Lodge L410 Pre-Seasoned Sportsman’s Charcoal Grill

GrillGirl contributor Jon Solberg loves cast iron, in fact his everyday cookware is an odd collection of skillets and Dutch ovens. He enjoys the versatility that their oven and grill proof and easy to take care of as well as inexpensive. Some of the new artisanal cast iron can get pricey, but for the most part plain old cast iron can be had for not much cash.

As a cast iron lover and a grilling freak you know he's totally jazzed to be talking to you about the Lodge cast iron hibachi style grill, the Sportsman.
The word hibachi always confused him a bit. It can mean a few different things. In Japan, the word means fire bowl. Traditionally it was a charcoal heating device. During the Second World War, Japanese troops stared using these fire bowls as portable stoves.

Here in the US the term hibachi has come to be known for a small portable cooking grill. It is also known for being a flat top griddle. The kind you see in Japanese steak houses doing a style of cooking called teppanyaki. The actual name of this flat top griddle is a shichirin. When it was first introduced in North America that griddle was marketed as a hibachi just because it was easier for Americans to pronounce.

Oddly enough the Sportsman starts its life as the Birmingham Stove & Range Company Sad Iron Heater. BS&R was a division of the Atlanta Stove Works. In 1941 Atlanta Stove Works was given a patent for the Sportsmen Grill, it appeared in their catalog that same year.

Fast forward to 1991: The BS&R company goes out of business and the Sportsmen grill patent was handed off to Lodge Manufacturing. Lodge made some basic structure improvements to the grill but all- in-all it’s the same amazing little hibachi from way back when.

There is no one he knows in the world of grilling that just doesn’t want a Sportsmen. They’re a super cool, fun little cooker that will last a few lifetimes. It’s a great heat source for burgers and dogs, steaks, kababs, you name it.

The grill does get hot, so be sure you have a fire safe resting place for it. He has cooked with both lump charcoal and wood and have had the same great results. If you’re a griller that’s on the fence with this cooker, trust him. It’s time to get one in your line-up. If there’s an outdoor cook in your life, you won’t go wrong getting them one of these.