Lodge Sportsman's Grill

njl

My wife just got me one of these to accompany the LBGE.  I've not used it yet, and I'm a little concerned about storing it outside with the egg due to humidity and the concern that it'll rust all over.  It seems to me, these things could really use a sturdy wood box/carrying case both for transportation and so that if I wanted to store it indoors or in the garage, I can bring it in/through the house without worrying about ash blowing out of it.  Anyone done such a project?

Also, I'm curious...what do you cook on these?  Obviously, it lacks both the range of temperature control the egg has and the cooking grid area.

caliking

Well it is a grill... Works well for burgers, some types of kababs, basically any high temp kind cook. its portable, doesnt use a lot of fuel. they can be pretty fun to use. Could also be used as a searing station in conjunction with the egg. I'll look for some pics.

Charlesmaneri

@njl as far as the Lodge Sportsman's grill rusting I would think that if you give it a good coat of vegetable oil after your cook and it has cooled down you should be fine I leave my cast iron grills outside all the time and no rust just coat with vegetable oil and no rust 

caliking

Lamb burgers, ahi tuna, rack of lamb.

njl

Interesting.  I've always done rack of lamb in the oven or in the egg (top closed).  Never with direct heat only from the bottom and no cover.

caliking

For the rack, I had 2 zones setup in the grill - the left had just a little charcoal, and I banked the rest to the right. Started out on the cooler left side, then seared both sides on the right. Worked out pretty well. You may already know this, but the grid for this grill can be used on both sides. The way I had it setup in my pics (legs down) gives a bit of space between the coals and food. Flip it over (legs up) and you're cooking closer to the fire.

I saw on another forum where someone painted the outside of the grill with high-heat paint to prevent rusting. I keep mine oiled and in the garage when not in use. Have not used it much since I got my eggs, but it would still be great for camping and such, since the coals could be dumped pretty easily after you're done. 

Tjcoley

I use mine for searing/reverse searing steaks, quick burger or dog cooks, anything hot and fast.  It sits in a gutted gasser.  Oiled after every cook, and covered, no issue with rust.  

njl

When you guys say "oiled after every cook" do you mean just the cooking grid or the whole thing?  Are you using an oiled paper towel / rag, or can of Pam?

caliking

I spray it with canola oil in a can from Costco. Same as Pam, I guess. Its easier to spray it down.

henapple

All of it...

Gogogordy

Good stuff, and it will rust but its certainly not the end of the world. I also spray mine with veg. oil. Great for burgers, carne asada and fish IMO.( I cook my fish fast and high, and this fits the bill. Halibut and salmon). Anything cooked fast and fierce cooks well on a hibachi.... Hibachis have been around for at least as long as ceramic grills like the BGE, and the Lodge is one of the best Hibachis available, just like the BGE in the ceramic grill class.

Tjcoley

The only place mine tends to rust is the grid, probably from the high heat burning off the oil. That's the only part I oil regularly.

njl

I finally got around to breaking it in...traveled to a family gathering with it, a small bag of hand picked Cowboy lump from a 20lb bag, and 1.6lbs of Publix market ground beef.  I made 6 just over 1/2lb burgers and had just enough cooking area on the Lodge to cook them all at one time.  After the burgers, I did a pack of hot dogs.

I had a little trouble getting it lit initially...I was afraid of putting too much lump in and had it spread too thinly.  A couple of the burgers stuck a little...probably because I didn't have it hot enough.

They want to use it again tonight for steaks...and after that, I have stuff to make smores.

njl

Just finished cooking 6 boneless ribeyes.  Only real complaint so far is this think leaks oil like a sieve.  Fortunately, we put down double heavy foil under it...but there's a pool of beef fat/oil in that foil now.  Getting it relit for the steaks was not so hard.  Getting it evenly lit is still a little tricky.  I ended up moving individual pieces of burning/not-burning lump around to get reasonably even heat.

Tjcoley

How are you lighting it?  I use a chimney with a couple oiled paper towels instead of newspaper - One full chimney gives me an even bed of burning coals in about 10 minutes.

Mickey

caliking said:

Lamb burgers, ahi tuna, rack of lamb.

Were you raised in a barn? At least use lump in it :-O

njl

I was lighting it pretty much the way I light the egg.  Pour some veg oil on a paper towel, twist it up, put it under or in the lump (with the Lodge, I put it under the fire grid) and light the paper towel with a lighter.  I've thought about buying a chimney starter...guess it's time.

The interesting thing is, we were discussing the grease issue on the way home last night...and it occurred to me, the gas grills of my past generally had an oil drain hole at the low point of the bottom and provision to hang a "soup can" to catch the grease.  The Lodge doesn't have anything like that.  The BGE doesn't either...but the BGE must burn all the grease (where else would it go)...and I wonder how much that contributes to their efficiency.  i.e. the grease is extra/free fuel.

njl

BTW...I tried to smother the fire after the steaks were done by closing the draft door and draping HDAF over the entire grill.  This slowed it down (to the point that there were still hot coals 3 hours later) but did not put it out.  I was reminded of the Allstate commercial where the tailgater's car burns up because they put the grill away too soon.

njl

I didn't think to shoot the burgers...but here it is with the steaks on it.



And the grease mess

grege345

Insure you can travel with a metal,drip pan of sorts. I've been looking at these for a while. Basically for searing and single person cooks

njl

Yeah...I was figuring on dedicating a lipped baking sheet to acting as its drip pan.  I just had no idea this would be an issue.