When art meets invention: a modular grill with mosaic art

No pizza oven? Everyone really expected us to build a pizza oven. Although we’d love one, we didn’t want to spend the time waiting for it to heat up (hours) nor did we want something that only did oven things.

We wanted it all: grilling, indirect heat, pit roasting, baking, side heat rotisserie… and for that, there seemed but one solution: a modular cooking system using charcoal or wood for fuel.

The catch? We’d never seen anything like this and would have to invent it, test it and perfect it!

mosaic grill
The grill unit is a piece of mosaic art when it’s not in use, anchoring one end of the garden.

Annette has been saving mosaic materials for years. She had boxes of tile samples, broken plates, pieces of stone left over from projects and even a small espresso cup ready to go.

It’s much easier to work on a correctly laid out and constructed base, so we drafted Dave of Rockstar Masonry to ensure that the walls and firebrick were done right. There were a lot of meetings as the project progressed, since nobody we know of ever built one of these things.

Inspiration

Where did the idea come from? Culinary arts, of course. Argentine grilling methods, grills in France, Italian rotisseries for porchetta… looking at people making paella over wood fires. Pit roasting. Smoking, direct heat, indirect heat cooking.

Versatile cooking

The idea was to create a deep “pit” in the center with tiers that would allow grates, plates and grills to slide in or out at different heights. Metal pieces divide the heat, cover the grill, capture smoke or otherwise modify what’s going on inside. A heavy restaurant griddle fits over the top so food can be cooked “a la plancha” while other things are happening inside. Air flows down into a space under the coals from one side, so we didn’t have to pierce the firebrick shell.

Keeping things social

Adding an “L” shaped seat wall with seating for four people lets everyone hang out around the grill during the cooking process. It was also a great place for a box of Spanish cuerda seca tiles salvaged from the Fireclay boneyard years ago.

Building the foundation

This is where it was quickly apparent that hiring an expert mason was an essential key to the success of this project. Correct placement, vertical walls, level top and seat wall, uniform width – all things an experienced mason can do quickly and efficiently.

The jig was measured and cut first, then brought to the future grill location, where it could be easily aligned prior to pouring concrete.
The jig was measured and cut first, then brought to the future grill location, where it could be easily aligned prior to pouring concrete.
Once the jig was positioned, the first concrete pour started.
Once the jig was positioned, the first concrete pour started.
Dave from Rockstar Masonry checking the foundation and leveling the concrete surface.
Dave from Rockstar Masonry checking the foundation and leveling the concrete surface.

The process went on: rebar, stacking concrete block of different sizes, cutting, fitting, leveling. Refractory mortar for the firebrick. Creating ledges for the grills and grates. With Dave in charge, this phase went quickly, with a few pauses to discuss how deep the cooking pit should be and how it would eventually work.

One key idea was that there would be no non-replaceable metal parts so the unit could last a long time. Any worn out or rusty pieces would simply be replaced. This came from looking at old grills at some client’s homes and seeing where they failed.

Mosaic Faces

The first step, after collecting bits of tile, broken plates, stone and whatever else Annette found suitable for mosaic, was laying out the design.

She drew some concepts on paper with colored pencils after noting the shapes she’d be filling.

Then she traced her areas at full scale on Kraft paper and started going through her numerous boxes of tiles, laying pieces in place that fit with her sketch idea.

Once the tiles were on paper, she transferred them bit by bit to the unit’s faces, adding mortar as she went.

mosaic layout
Annette started with a couple of ideas, both abstract landscapes. She measured out the areas on paper, then started placing tile.
Annette transfers tiles from her pattern on the deck to the faces of the grill.
Annette transfers tiles from her pattern on the deck to the faces of the grill.

Grouting

We opted for a neutral gray grout, something that would stay about the same color after exposure to years of sunlight (we had an interesting experience with colored grout that faded to neutral gray in one year).

mosaic before grouting
The tiles appear more as individual units than a pattern before grout is applied.
Mosaic detail, grouted
The tricky thing with grouting mosaic is that the joints go in all directions and aren’t a uniform thickness.

Cooking configurations

Cooking started before the top tile was laid – everyone was anxious to see if this thing would really work!

The first go used the simplest layout: direct heat grilling at two heights to check how hot this thing would get. Very. Long grilling mittens a necessity. It looked like the updraft method worked as designed, bringing air up through the coals to keep them at maximum temperature.

