Leñero Brasero / Brasero Uruguayo – Firewood Grate For Grill

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For those who like to use wood logs for their asados–depending on location and type of parrilla of course, a leñero brasero (aka brasero uruguayo) is a handy piece of equipment to have on hand in order for everything to flow smoothly. Similar to grates you find in fireplaces, leñeros are great for keeping the fire burning, due to good air circulation, since the wood does not have to sit in an every increasing pile of ash. When you need a fresh batch of hot coals, just jostle the burning logs around until some pieces fall through the grates or simply pluck them, using tongs and not your hands, off of the leñero itself.

To get a fire going, first add a good amount of crumpled non-toxic paper and small wood strips (kindling) under the leñero. Enough so that it touches the bottom of the leñero. Criss-cross some more kindling on the leñero and on top of that add a few small logs (make sure everything is spaced enough apart for good air flow), then top it all off with your larger wood logs. Light up the paper and kindling on the bottom and you are good to go. Gently fan the fire to get those flames moving.

Be sure to refuel the fire with fresh logs while some of the existing logs are still giving off some flames and have not been fully burned through. If fully ashed over, they may not provide enough heat to ignite the new logs or worse, they’ll crumble through the grating due to the extra added weight. If that happens, well, get ready to restart the fire again while the meat on the grill is cooling down–not good. Again, think about air flow when adding extra wood.