Why do cast iron hibachi grills need to be seasoned? And what exactly is seasoning?

Seasoning is the term used for curing cast iron to protect it from rusting and to provide a non-stick cooking surface. It is accomplished by literally cooking grease or oil into the fine pores of the metal. When done properly, food will virtually glide off this slick surface without the need for any additional oil and the lifespan of your grill will be significantly extended

A Simple Method for Seasoning Cast Iron Hibachi Grills

1. Before seasoning, you want to ensure that the cast iron is completely clean of any left-over food, gunk or debris. There is a debate as to whether or not to use soap or detergent for cleaning cast iron but my opinion is that if I am going to be re-seasoning it anyway, why not.
2. Once you have the cast iron grill grates clean and completely dry you want to coat their entire surface with a light coating of neutral oil such as Crisco, lard, bacon grease or vegetable oil.
3. Preheat your oven to 250 – 300F and pop them in there for 1 – 2 hours. This can also be accomplished on the hibachi grill itself by using the charcoal as a heat source but I find the oven most effective for me as it is a more universally distributed heat source. During the seasoning process oil will most likely drip so spreading some foil below the grill grates is a good idea.
4. Let the grill grates cool when finished and then simply wipe any excess oil with a paper towel and they are ready for cooking.

Follow these additional steps to avoid needing to season your cast iron hibachi too often

1. Avoid using soap to clean between seasonings. When done grilling simply scrape any remaining food particles from the grill and wipe it down with a light coating of cooking oil while the grill is still warm.
2. Always store your cast iron hibachi in a dry place, not outside in the elements. A protective cover is also a good idea.

By getting in the habit of implementing these simple steps you will not only ensure that your cast iron hibachi grill will continue to perform well throughout your lifetime, but that of your children’s and even grand children’s lifetimes as well.

This is a cool little folding charcoal grill (or briefcase grill). Unlike many charcoal hibachi grills that compromise available grilling surface for portability this model boasts a respectably large 19 x 14 inches of grill space without any trade-off for its ease of portability. That’s enough space to barbecue hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, or what have you for the whole family!

When you are done grilling with it, simply dump the ashes and the entire hibachi folds down flat to an impressive 2 ½ inches – basically the size of a laptop, or notebook computer. Add to that the included tote bag and shoulder strap and you’ve got one stylish, easily transportable hibachi grill.

Folding Charcoal Grill Specs:

• Grill Space: 19” x 14” (266 square inches)
• Height (Unfolded): 13 inches
• Height (Folded): 2.5 inches
• Weight: 13 pounds
• Cooking Capacity (up to 15 burgers)
• Setup Time: Seconds
• Packed Height: 2.5 inches

Customer Reviews

• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Simple
• Packs down to a thin 2.5 inches
• Very cool

The Cons:

• Not cast iron
• Some Customer Reviews mention it may corrode if stored outside (though I can’t imagine why you would need to store this compact grill outdoors).

Bayou Classic is selling this folding charcoal grill through Amazon as their Fold-and-Go Portable Grill for an insanely reasonable price. I wouldn’t put it in the same class as the Son of Hibachi Grills when it comes to innovation and quality, but considering it is about a third the price (and has 100 extra square inches of grilling surface) I think it is at least a suitable alternative.

Oysters are great raw, fresh out of the sea and right out of the shell. But what about cooked?

There are plenty of ways to cook an oyster, but there is something almost mystical that takes place when grilling them over a live fire, especially when outdoors. This makes them perfect for charcoal hibachi grills.

The searing heat of the grill makes oysters taste even more briny and succulent than when cooked by any other method. Even the ever so lightly burning of the shell imparts a haunting smoky flavor that can be achieved no other way.

And the bonus…  it’s about as easy to do as it could get.

The first step is checking for freshness. The easiest way to accomplish this is to simply tap the oysters one by one on a hard surface and make sure that they close their shell. If they do not, discard them.

Ingredients:

• Fresh, live oysters in the shell
• Sliced Lemons (optional)
• Cocktail Sauce (optional)
• Tabasco Sauce (optional)
• Hibachi Grill

Instructions:

1. Light the grill
2. Clean the oyster shells with fresh water, and a brush if necessary.
3. Once the hibachi is heated-up, simply place the shells on the grill.
4. grate with the deeper shell facing down.
5. The moment the shell pops open, they are ready to eat (around 5 to 7 minutes).
6. Open the shells (careful, they will be hot).
7. Squeeze on some lemon juice if desired.
8. Serve with cocktail sauce or Tabasco (the options are limitless).

You want to be careful not to over cook them. When the shell pops, they are done, period. If overcooked they will become rubbery. If removed when they first “pop”, they will remain juicy and succulent.

Tip:
An oven mitt or even a leather glove can be helpful when opening the shell. A shucking knife is rarely needed when grilled this way, but sometimes a sharp knife can be useful for cutting the muscle from the shell.