The fire grates were cut to fit in the space; the food grills are expansible replacement units from the hardware store.
The fire grates were cut to fit in the space; the food grills are expansible replacement units from the hardware store.
The lower grill is the fire grate, letting air come up under the coals or wood from beneath.
The lower grill is the fire grate, letting air come up under the coals or wood from beneath. The grates slide from side to side for adding charcoal or moving food when needed.
This experiment worked well for the chicken, but the pizza needed more coals and a different setup to cook quickly and evenly (nothing wasted: the pizza finished in the oven)
This experiment worked well for the chicken, but the pizza needed more coals and a different setup to cook quickly and evenly (nothing wasted: the pizza finished in the oven)

Finish the top

At this point, we’d used up virtually every bit of broken tile, stone and pottery we had. It was time for a trip to Fireclay Tile’s San Jose boneyard.

Luckily we didn’t delay the project any further – Fireclay is closing their boneyard, cutting off this wonderful source of material for mosaic art.

The fun thing with going to the boneyard was that you never knew what you’d find. You arrive at the boneyard, walk though, poke around, look at your design and start changing everything based on what’s there. We found an “H” shaped tile. Hey! We can monogram the thing! Lots of large pieces of flawed glasstile. Let’s make the top glow! No cuerda seca or Spanish tile suitable for our project. Lots of smaller brightly colored tile pieces.

We bought quite a bit more than necessary for this project, but then you can never have too many tile bits just in case another mosaic inspiration comes along.

Tiles from the soon to be extinct Fireclay boneyard in San Jose.
More tiles from the soon to be extinct Fireclay boneyard in San Jose.
This time, we laid out the tiles in place, moving them to the grill cover, adding mortar and placing the tiles in their final position
This time, we laid out the tiles in place, moving them to the grill cover, adding mortar and placing the tiles in their final position
The final application of grout on the upper tiles
The final application of grout on the upper tiles

Enjoy!

By now, we’ve done a bit of experimenting and are getting more comfortable with how the unit cooks – although there are still a few configurations to test (Brazilian style grilling, rotisserie, pizza again…).

The seat wall is a great thing – everyone just moves over and hangs out. The wall is shaded by the mulberry tree, so it’s a pleasant place to sit in the afternoon.

Seat wall and grill in the garden

We didn't want to isolate the chef from friends while cooking. This seat wall keeps people together.
We didn’t want to isolate the chef from friends while cooking. This seat wall keeps people together.
Juxtaposing warm and cool colors keeps things lively.
Juxtaposing warm and cool colors keeps things lively.
The grill fits into the planting: a bit of culinary rosemary wraps around the front, Boston ivy will crawl up one side and the back, and a diamond muscat grape vine creates a backdrop
The grill fits into the planting: a bit of culinary rosemary wraps around the front, Boston ivy will crawl up one side and the back, and a diamond muscat grape vine creates a backdrop
broken plates in mosaic
This dish was a gift from friends, so Annette thought to honor the gift by placing the plate in the composition.

What we’ve cooked – so far

  • Marinated grilled pork, indirect heat
  • Marinated Sinaloa style chicken, indirect and low direct heat. Tortillas heated on top in the griddle, along with green onions.
  • Pizza, on a pizza stone. Needed more coals, more time to get really hot, but we think these issues can be worked out
  • Seared steak. High heat, maybe use clinching method (cook on coals) next time. Mid-level fire grate, upper level cooking grate for maximum updraft. Hot!
  • Burgers. Another direct heat application, but on the upper grill / lower fire grate configuration (the lower grill gets too hot!)
  • Ribs. Pre-cooked in the oven, finished on the grill. With corn on the cob.
  • Plancha. Onions and garlic on the griddle over the top of the unit – garnish for arepa burgers.
  • Paella. Actually, it was arroz con pollo, but it’s the same method. Dual fires on lower grate, sauté on direct heat, move paella pan to middle, cover and cook on indirect heat to finish. This fed nine people, with very few leftovers. Definitely one of the prime applications for the grill!

We have an entire summer ahead of us for good food and friends. Once the heirloom tomatoes come on line in the garden, we’ll try pizza again using a new configuration.

Bon appétit!

 

 

 

 

 

Published by mike

Mike is a licensed landscape architect. He's also an artist, photographer and occasional chef. Luciole Design specializes in sustainable, contemporary, modern landscape design - and traditional landscape styles that fit into California's Mediterranean climate. Sacramento, California.