It Ain’t Easy Being Green; Or is it? Green Life Shirin Konro Grills
An introspective study into the merits of BBQing using a “Green LIfe Shichirin Konro” (TL;DR these grills slap)
I am not a simple person with simple tastes. I have very strong opinions on a great deal of subjects. There are no easy answers in life, and if anyone tries to tell you otherwise, you are definitely listening to a sales pitch (well this is awkward). HOWEVER; There are exceptions to this rule. For instance, I posit to you, dear reader, the following:
Food on stick is good. Very good.
I find this to be a rare example of objective truth. A truth both undeniable and inarguable. A truth whose essential beauty lies in its simplicity. All cultures from every corner of the planet we call our home independently arrived at this exact same conclusion ages upon ages ago. Kebab, shawarma, yakitori, brochette, suya, chuan, tikka, souvlaki, cheftalia, Kyinkyinga, gyros, espetadas, pincho moruno, satay - Everyone has food on stick. Because food on stick is good. Very good.
But I digress! Look at this grill.
This is the Konro BBQ. Pretty cool, right? I strongly feel that this is the best tool to make food on stick. But these traditional ceramic BBQ’s are not the easiest things to work with. You can’t really get them wet. They can be cracked or broken easily with impact. They’re really heavy. They’re kinda big hefty babies that you’ve gotta look after. If that sounds good to you, just stop reading and [click here] to buy one. They rule.
But look at this grill!
Well hello there! What a handsome grill you are! This is the Green Life, and I am in love with it. They’ve kind of got it going on. For starters, this grill is light. Like REALLY light. They’re made from very thin sheets of double walled steel and are an absolute breeze to schlep around - think about camping, trips to the park or beach, or bringing it over to a friend or family get-together. You don’t need to worry about hauling around a grill made out of literal bricks!
That double-walling also gives you another great feature - insulation. The big chonky Konro grills are extremely well insulated on the sides because they are made out of porous ceramic. This ceramic works well to shunt heat straight up where it belongs, and not out the sides of the bbq. Works great. Think of it like a coffee mug! A stone or ceramic mug doesn’t get super hot, so you don’t burn your poor fingers! But there’s another option out there too - have you ever drank coffee or tea out of a double walled glass? Having some air between the two layers of glass keeps the heat from reaching your fingers, and these glasses are generally a lot lighter than a coffee mug, right? The Green Life uses this same concept to insulate the grill! It’s actually incredibly surprising, but the outside of these grills only get a bit warm, even when the coal inside is blazing hot. Works like a charm!
After fiddling around with this grill a few times, I was pretty much completely sold. It’s light, transportable, durable, and doesn’t get too hot. However, after reading a little bit about them, we discovered some sneaky hidden tricks! The grill itself can actually be placed in two different positions - you can simply pop the grill top on the bbq and go to town, but if you want a little bit less heat and flame, the bbq is fitted with these cool little raisable bars that can hold the grill several inches away from the heat! Really handy when you’re cooking something real fatty like a ribeye and you don’t want those little greasy flare ups blackening your dinner!
The little holes sitting around the edge of the grill? Random? Nah bud. Those are for skewers! Boom. Robata. Amazing.
What a dandy lil grill! It’s also worth mentioning that they’re an incredible deal - even the smallest Konro Yakitori BBQs are gonna run at least a couple hundred bucks, but these guys are super affordable - the Medium size is only $120, and the large is a cool $175! Steal of a deal if you ask me. These guys are the perfect way to plus up your next BBQ!
