My first impression: I like it. I started the charcoal using paraffin cubes and loaded the charcoal bowl filled with hardwood lump charcoal. I put the fan on high and the charcoal was lit in about 5 minutes. I don’t know much about Korean BBQ but I put the Korean cooking surface on anyway. I then put a thick cold chicken breast on the grill. Two mistakes here. It is better to have the meat at room temperature before cooking and the Korean cooking surface is better suited for thinner cuts of meat. The chicken burnt a bit before I turned it and the other side was near burnt before I took it off. However, when I cut into it, it was very juicy although undercooked at the center. There were probably still a few hours left on the charcoal so I could have burnt it even more. I will try it again later with the wire grill cook area. You can adjust the temperature by the fan speed so it doesn’t burn your meat before it’s done.
Even at the high fan speed you can pick up the grill to move it with the recessed handles because the shell was cool. It was virtually smokeless so you could put it in the middle of your picnic table and let everyone cook their own food. It’s lightweight yet big enough to cook a full meal for two to four especially if you cook in courses. There is a channel around the charcoal pan where you can put water to steam, or you can bake potatoes there. And, talk about flexible, you can pan fry. I plan to use it at home and on the trailer. I had a Char-Broil cast aluminum portable grill before but it took up too much room, was heavy (ish) and hard to clean. Even with propane readily available on the trailer I like cooking over charcoal.
I have not used it enough to find a negative yet other than the Korean grill surface is easily scratched. The package comes with silicon coated tongs and a brush which I should have used. The Korean surface is solid with vents and not so thin as to make you think it will burn through easily. They do sell replacement wire grill areas in a three pack. I don’t know about other replacement parts.
So, I both like it and recommend it. However, there are other grills with air blowers and larger cooking areas. This model is so versatile I don’t think I went wrong in choosing it.
