Lodge Sportsman's Seasoned Cast Iron Hibachi Grill

Most folks probably use charcoal. That's fine, but I use wood, and I make it hot. I'm not picky about the variety of wood, except that I don't use lumber, just natural wood from the woods cut to size. I achieve one or two good sized steaks before I have to add another load of wood, but if the fire is hot, it moves right along. It's the wood and the searing fat that gives the flavor. Don't be afraid of charring (blackening) the meat a little. I only use fatty meat, either nicely marbled steak or very fatty hamburger meat (20-25% fat). Avoid lean cuts. Sear one side, flip it when it comes loose from the grill, sear the other side, flip again, cook some more, flip again and cook some more. If the steak is thick, T-bone or porterhouse, you can stand it on the bone end to cook the areas close to the bone. Take the steak off the fire, cut it with scissors but not all the way through. The bone side holds it together. It ends up looking like a bone with a lot of flaps. Now put the steak back on the fire, spreading the flaps apart a little. Flip again. Take off the fire and put butter on the steak. Before you bring it to the table, the juices and butter will have made a nice sauce. Don't wait. Eat while hot! If you don't want to spend a lot for good steaks, buy cheap hamburger instead. The fattier, the better. I use the stuff with 20-25% fat. You'll need to move them around on the fire, in and out of the hotter spots, to keep them from burning, but it works. Don't be afraid of a little char on the outside. Don't be afraid of a little rare meat on the inside. Just close your eyes and eat. If you really need your hamburgers well done, go back to your propane grill. Now, if I tried that on your usual tinny stainless steel grill, the high heat would destroy the steel and warp the wire grate. You need cast iron! Eventually, after about 10 years of heating and cooling, however, even cast iron starts to delaminate, and so the grate slowly gets thinner and thinner. When big pieces break off, and you have holes in the grate, it's time to buy a new grill, but I can't complain. My Lodge grill gave me 10 good years of beautiful steaks. Note that the high heat makes the grill self-cleaning. Anyone complaining about rust is just too dumb to understand what cast iron means. Oil it, once it's cold, and it won't rust. You can use a vegetable oil spray if you want to make things easy. It will burn up the next time you use it. And if even that isn't easy enough for you, forget the steaks and just eat breakfast cereal.

Love this little grill. Cast iron retains heat so you use less charcoal and the food turns out perfect. Excited to take it camping soon!