If you’re looking for a fun summer project with amazing payoff, look no further than this recent video from ChefSteps on YouTube that will teach you how to build a Hibachi grill for just $20.


Using two pavers, 25 bricks (fire bricks specifically, as one commenter points out) and wire racks, the team at ChefSteps have designed a fairly straightforward DIY Hibachi grill, complete with cold, serving, resting and high heat zones. As ChefSteps’ Grant Crilly explains, a top-of-the-line Hibachi grill can run you as much as $600, so their at-home alternative is undoubtedly more budget-friendly.



Crilly says the goals for this Hibachi are that it’s able to withstand super high heat, that it’s made up of varying sizes, that it’s cheap and that it’s quick to build. Another key component is that the food being grilled is as close to the hot coals as possible, meaning the bricks can’t be stacked too high.


After experimenting with brick layouts, the ChefSteps team came up with an ideal layout, with a cold zone on the left, serving zone to its right, a resting zone to the right of the serving zone and a high heat zone on the far right. An air vent covered by a movable brick is also in-between the resting zone and the high heat zone at the front of the setup.


Crilly explains that you should let your coals heat up elsewhere before placing them in the DIY grill — he waited, for instance, about 45 minutes for the coals to become incredibly hot before using them to grill.


While the chance to build your own Hibachi for the Fourth of July has passed, there’s still time to build one before Labor Day sneaks up on you. Because nothing impresses the neighbors more than not only making them a meal, but making the grill on which you made that meal, too.