There’s such an expansive range of portable Charcoal Grills on the market these days that it’s often very difficult to choose. The best a consumer can do is to have available as much detail as possible so that they can make an educated choice rather than a guess. I aim to give you this kind of information here. The subject of this article is the Char-Griller 1515 Patio Pro Charcoal Grill and you’ll read about the pro’s, but you’ll also read about any flaws it has. Hopefully, once you’ve finished reading you’ll have a pretty good idea about whether or not it’s right for you.
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Pros:
- Great Food
- Easy Assembly
- Nice Design
- Portable
- Low Weight
- Stainless Steel
Cons:
- 250 Square Inches
- Not much room on the Side-Shelves
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Char-Griller 1515 Patio Pro Charcoal Grill Review:
Size/Design:
The design is durable if not beautiful and for some people that might be better. Quite old-fashioned in its appearance you get a barrel-shaped Stainless Steel primary cooking area, that sits upon a Cart. To its left is a fold out Side-Shelf for extra space and the whole thing measures 44x31x21. Since it only weighs 47 pounds both this and the size lend themselves towards excellent portability which is further increased by the strong wheels and the simplicity of the design. Top marks for portability, shame about the looks, but read on to the performance section where you can find out how high it scored in the most important category of all; taste.
Performance
It’s designed to be taken out for Tailgating and for Camping, so it’s incredibly easy to assemble and the barrel-shaped cooking area comes already assembled. You simply set-up the stand and place it on top, folding out the shelf if you need it and you can get started. You can tell they kept portability in mind when thinking about the design and the job takes one person 10 minutes to complete which is very good. You also get a drawer you can pull out to store extra Charcoal so you’re not dipping into a bag regularly and this was another welcome inclusion.
The size of the cooking area is something you’ll need to think about because they kept it small so it would fit into cars or trucks easily, but at 250 square inches, you don’t get a huge cooking area. It’ll be enough to easily feed 2 parents and 3 children but if you’re planning on cooking regularly for more people then you may wish to consider an alternative model. The quality is certainly there though because they fitted the Char-Griller 1515 with some excellent Cast-Iron Grates of just the right thickness to disperse heat fast and evenly around the cooking surface. You really do get some wonderfully cooked food full of taste and moisture because the Grates being Cast-Iron don’t burn the meat or break down its moisture barrier. The Barrel-shaped cooking area is also conducive to quality food and it retains heat to the same standard as the domed lid on Weber’s Original Kettle Grill but at a much lower cost price.
There’s an excellent Thermometer in the lid of the Barrel and it’s completely accurate, although it does have a tendency to heat up, so don’t touch it while cooking. The other slight issue comes from the Side-Shelf because it is extremely small. You’ll want to have something else like a table on-hand to store any seasoning and other ingredients you might need because the Side-Shelf won’t give you enough space. Other than these issues I had few complaints about this durable, easy to clean Grill and it even comes with handles that don’t get hot.
The Verdict
While with the Cast-Iron Grates and the beautiful Barrel design, buyers can be assured of quality food, they must ask themselves: is it big enough? For many people, it will be because they’ll be cooking for their family on fishing trips and while Tailgating. For others cooking for neighbors and friends regularly, more space will be needed than is provided. I liked the convenience touch of the charcoal drawer for storing your fuel because you don’t see that much. I also liked the fact that they kept the weight down while still creating a durable unit. It’s around 120 Dollars so I’d say give a chance, as the main Grill or as a secondary unit.