Customer Reviews

Lodge Manufacturing 410 Hibachi Iron Sportsman's Grill

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

this cast-iron grill imparts a flavor to meats that no other gas grill can, I have thrown away all my gas grills, and currently own 2 of these small grills. Do not wash the grate, it'll lose all its flavors, just give it a good scrub with a brush, grease it down with pork/chicken/beef fat before grilling. You'll never cook steaks on anything else.

Great product! Bought after break-up with boyfriend (he-gas, me-charcoal -- not why we split).

Cast iron, simple, fuel-efficient. Draft door for heat-control. Upper flip-door for adding / managing coals. 2 cooking levels (flip footed-grill). All you really need. Used every other day in bitter N.E. winter. Small, perfect w/ practice. Some tips (still learning / welcoming ideas):

1. Grill on outdoor wood surface (if desired) by elevating feet w/ bricks / flat stones
2. Use charcoal chimney starter
3. Level grill prevents food rolling on un-edged surface. Otherwise, watch closely.
4. Don't stress cast iron (your investment) by spraying water. Move food to side. Let flare-ups die down.
5. W/ grill's ability to hold heat, plan cooking and next day's meals: Start with long-cook foods, move to quick-cook foods, EAT, and while watching TV, roast potatoes in coals and in cast-iron pot or pan on the grill cook beans, roasted corn and onions, etc (you decide). Killer.
6. Lodge's #404 Sportsman's Cooker completes grill's potential: cooker bottom perfect fit as grill lid for smoking or indirect grilling, cooker and lid obviously cook fish and stock beautifully, and flipped lid is pancake / egg / sausage, etc. -heaven. Good additional investment.
7. When cooking's finished, wait till grill's warm and pores are open, brush down thoroughly and use clean, plain paint-brush (natural bristle) or foam brush to brush grill surface (both sides), top rims, and outside with oil -- peanut oil has an excellent, high smoke point.
8. Grill can be left outdoors with oval galvanized bucket as lid, or plastic tarp.

Definitely email me with further tips.

Sturdy, portable (well, with some effort), attractive, and just a fabulous grill. Perfect for those with limited space, or a limited desire for hulking barbecues. And, as stated in other reviews, just the right size for a couple of large steaks, or a few pieces of fish, etc. And after cooking on cast iron, you'll never again sully your best salmon by putting it on one of those wire racks. Really. Serious cooks will find this to be a far superior outdoor cooking surface to even the most expensive gas grill. Toss a handful of mesquite chips on the coals and savor the results. I may not turn the oven on again until Thanksgiving.

The true measure of any grill is how well it lets you cook. This thing is wonderful. I've got to admit that I do stand over it, tending the flames, but this little grill does most of the work. It's the shape of the fire box and the retention of cast iron - yikes! what a great combination.

If you wanna have more control over how your foods are cooked, even on a grill, then this is the way to go. The coals are right there! They're easily adjusted - this is something you definately cannot do with a more typical kettle shaped grill - at least as easily.

Once this grill becomes seasoned, and once you've learned how to use it properly, you won't find better control OR - Much more importantly - You won't get better RESULTS!

There's something beyond the fact that the grill is entirely constructed of cast iron - it's also the shape. Even the grate seems to have a designed-in intention of bringing the best part of the flames up for cooking. The grate is very deliberately shaped.

The thing is this: if you want to get a grill that grows with you, so to speak, and does not limit your mastery of it by its design, like a kettle pot, then this grill will not dissappoint.

This is great stuff.

I love to grill. I used to have a hibachi grill that I used all the time when was an apartment dweller, but it eventually broke. Until now, I never found a replacement that didn't look fragile. So when I saw this grill on sale, I snatched it up. In retrospect, I'm glad I did.

This grill is made of heavy cast iron (emphasis on heavy). The base of the grill is painted with heat resistant black paint, while the removable grills (where the charcoal and food sit) are untreated cast iron. They will have to be seasoned or they will rust if exposed to rain or humidity. If it does rust, just take a wire brush and scrub the rust off, and slather it up with shortening and cook something (or throw it into the oven at 350 degrees for an hour). A few iterations of this and the grill will almost be non-stick.

This is a hassle in the beginning, but if you take care of it, this grill will outlast you and probably your children. After I figured out it had to be seasoned, I haven't had any trouble with rust.

Also, the top grill has legs that rest on the base. You can flip this over, effectively adjusting the grill height down two inches towards the coals.

To give you an idea on the size, I was able to cook about 2.5 lbs of hamburger meat shaped into seven largish patties at the same time.

Although I was worried about the whole thing heating up, the base didn't heat up enough to do any damage to the wooden picnic table. In fact, I could touch the base without burning myself. However, if you are going to a tailgate party with this grill, I would bring along a piece of sheet rock or plywood to set it up on, as extra insurance.

EVEN COOKING, SOLID HEAVYWEIGHT IRON. PERFECT FOR 2 OR 3 PEOPLE. LIFETIME PURCHASE, AND EASY CLEANUP

This is what every gas grill owner needs to get the proper high temperatures needed for steaks, chops, and even rack of lamb. Since you can't close the lid and slow cook, you definitely need a kettle or gas grill too. but stoke this baby up with lump charcoal, and toss on your thick prime or choice steaks and you will be eating very, very, well.

Although I keep mine in a protected location, and have the grill well seasoned (or so I thought), wire brushing the grill knocks off metal flakes which end up in the food, and the bars keep getting thinner. Lodge does not offer a replacement grill-top, but I have written to them requesting one.

My friends and I call the Lodge Sportsman the "Iron Lung". It's HEAVY for sure. But, this is its precious secret. Simplicity rules in the design and method of use. It has two basic settings, depending how you flip the grate. However, the lower vent gives you a little more finesse.

If you can carry this beastie on a camping trip without getting a hernia, you WILL be rewarded. This grill will get a little rusty looking, but it won't ever let you down, - if you have any cooking sense at all.
I've used the Lodge whenever I had that "must-have" charcoal taste over the last four years (I was a Weber gas grill owner without a charcoal Weber kettle to fall back upon until recently).

The 'ol Lung always wins out when I want to make sizzling lamb chops or choice steaks that could earn a spot in a Martha Stuart Magazine article.
I love the feel of this little beast. There is nothing on the market that can compare to the hefty feeling of working with it. No thin metal and weakening corrosion here. The concentrated heat and heft can't be beat. It's a retro celebration. Also, aromas and smoke rising really count...

I have a Weber kettle now since XMAS ( I am prepared for prayer because of its results...), but the Lodge is an object of reverance too. Good stuff. Get one. Have fun. Discover minimalist grills and maximal results!

We do living history events and camp. We origionally bought this for events & places we couldn't make a ground fire, or fires had to be in a container. Now we use it at all our camping & living history sites. It looks close enough to origional braziers we have never had a problem at events. We use a concrete stepping stone under it to protect the grass. It holds my Dutch oven & bean pot which both have legs, and will hold a skillet & my husband's large coffeepot at the same time. After 6 hard years it still looks & acts good. Wiping it down with corn or olive oil when warm keeps it that way. If we get another grill it will probably be the Logic pre seasoned, but it will definitely be the Lodge Sportsmans.

This is a very sturdily made hibachi, not like the throw-awayitems that one usually finds in the lawn and garden center of the local department store. The heavy gauge cast-iron construction will ensure that this grill lasts for a long time. The grilling surface is large enough to comfortably fit a few large steaks or many burgers. Grilling over charcol with a bit of mesquite or other wood chip thrown in gives a wonderful flavour to the food.