have a log fire in it this week.

Thanks for the great product test and review Andy and for testing them to the fullest, I'm next I can't wait to get this baby in my backyard and try out the fire pit side of it pre-dutch oven testing I think I need this in my life!
Hope to see you in the shop soon and that your sniffer is working Kindly Renee

 

[MT4Runner]

I used my Pop-up Pit for the first time last week. It was very warm directly under the pit and nachos sounded like a good idea. I remove the lid from a 50 mm ammo can because I thought the seal might melt and used the can to make a platform under the pit. I spread the tortilla chips and cheese on a griddle and 90 seconds later they were done. We got a little fancier the next day and added bean dip, tomatoes and avocado.

this was brilliant. I used your idea to make nachos on two trips last month and blew peoples' minds.

 

[sonofdad]

+1 on the nacho idea. easy-peasy and come out perfect!

 

[Wadeinthewater]

this was brilliant. I used your idea to make nachos on two trips last month and blew peoples' minds.

I've upped my nachos game since that first spontaneous creation. Doing them and also pizza on the Grande Ronde, Selway and MFS later this month.

 

[Wadeinthewater]

Experimented with chocolate chip cookies on my last trip.

 

[davbaker]

I've upped my nachos game since that first spontaneous creation. Doing them and also pizza on the Grande Ronde, Selway and MFS later this month.

View attachment 58368

I can vouch for both - amazing food and a great trip Mark!

 

[Fly By Night]

Has anyone tried the Frontier grates for dutch ovens in their pop up pit? I see some potential in issues with coal spacing, looking at this thread a pizza pan on the grates still might be the ticket.

Triston, any word on a convection oven/ smoker you mentioned earlier on this thread a few years ago?

 

[paor]

Is there a benefit to the tri-fold grate versus the quad-fold?

 

[CampfireDefender]

Has anyone tried the Frontier grates for dutch ovens in their pop up pit? I see some potential in issues with coal spacing, looking at this thread a pizza pan on the grates still might be the ticket.

Triston, any word on a convection oven/ smoker you mentioned earlier on this thread a few years ago?

The grates have been a big hit as of late and I've been hearing good reviews coming back from customers, no specific complaints about coal spacing. I'm not much of a dutch oven cooker so I cant tell you one way or the other for DOs. From the few recipes I've followed I haven't have any issues. I do like them for just regular campfires though, seems like a better burn with the added height off the mesh. If you get a pair and hate them we honor the money back guarantee on accessories as well.


In regards to the smoker, its still in the pipeline, unfortunately COVID has pretty much put a halt on any new product production. Hopefully things get back closer to normal by summer and we can resume travel which should speed things up exponentially.

Is there a benefit to the tri-fold grate versus the quad-fold?

I personally like the Tri-fold because I like to slide the grill over top of the heat and back off once its done cooking (and back on once I realized I undercooked my chicken). But other than preference and size there is no difference one way or the other.


Let me know if y'all have any other questions!

Cheers,
Triston
Fireside Team

 

[LJPurvis]

I use my Pop-Up with my dutch ovens without issue. One thing I did do was go to home depot and get two small pieces of angle iron that I cut to fit inside the Pop-Up frame. I set the pieces so that they sit on the two edges on the frame with the triangle top pointing up. This does two things: 1. Gives me a flat stable surface to set the dutch oven(s) and 2. Provides a small gap for the coal.

One thing to be aware of is the coals on the bottom will burn hotter and burn out faster with the Pop-Up due to the better air circulation. Be prepared to either add more coals after the bottom coals burn out or add something below the coals to minimize the air flow.

 

[MT4Runner]

One thing to be aware of is the coals on the bottom will burn hotter and burn out faster with the Pop-Up due to the better air circulation. Be prepared to either add more coals after the bottom coals burn out or add something below the coals to minimize the air flow.

That would be another point to consider if you're using an Aluminum oven...they don't hold heat as well as cast. If you're out of coals, you're OUT and your food stops cooking. Exactly as you said: better have more coals started ~30min in or have something to slow the air flow!!

Have you been using aluminum or cast?

 

[LJPurvis]

That would be another point to consider if you're using an Aluminum oven...they don't hold heat as well as cast. If you're out of coals, you're OUT and your food stops cooking. Exactly as you said: better have more coals started ~30min in or have something to slow the air flow!!

Have you been using aluminum or cast?

Aluminum. I have a folding chimney coal starter so the coals are ready in 10-15 minutes. I have had to use more coals a few times. I am looking at something to put down to reduce the air flow; maybe a flat piece of metal that fits across the frame. But if I start to bring too much stuff for the Pop-Up it starts to lose its advantages over the old metal pits. However, after reading some posts about nachos I might bring a pizza stone anyway. I could cover that with aluminum foil and use it for the bottom. Then I have my nacho/pizza cooker AND a floor for the dutch ovens.

 

[MT4Runner]

Do coals burn through aluminum foil? Could just use one layer of foil to block the air.

I have a heavy stamped aluminum griddle that was my grandfather's. He kept it shiny; I let it get seasoned, you know to prevent Alzheimers. haha
Anyway, that's my go-to for both nachos and my breakfast griddle.

You could cut a piece of 1/8" steel plate. Use one side for briquettes and the other for a griddle over your pit. Seems the same size would fit inside the ember guards or on top of the grill support.

 

[LJPurvis]

Do coals burn through aluminum foil? Could just use one layer of foil to block the air.

I have a heavy stamped aluminum griddle that was my grandfather's. He kept it shiny; I let it get seasoned, you know to prevent Alzheimers. haha
Anyway, that's my go-to for both nachos and my breakfast griddle.

You could cut a piece of 1/8" steel plate. Use one side for briquettes and the other for a griddle over your pit. Seems the same size would fit inside the ember guards or on top of the grill support.

Ha! You are correct. We did take aluminum foil, folded it over, and laid it below the metal bars. That is what we put the coals on. Now that I think about it, I think the aluminum foil that I used is in my coal bucket. My Pop-Up Pit cooking is new enough I had forgotten we did that at the end of last season. And I can use my Rome lids for nachos.

 

[MT4Runner]

I need to refine my cook kit to work around the Trailblazer pit I got late in the season. It's a great fit for the Lil' Bastard and baby Briggs, and should be a good fit for my 10" GSI aluminum oven.

Until last season, I hadn't done a lot of overnights on the river, but have a pretty decent car camping/Lochsa camping cook box that needs to get pared down a little more.

 

[cain]

Surprised Triston didn't mention that they have a set up for the bottom of the pop up pit for dutch ovens. Bought one a while back and looks like it will work great.