
And to be fair, the Briq doesn't list the lower temperature, either.

Even though the Spark One lists temperatures as low as 200 degrees on its dial, it had a hard time staying below 375 to 400 degrees with the lid closed. The two grills overlap in use but probably aren't direct competitors. The Spark One meat had a noticeably smoky charcoal taste, while the other one came out a bit juicier. A friend prepared two identical Tri-Tip steaks, and then he used his wood-pellet Traeger grill while I used the charcoal Spark One. Everything tasted great.įor fun, I even compared the Spark One directly against a Traeger. I did ease into grilling with some hamburgers to start but moved on to Tri-Tip and New York strip steaks after to see how those fared. Of course, my first time was filled with caution, but the next time it felt quickly second nature. It really doesn't take much effort to get the Spark One going and ready for some food. The temperature ring allows for precise cooking. The temperature ring will glow, and a few seconds later, flames should poke through the metal grates as it lights. Then you hold the ignition switch to the right for a few seconds before letting it go.

Each corner of the tray is rounded except the bottom right's, which is flat, to indicate the Briq's orientation. First, you pull out the center drawer and lay the Briq into the cast iron tray. Doing this initial burn helps acclimate you to how the grill works in practice. Part of the setup process includes doing the first burn with a special first-time-use Briq that comes included.

#SPARK GRILL BRIQS MANUAL#
There are no instruction papers the manual and setup videos are all digital. Luckily, the setup process is not overwhelming for newcomers to the sport of outdoor grilling. It's a little larger than it looks in pictures, but the most surprising thing is how heavy it is. Most of the space taken up by the Spark One is from its metal frame cart. The grill does come in other colors, too, if you want even more style. It seems to get its inspiration from the now retro, stereotypical circular charcoal grill, with its mostly black exterior and contrasting handle. Personally, I really like its modest and subtle appearance.

Whether it's your idea of what an outdoor grill should look like may be another story. The Spark Grill is a simple piece of backyard art. Please keep reading, but suffice it to say: Yes, the Spark One grill is great and makes it easy enough for beginners to jump right into charcoal grilling. But now, after making a range of meats and vegetables on the Spark One, it's likely I'll never use a standard charcoal barbecue, ever. I've never fully ventured into charcoal grilling because of the work involved, before and after. Has it ever been possible to cook with charcoal and set a specific temperature by simply rotating a dial? That's enabled by plugging its power cable into electricity the cable also powers an internal fan for precision grilling. The Spark One grill uses proprietary charcoal Briqs, lit with the flick of a switch. The Spark One grill is here with the promise to fix all those problems, and more, making grilling with charcoal as simple as igniting a gas grill. Outdoor grilling with gas is simple enough, but it can lack the extra-smoky flavor. Hello, backyard barbecue season! Sometimes it's rewarding to labor over a charcoal grill in order to cook up the most delicious burgers or steaks, but mostly it's just work.
