Small scale grilling

Howdy all

I'm addicted to cast iron, yes I need help and the memory of my old Habatchi from childhood has been growing on me for a few years now. Lately I have been looking at Lodge's little grill and finding that I am running out of excuses for not buying one. Largly in part that I can't find a good old cast iron Habatchi. I'm currently eye balling my local CI supplier for another good sale so I can afford the Lodge grill, I just can't stand not having something to grill on these days.

I'm not much for grilling large items on my small grills so I'm not worried about that issue, that will be fixed when I settle down in a house where I can "plant" a Green Egg Untill than I am planning meals based on small portions grilled on coals I have a few books that haunt me due to not having a grill, Honorable Habatchi, Izakaya, and now Japanese Grill. I just got Japanese Grill this past weekend (much to my wifes distress ) and cannot put it down, so much great info and side notes, really a fun read. So far I can come across a few sauces that I have been looking for and can't wait to whip up and give them a shot, than start messing with to get it to my tastes

I'd like to hear from others that also enjoy small scale grilling...

What grill do you use?

What fuel do you prefer?

What foods do you focus on?

So many ways this could be fun, lets see what happens

I've been wanting to buy that little lodge grill for years. I might have to do it...

Not small scale but an interesting anecdote regarding cast iron grills.

When I was in college we had a behind the scenes tour of Kohler. They have a special art studio where they endow a few students each year for an art project. One student had cast a full size standing deer out of cast iron. The back of the deer lifted off to reveal a charcoal grill. I have wanted one ever since.

-AJ

I strongly prefer hardwood lump charcoal. we have a producer called Ozark Oak about 2-3 hours from my home. Every 2ish years the neighbor and I make a day out of it to go up there and buy a palette <sp?> of it (~650lbs) that we take home and split. Lights easy, burns hot and clean, and can be snuffed and re-used--about 1/3-1/2 of the charcoal I used each time I cook is from the previous session.

I focus mostly on proteins, but do some veg + fruit. Love sirloins, ribeyes, chicken thighs (esp tandoori), tilapia, scallops, zucchini/squash, red potatoes, pineapple (smeared with a bit of brown sugar), green bananas (drizzled with cinnamon honey).

Not sure my setup qualifies as small-scale, but I have 3 grills: standard weber, weber with side table + gas starter, Horizons smoker (~600lbs of 3/8" steel):

I prefer hardwood lump charcoal. I have a big green egg mini. I use it daily. Filet mignons, shrimp and scallop skewers,roquefort burgers with bacon and avocado, chili dogs, etc.,etc. i really need to make some bulgogi again love that stuff on steamed rice. I looked at the lodge hibachi online for a long time. It looks like a great grill. I am really happy with my BGE mini. It was pricey, but I don't think about price now that I have had it a while and grill every day. Love our steaks with Diamond kosher salt and penzeys extra bold tellicherry.

I dream of the day I can get a BGE Maybe I can pull it off when we move to Santa Barbara Drool

I also prefer hard lump charcoal for the same reasons, reminds me I need to get a small galvanized trashcan for ash and smothering coals. I was reading reviews last night of the Lodge and boy was that funny. Seems people buy them with no knowelge of how to use them at times. "Cooks food to hot and fast" "Not big enough" "No legs" LOL ya funny reads. I would expect a heavy cast iron grill to hold a tremendous amount of heat and filled with lump charcoal I would imagin it would get hot So many uses for that kind of heat And not big enough LOL Der it's a small grill... for small fast cooking methods and I was pretty much brain dead on the leggs issues...

All in all I feel I must now have one of these grills. With my current living space it would be perfect

Just a thought. I have a Weber Smokey Joe in the garage. It's the only BBQ I didn't put out on the street when I got my BGE. You can take it anywhere. It has good grill space, and it was under $40. Great little BBQ on a budget. I get if your heart is set on a hibachi. That Lodge was calling my name before I got my BGE.

