Disclosure: This is not a compensated or sponsored post I was provided the product for review purposes only. All opinions expressed here are my own.

We are  a huge fan of charcoal grilling in the South since the weather is usually good. Pretty much everything I cook on my grills is on charcoal and I don’t even own a gas grill. Gas grills definitely have their place but I am willing to trade the convenience of gas for the flavor of charcoal. This would be a perfect holiday gift for the cook in your life.

The grill is the IG Charcoal BBQ. There are some great features on this grill but a couple improvements I would like to see that would make it much more useful.

The IG Charcoal grill is made of stainless steel which is easy to clean but can also stand up to the elements. I purposely left mine out in the elements for a couple weeks, let the sprinklers hit it, and I was able to pretty much just hose it off and give it a quick wipe clean. The grates of course, will require a bit more scrubbing but they are stainless as well which is a great feature. I haven’t been able to find any rust on the grill and all the mechanical parts still worked just fine.

With a 480 sq inch cooking surface which is about 100 sq inches. Since the grill is rectangle shaped (16″x30″) space can be a bit better utilized than others.

The grates easily lift out as well with some sturdy built-in handles. You would have no problem cooking 20 normal sized burgers or 30-40 hot dogs and sausages if you really wanted to.

If you need a place to put a tray of food, some seasonings, or some grill tools the folding tables on the side are great. They are 13 1/2 inches long so they can hold a sheet pan. There is also a storage shelf underneath the grill to hold your grill brushes, tongs, or anything else you will need.

The slide-out ashtray makes clean up very easy. No digging out the ashes with a shovel or dustpan or anything like that. Just pull out the shelf and dump it (when the coals are completely extinguished of course).

Probably the most useful feature on this grill is the adjustable charcoal tray. It can go up and down 6 inches so you easily control the temperatures. If your burgers or dogs are getting too charred or if you are getting flare-ups just lower the charcoal a bit. At the top the grate is just 3 inches from the cooking surface so you can get some super hot searing power from this grill or lower it down to 9 inches for a bit gentler heat.

Depending on what you are cooking just a single chimney will most likely give you enough heat but if you really want some more heat just add more charcoal. The grill comes unassembled but it can be easily assembled in a few minutes with no tools. The legs just slide into the body of the grill, the wheels attach with some wing-nuts, and the shelves have some easy bolts to screw together. The wheels are nice and heavy duty so you can easily roll this grill around your patio or deck.

I think it took me about 15 minutes to assemble the grill which, if you have ever put together a gas grill you know that is fast.

If you want to cook directly over heat the IG Grill is excellent. With the adjustable charcoal grate you can raise and lower the charcoal so you have some control over the heat that is hitting the meat. Burgers, sausages, and hot dogs are a no-brainer on this grill.

Pretty much anything you want to cook with direct heat will do great on this grill. I would leave about 1/4th of the charcoal basket empty so you have somewhere to move any meat that is cooking too quickly.

The IG Grill is very sturdy and put together well. It doesn’t really wobble and since it is stainless steel it should hold up for quite a few years. I haven’t seen anything yet that would make me question the quality of the grill.

The IG grill is available at Amazon with free Prime shipping for $399 and also at Wayfair for $254.13.

If you primarily cook on a gas grill and are looking to expand into charcoal this is a great grill for you.