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Save Big with Breeo's Early Black Friday Sale
Breeo is offering 15% off sitewide during its early Black Friday sale. You can score the Breeo Live Fire Grill for $722 (save $127)
As an outdoor cooking enthusiast and fire pit aficionado, I was excited to try out the Breeo Live Fire Grill. Breeo has designed and built smokeless fire pits in Pennsylvania since 2011, adding live fire cooking accessories to the mix in the last few years. The Live Fire Grill is the ideal mashup of a smokeless fire pit and a charcoal grill. It functions as much more than a grill, if given the chance. A quick look at Breeo’s cooking accessories points to opportunities for all kinds of cooking. In this Breeo Live Fire Grill Review, I’ll share my observations after a month of live fire cooking.
Breeo Live Fire Grill: At a Glance
Our rating: 4.8/5
| Breeo Live Fire Grill Specs | |
| Type | Wood or charcoal |
| Dimensions | 57 inches by 27.5 inches by 34.5 inches |
| Weight | 125 pounds |
| Materials | 304 Stainless steel, powder coated steel, HDPE |
Testing the Breeo Live Fire Grill
I tested the Breeo Live Fire Grill in my own backyard for over a month before writing this review. There were so many ways to cook on it, I didn’t want to just crank out a few burgers and call it done. After I put the grill together, I tried out the basic functions and then added several components to get a feel for the full range of possibilities. With a full complement of accessories, I was able to grill, sear, griddle, bake, and stew. Pretty much anything I cooked in the kitchen, I was able to make on the Live Fire Grill.
This is a big, heavy-duty grill that makes it safe and easy to cook on a wood fire anywhere that you would use a charcoal grill, including decks and patios. I set it up on my deck, about 15 feet from the house. Even with the fire roaring, the underside of the grill and the surrounding deck rail remained cool to the touch. I still recommend using caution to prevent sparks flying on windy days. Thankfully, the best firewood for cooking (well seasoned hardwood) is less likely to produce sparks.
I used a combination of Breeo accessories and outdoor cooking gear that I have used for decades. A few key traits stood out to me throughout the testing process. First was the obvious benefit of “campfire cooking” at kitchen stove height. Bending over a fire pit gets tiring, so the height convenience was a welcome feature. Also, the heavy duty build provides the dual benefits of durability and a temperature-regulating effect while cooking. Just like my cast iron skillet and Dutch oven, the thick steel fire tray heats slowly and retains its heat well. Finally, when the fire died down, the removable ashtray made cleanup a breeze.
| What We Like | What We Don’t Like |
| Live fire cooking at a comfortable height | The base kit does not include a grill top |
| Works with charcoal or firewood | |
| Adjustable airflow to control heat | |
| Incredible build quality | |
| Accessory bundles are available |
Some Assembly Is Required
The Breeo Live Fire Grill arrived on my doorstep in one big, heavy box. Rather than attempting to lug the whole thing around to my deck, I decided to unpack the individual parts right there. Inside I found everything neatly wrapped and well protected for shipping: the fire tray, 4 legs, 3 shelves, 2 side tables, the skillet rest, and a package of hardware. I bagged up the packaging (which was mostly recyclable cardboard, no styrofoam), carried the parts around to the deck, and laid everything out so that I could build it right where I wanted it.
The square frame design and threaded screw holes eliminated all of the headaches associated with product assembly. The screw holes were positioned the same on all four legs—no front/rear left/right to worry about—and I didn’t have to worry about holding washers and nuts in place while turning screws. All of the required tools were included in the kit, and I put it together in less than an hour.
Built Like A Tank
I’ve tested lots of fire pits, and Breeo’s build quality ranks at the top. The fire tray and legs are made of 3-millimeter thick 304 stainless steel—the same type of steel used in commercial kitchens. It will never rust or corrode in normal outdoor conditions. The steel is more than three times the thickness of other fire pits I’ve tested. The higher thermal mass will allow it to absorb, retain, and radiate heat more consistently.
Other parts of the grill are equally sturdy. The powder coated steel storage shelves are somewhat less resistant to the elements, but only if the powder coating is somehow damaged. After banging it around, sliding firewood and steel cooking accessories across those surfaces, the powder coating remained unscathed. It really feels like it’s built to last a lifetime. The fold-down work surfaces are made of heavy duty HDPE plastic, approximately the same thickness as the stainless steel. This type of plastic is unaffected by ultraviolet light, is completely freeze tolerant, and capable of withstanding heat up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
Getting Started With The Basics
This grill blends the best aspects of charcoal grilling convenience with wood fire flavor and aesthetic in the outdoor kitchen. I really like that it feels and works like a high quality charcoal grill with a tough build, convenient grilling height, good airflow control, ample surface area for cooking, and lots of adjacent work space. The Dutch oven cook in me appreciated the safe and convenient place to start charcoal briquettes. But mostly I liked the high level of control and convenience for campfire-style cooking on firewood. The shallow fire tray and dual wall pit design allowed me to quickly build a bank of coals with firewood, but then I could dampen the airflow to control the temperature and burn rate.
