Addnature Tests: Primus Aeril Grill Grate
I’ve had van-fever ever since my husband and I rented a camper to dawdle about New Zealand for 3 months. I was completely convinced by this new feeling of freedom and spontaneously bought a Ford Nugget to make into my own personal holiday house. Little trips through Germany and unforgettable tours through Europe have been sweetening my day-to-day ever since. Testing the Primus Aeril Grill Grate was convenient for our round-trip through Norway. Going out to eat is extremely expensive in Norway and, honestly, what restaurant can compare to self-made outdoor feasts?
The first impression – pretty big
The size of the grate surprised me a little at first. On the one hand it’s great because it offers plenty of space for a pot or pan. On the other hand, it’s quite bulky. But since I was travelling on the bus, the approx. 50 x 50 cm pack size wasn’t too inconvenient. The carrying bag also made transport easy. The individual parts of the grate are top-of-the-line and the fireproof stainless steel makes quite an impression. Assembly’s simple: open the frame, lay the grate on top and that's it! The open fire is definitely the bigger challenge here.
Field test – delicious!
In Norway you’re only allowed to grill in designated areas, so my opportunities to use the Primus grate were quite limited. Nevertheless, you should be extremely careful with an open fire and only grill in designated places – even outside Scandinavia. No one wants to cause a forest fire! On Ersfjord beach on the beautiful island of Senja, it was finally campfire time! We lit a fire and let it burn down to embers. Now we just had to unfold the frame of the Primus, place the grate and the action could start! You have to experiment a little with the height of the fire or the embers. We mostly used the lower of the two grate levels, because this is still quite high for smaller fires. For best results you should make a proper fire first to have enough embers left for grilling. A third, even lower level would have been useful here. Lower level or not, barbecuing over an open flame is unbeatable in terms of taste. Corn on the cob, grilled cheese and fried sausages taste better on a wood fire grill than any gas grill could ever muster. The guard plate supplied protects fire and embers from wind (at least from one side) and makes it easy to clean the grate. A little scrubbing with a sponge and it's ready to use again.
Conclusion – restricted freedom
The Primus Aeril Grill Grate makes open-flame grilling and cooking super easy. But you need to use it safely and in a suitably secure fireplace. In this way, the freedom the Aeril offers is limited. I wouldn’t entirely replace my gas grill with it. But it’s a perfect supplementary cooking tool. For nature-lovers who want to light a fire and cook on it – the Aeril Grill Grate is a burning hot tip!
Primus Grill Grate L at Addnature