The Lodge Cast Iron Hibachi is the only grill I own. And for what I do with it, it’s the only one I need. It does steaks, chicken, burgers, kabobs, and if you throw a skillet on it, eggs and bacon! And it’s easy to throw in the car for a weekend in the woods or tailgating.
I made a short video about it if you’d prefer to watch over reading:
Lodge Customer Service
Before I get into the grill, I’d like to talk about Lodge’s customer service. I ordered this grill and cooked on it almost as soon as I got the package. The base of the grill is held on with a few nuts and bolts. The instructions specifically say not to over tighten.
I was very careful, but never the less the first time I used the grill I heard a loud pop, the grill jumped a little bit and when I was cleaning it after cooking I noticed a crack running almost the full length of the bottom.
I assumed I had over tightened the bolts and contacted Lodge to see if I could buy just the base. The representative told me that it sounded more like a stress fracture and asked me to send him a picture. I sent the picture and he confirmed it was a stress fracture and they sent me a new base!
The Hibachi
Ok, ok onto the grill. It’s a pretty nice little package. There’s enough grill space to do several steaks at a time. There isn’t any cover so it’s only good for direct cooking. This hasn’t ever been a problem for me because I have a Bradley smoker that I use for that.
It’s really easy to setup and simple to move around. There’s a draft door to control how much heat the coals produce. Sliding it all the way closed will keep the heat manageable and let the coals last a long time. Opening it up all the way is great for searing.
If you take the grill top off, you can lay skewers across the lip close to the coals for a great kabob! I usually use the smaller coal chimney. This starts enough coals to fill about half the grill, then I can leave the other side cooler to have a place to keep meat from burning. The full-sized chimney should fill the whole base with hot coals.
You’ll have to play around with the draft door to figure out how much heat you like for different things, but that’s part of the fun and something you’ll have to do with any grill. One thing to note though is the whole body gets really hot! I wouldn’t use it on a picnic table unless you put some firebrick or something similar underneath it.
All-in-all I’m really happy with this little grill. I’ve had it a few years now and it’s as good as the day I bought it. It’s changed a lot of people’s opinions about what you can cook on a camping trip (car camping that is) and it’s fun to run on a Saturday afternoon!
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