One thing that stood out to me as a bit of a head scratcher was the included skillet rest, but absent grilling surface. It’s called the Live Fire Grill, but you can’t grill on it unless you also order the Outpost Grill. That part didn’t really make sense to me, but I did like the skillet rest. I used it to make omelets and percolator coffee. But then I added some components that weren’t included in the initial shipment.
Bundles Are Better
Since the base Live Fire Grill only includes the skillet rest, it really isn’t ready to “grill” without the Outpost Grill accessory, which includes a heavy duty steel support rod and grill surface. The Outpost rod locks into either of two anchor points in the rim of the fire tray. The grill slides down onto the post where it can be quickly set or readjusted to any height with a thumb screw. For full functionality, it is most convenient and cost effective to buy the Live Fire Grill with one of the live fire cooking bundles. I got the Firemaster Bundle, which included the Outpost grill, flat top griddle, cast iron kettle and kettle hook, tri-hook grilling tool hanger, and fire pit lid. Other, more specialized bundles are available, including a Live Fire Pizza bundle.
The cool thing for Breeo X24 fire pit owners is that the cooking accessories are interchangeable between X24 and the Live Fire Grill. I already owned a corten steel pizza oven that matches my X24, and although the stainless and corten colors don’t match, the pizza oven worked perfectly on the Live Fire Grill–better actually. On the fire pit I usually burn through more firewood in order to get a good bank of coals and heat the pizza oven. On the Live Fire Grill’s shallow fire tray, the pizza oven seemed to preheat faster and maintained a more consistent temperature with less wood.
Breeo Live Fire Grill Is Buy-It-For-Life Quality At A Fair Price.
For a casual grill shopper, the Breeo Live Fire Grill might seem overly expensive. After all, you could buy a really nice Weber Performer Deluxe for about half the price (I have one, and I love it). But the Live Fire Grill is a totally different outdoor cooking platform. The base unit is essentially a top-of-the-line smokeless fire pit built into an outdoor kitchen station. The fire tray and cabinet are made of heavy duty materials to last a lifetime, and can be accessorized for all kinds of outdoor cooking. It offers endless cooking versatility, and build quality that warrants the premium price.
Buy the Breeo Live Fire Grill on Breeo for $849.00.
Product Comparisons
| Breeo Live Fire Grill | Solo Stove Bonfire Cookout Bundle | Cowboy Cauldron Co. The Urban Cowboy | The Original Sherman Cooker | Breeo X24 Smokeless Fire Pit Firemaster Bundle | |
| Type | Firewood or charcoal | Firewood | Firewood or charcoal | Firewood | Firewood |
| Primary material | 304 stainless steel | 304 stainless steel | Powder coated plate steel | Cast iron | 304 stainless steel and Corten steel |
| Dimensions | 57 inches L by 27.5 inches W by 34.5 inches H | 48.22 inches L by 24.99 inches W by 29.73 inches H | 30 inches D (fire bowl) 72 inches L by 70 inches W by 60 inches H | 21.5 inches D by 10 inches H | 27.5 inches D by 14.75 inches H |
| Weight | 125 pounds total | 23.3 pounds, plus stand | 75 pounds, plus tripod | 86.5 pounds total | 62 pounds, plus accessories |
| Safe for decks? | Yes | Yes | No | No | With heat shield |
| Portable? | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Price | $849.00 | $549.99 | $2,299.00 | $699.00 | $1,719.00 |
| Accessories | Outpost Grill, skillet rest, sear plate, flat top griddle, cast iron kettle,pizza oven | Grill, griddle, wok, pizza oven | Grill | Cooking grate | Grill, skillet rest, sear plate, flat top griddle, cast iron kettle,pizza oven |
So, is the Breeo Live Fire Grill right for you?
After more than a month with the Breeo Live Fire Grill, I like it even more than I did at the beginning. The stainless steel fire tray surface has taken on a slightly bronze patina after multiple fires, and I’ve gotten better at building a right-sized fire so that the grill is ready to cook in as little as 30 minutes. But I can keep it going indefinitely. With a little practice, it’s like the campfire cooking I grew up with, only better because there’s less smoke, I don’t have to bend over a fire on the ground, and it’s a lot easier to work with in damp weather. But maybe not everyone will be as enthusiastic.
If you are accustomed to gas or charcoal grilling, there will be a learning curve when you switch to firewood. Firewood puts out more or less heat and smoke depending on the wood species and moisture content, which also affects cooking performance. And depending on your firewood source, it might be more expensive to cook on wood versus charcoal or gas. But anyone who wants to explore live fire outdoor cooking will appreciate the Live Fire Grill’s simple purpose-driven design, durable build, range of accessories, and value price. Breeo describes it as “the most complete and well built open fire grill on the market” and, from what I have experienced, I have to agree.
Meet the Tester
Mark Wolfe is a writer and product tester with a background in the green industry. He’s also an avid DIYer who lives in an older home. When he isn’t writing, he spends his time upgrading, repairing, and replacing anything and everything in his home, yard, and garden. He tests and writes reviews about hand tools, lawn care and home repair products, and outdoor living goods.
