![]() ![]() The Spark Grill’s large cooking area puts it on par with most gas grills, featuring nearly 400 square inches on those cast iron grates.Īs fuel, the Spark Grill uses proprietary charcoal “Briqs” that can be purchased from Spark. (Image credit: Mike Larson.) Spark Grill: Features In this review, we’ll take a closer look at the Spark Grill and why you should (or should not) buy it. It’s an expensive, but extremely capable grill and could ultimately be a catch-all replacement for many outdoor cooks. From unboxing to setup to cooking and cleaning, we put the Spark Grill through its paces. Spark also makes an app that gives users the capability of controlling the grill’s internal temperature through their phones. While the grill burns charcoal, it still has an electric fan powered temperature control, so an electrical outlet nearby is a must. Using it to cook baby back ribs, burgers, steaks and even a few pizzas, we put the grill through a gauntlet of work with varied, but ultimately solid results. We put those promises to the test, grilling and barbecuing a variety of foods chosen to challenge the grills spectrum of abilities. Warranty: 3-year warranty, 100-day risk-free trialįrom low and slow barbecue to pizzas that cook at upwards of 900 degrees and everything in between, Colorado-based Spark says its grill can do it all. If you can live with that, the rest of the Spark One is great, and it really does deliver on its promise of charcoal grilling made simple.Weight: 77 lbs for the kettle + 28 lbs for the cart Therein lies the rub: expensive Briqs with limited cooking options. The precision temperature control is gone, it's a pain to light, and in the end, it'll cook no better than a $20 grill from a big box store. That's technically not true, as you can cook with regular charcoal, but everything great about the Spark would stop being great. You can order Briqs online from Spark, but if the company goes out of business, you've got a $900, oversized paperweight. That gets to the heart of the problem with proprietary charcoal-availability. (*Update April 08: the low-and-slow Briq is now available*) If you want to do a slow cook, say ribs or brisket, you'll need Spark's low-and-slow Briq, which I wasn't able to test. The Spark really excels from about 450 degrees to 850 degrees, with 500 being the sweet spot in my testing. The only ones available now are for high-heat cooking. If, on the other hand, you're cooking a whole chicken and you need just a few more minutes … well, you better start your oven, because there's no way to throw a couple more Briqs on like you would in a typical charcoal grill.īriq options are limited as well. There's no way to stop the rest from burning up though, so you end up using a whole thing. #Spark grill briqs full#If you're cooking for two people, say grilling up some burgers quick, you'll use significantly less than a full Briq. It's not cheap, about $5 a Briq, and one Briq is one cook. The only real problem with the Spark grill is the proprietary charcoal. ![]() The bamboo cutting board and working area provide ample food-prepping space, more than most grills I've tested. The clean lines and rounded corners make other grills look bulky and awkward. The midcentury-modern-inspired design looks great. Really, probably less than 20 percent of the effort. If you love the Pareto principle, the Spark is worth considering, because it really does give you 80 percent of the results with 20 percent of the effort. This is a no-fuss, flip-a-switch-and-go charcoal grill that imparts, in my testing anyway, about 80 percent of the flavor you'd get from a traditional charcoal grill. If you fall into the latter category, the Spark is for you. Plenty of other people-understandably-just want to get a tasty grilled dinner on the table. There are many variables at play when grilling over wood or charcoal: the kind of wood, the smoke, the heat, and more.Ĭombining these variables is as much art as science and is a part of the fun of cooking over burning wood or charcoal. This is the Spark One's appeal: that great charcoal flavor but with the convenience of a gas grill.īefore I dive into how the Spark delivers on this claim, it's important to understand that exactly how food acquires that distinctive charcoal flavor is influenced by everything from smoke (the specific aromas given off by burning wood that end up in the food) to how, when, and where any Maillard reaction occurs. Food cooked over charcoal has a distinctive taste. ![]()
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