For more Tips using Hibachi Grills click here.

The temperature has been rising, the days have been getting longer, and the sun has been shining a little more. Spring is here and hibachi grills everywhere are being pulled out of storage and dusted off for the up-coming season. Here are a few quick tips to get this season’s grilling off to a tasty start.

Like most things in life, great grilling is learned and mastered over time. “Practice makes perfect”, right? If you want to learn to grill the perfect steak or the juiciest hamburgers with your hibachi grill it is going to take more than one attempt to nail it.

With that said, I know that you are more ready than ever to get outside and get grilling. Whether it is a couple of grilled rib eyes, cheese burgers with a slice of vine-ripened tomato, or a tasty shish kebob with a jalapeno-kick, the warm and sunny weather has put barbecue on the brain in all of us. So here are a couple of quick tips to help get the season off right.

First things first – you want to start with a clean grill. I’m sure this isn’t a problem with most people because I’m sure that most people gave their hibachi a good cleaning prior to packing it away last year for the winter… yeah right. We all do it, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being guilty of it myself. So, the obvious first step for the barbecue season is to give your hibachi grills a good scrubbing, before you’re first cookout!

Nobody wants to slap their top-dollar steaks on a grill that’s encrusted with unidentifiable charred chunks of last year’s leftovers. And besides just being gross to think about, think about what it does to the flavor.

Get reacquainted with your hibachi barbecue grill. If it has been a while since you used it last, you might find it a good idea to do a sort of “solo test-run” before trying to impress the friends and family. Besides being a good excuse to grill a fat t-bone for yourself, you’ll reacquaint yourself with things like “how much charcoal to use”, “where are the grill’s hot spots”, “the cool spots”, and the all important thing, “proper cooking times and temperatures”.

Speaking of temperature, lets cover a little hibachi grilling 101 re-cap here. Some people still believe that there is no need to pre-heat a grill. This couldn’t be further from the truth, especially with direct heat grilling hibachis. The idea of grilling is to sear-in those juices, the flavor – and this requires high heat. You want to get your hibachi grills raging hot before throwing the meat on. This is another area where a cast iron hibachi excels.

Next, preparation – Make sure you have all of your barbecuing utensils ready and clean. This is a good time to do a quick inventory on things like tongs and spatulas. You also want to note things like how much lighter fluid you have on hand (if you still use it), charcoal, and if you still do not have a charcoal chimney starter, now would be the time to put one on order. I find that making a quick checklist is helpful for all these items. It’s no fun to arrive at your destination, get the grill cranked up, slap the marinated steaks down by hand, and then realize the tongs were left at home.

Being prepared is key. Once the meat goes down, there’s no turning back. So be prepared. Being a hibachi grill master is not tough, but it does take a little practice. Remember, the more you fire up your hibachi grills, the better you’ll get at grilling on them. The better you get at grilling, the more you and your family will enjoy it.

Happy Grilling!

-MarkD

Save time, energy,  and money with this versatile little grill. Son of Hibachi grills have got to be the ultimate in innovative portable grills.

The unique design combines a 170 square inch cast iron hibachi cooking surface with a truly unique folding mechanism that transforms the entire grill into one big charcoal chimney starter.

When you are ready to grill, one of the first things people realize is that less charcoal is needed due to the efficient design. Couple that with the “self-cleaning” feature and the fact that the whole thing is self contained (including any left over charcoal) and you’ve got a pretty amazing little portable grill.

They claim that the cast iron grill is ready to cook on within 10 minutes from lighting but customer feedback suggests that mark can swing up or down a few minutes depending on the type of charcoal used (briquettes taking a bit longer than lump charcoal).

The operation appears fairly simple:

1. Load it with charcoal
2. Fold it up
3. Light it
4. Unfold it when the charcoal is ready for grilling (~10 minutes)
5. Do your cooking
6. Close it up (no clean-up necessary)
7. Pack it up (no waiting to cool)

They also boast that Son of Hibachi grills are “Self-Cleaning”. When you are done cooking, you simply fold the grill back up and all the ash & embers will fall to the retaining tray at the base.

The remaining heat from the left-over coals works as a self –cleaning oven and charcoal extinguisher.

Load the whole thing back into the included Snuff Out Pouch and be on your way. The Snuff Out Pouch has a flame-retardant lining which means there is no real need to wait around for Son of Hibachi grills to cool down.

The cool thing about this is that it means you can re-use the charcoal next time – saving you time, effort and money!

Note: The manufacturer does recommend waiting 30 minutes for it to cool, but the customer reviews I read suggest that this is not necessary and most likely just written for the lawyers.

I have not used one of these myself yet so can not personally endorse it but from what I have been able to gather from the customer reviews these things are pretty rock solid – carrying 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon’s customer reviews.