DwarvenChef said:

"Not big enough"

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I have a "Bayou Classic" indoor griddle/grill for my 6-burner, 36" wide, 14" deep....that's definitely big enough

mini bge with lump charcoal. i also have a large but the mini gets used the most now as i am only cooking for my older son ,, the younger one is heavy into lifting and makes his own food. basically, unless it is raining too hard and i dont feel like it all the protein goes on the egg. shrimp, fish , chicken, beef, pork, tofu . actaully i have only done tofu once on the egg. baked taters ,. crash hot taters [pioneer woman]. grilled roamine .. green beans some times .. cauliflower is great on the egg, corn on the cob and corn bread.. BUT .. the best veg on the egg is asparagus you cannot screw it up. my sons refuse to eat steamed asparagus since i got my eggs .. "Dad, really, if you are not grilling it on the egg we wont eat it." i serve it at eggfests all the time. i always run out last local fest i did 5 pounds and i was horse from explaining how to do it . and i have cold smoked cheese on the mini just to prove a point and it work well .
duck breast to . tonight ala deckhand , ribeyes with penzeys tellichery but maldon salt as i am out of diamond kosher

i have a 22.5 inch Weber kettle that i love. i would love to get a BGE, but it's not in the cards any time soon. my dad had a Lodge hibachi he had gotten back in the 60s, and i wanted to grab it after he died. unfortunately, i found out that at some point, unbeknownst to my father, who hadn't used the grill in a while, my mother had put it out in the garden as "decoration" and it had just rusted to nothing.

My wife has that funny glased over look in her eyes... Why do our spouses never understand LOL

EdipisReks said:

i have a 22.5 inch Weber kettle that i love. i would love to get a BGE, but it's not in the cards any time soon. my dad had a Lodge hibachi he had gotten back in the 60s, and i wanted to grab it after he died. unfortunately, i found out that at some point, unbeknownst to my father, who hadn't used the grill in a while, my mother had put it out in the garden as "decoration" and it had just rusted to nothing.

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I think my mother used hers as a flower pot at some point, I remember some flowers growing out of it... /cry...

Mothers are the bane of cool inheritable stuff some times!

SpikeC said:

Mothers are the bane of cool inheritable stuff some times!

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it was made up for by the fact that she found the original brown paper bag and receipt for the Randall my dad had bought directly from Bo, also back in the '60s.

EdipisReks said:

it was made up for by the fact that she found the original brown paper bag and receipt for the Randall my dad had bought directly from Bo, also back in the '60s.

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Nice

I can't argue with my mother ether, When she moved out of her home she swipped her mothers #8 Grizwald, and when I moved out I followed the tradition... Took her a year to figure out where it went

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-MVRlGZ3CA&feature=fvwrel

The irony of the fire trucks in the background... but the wings look good

You Sir are in the midst of an obsession. The Lodge is nice. It's like a primal calling cooking meat over a flame.

If I had one I would burn hardwood into a pile of embers, then throw a couple steaks on.

I couldn't help myself... I ordered the Lodge Sportsman Grill. I guess I'll have to post a review when It gets here. :thumbsup:

Been so busy at work I forgot to order mine

DwarvenChef said:

Nice

I can't argue with my mother ether, When she moved out of her home she swipped her mothers #8 Grizwald, and when I moved out I followed the tradition... Took her a year to figure out where it went

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hah, nice.

Korin in New York (and whose sales staff are now members of this forum) carries a line of small, "desktop" charcoal grills designed for Japan's tiny living spaces. I can't speak from any experience here but I know that they also sell wood charcoal that's supposed to impart a wonderful flavor . . . .

http://korin.com/Kitchenware_2/Grills-and-Charcoals_3

took delivery of a lodge sportsman grill today. planning to fire it up this weekend

Ooo nice To busy lately to think of much at all...

My wife's Airstream project is now at the shop getting the renovation started and I am starting to plan the cooking strategies. A small grill is going to be a necessary item, as well as compact coffee setup. My first inclination is a small BGE, but something lighter weight would be nice, the Japanese grills look attractive, but are not as versatile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yogThAfyyzU&feature=related

Eyeballing these for my wifes Coffee in the AM when we are out on bike tours.

Ack, giving myself a week to think about it...

Not vegue at all is it






Well as it turns out when I got my last knife it was a toss up, Knife or Grill... Knife won and I really like it... but at the moment I think I would have liked the grill more... /cry... Only way to afford the grill is to sell the knife... I hate delemas...