Rösle Kettle Grill - First Impression

Delivery Day - The Kettle Grill arrives partially assembled as indicated in the product literature. It takes about as much time to unpack as it does to assemble and from delivery to picture of the assembled product was a total of about 30 minutes. The tools required are a broad headed Phillips screwdriver and an adjustable 8 or 10” Crescent style wrench.

Assembly  - The pictures and descriptions that follow show how well the kettle grill is packaged (using environmentally friendly packaging per the manufacturer) and the very few steps it takes to assemble and be prepared for its first outing. The instructions are shown as ten steps but frankly if you are mechanically inclined at all you could figure this thing out without instructions.  

This is ALL THERE IS when you get it all unpacked.  It truly is partially assembled.  For all intents and purposes you are basically required to put on the base/wheels.

You bolt on the wheels, extend the base with the provided arms/poles, secure them with 8 bolts (provided), add the pin to the lid, attached the damper, place the grid, bins and ash pan in place and you are done.                       

Warranty - Cooking and Charcoal grates, 2 years; Enameled grill bowl and lid, 10 years (against rust and flame damage); all other parts, 2 years

Accessories - 31 individual accessories are listed in the product manual.  Many of them you will determine over time are items that are very hard to live without. 

Direct Grilling
The rule of thumb for grilling direct is that any food that takes less than 20-25 minutes to cook can or should be cooked direct.  Anything requiring more time requires greater temperature control and should be done indirect (see Indirect Cooking)

Lighting the Rösle Kettle for a direct cook – There are lots of options for fuel and methods for lighting.  For purposes of this review we are using the traditional Briquette and Lighter Fluid method. Dump the estimated amount of briquettes required onto the Kettle and arrange in a pyramid, Use your selected method for igniting and allow coals to come to temperature then carefully distribute around the grid for cooking.  Replace the cooking grid and you are ready to cook direct.

First impressions - From delivery to first direct cook the Rösle Kettle Grill has been a satisfying experience. During the quick and easy assembly you discover a well built unit made of high end and well designed materials. While the unit is priced on the high end of the traditional briquette kettle grill the materials, design and features are clearly superior. On the very first use you will discover its unique and distinguishing features like the 45 degree hinged lid (which keeps the handle cool) and easy to manage temperature controls rival grills that are priced hundreds of dollars higher. It is built with enough simplicity that you never have to graduate from hamburgers and hot dogs, however its ease of temperature control (allowing for long, indirect cooks) coupled with the large cooking surface area will quickly lure the simplest of cooks into trying longer cooks with superior results to the traditional kettle grills on the market today. The next installment in this review will cover the indirect cooking set up and temperature controls for a longer cook – Indirect cooking on the Rösle Kettle Grill.

Pictured here are Free Range Kansas City Strips w/Jail Break Rub (or NY Strips if you are outside the Midwest) ready to come off the grid on my initial direct cook, ready to rest while I prepared Wok Shrimp.

KC Strip Cooking Directions – Bring Kettle Grill to high heat, place steaks on grid and sear each side then remove to let rest (in foil) while you prepare your shrimp. Return Steaks to Grid for 1-3 minutes per side and remove for serving

Shrimp Recipe and Directions The Emile Henry Flame Ceramic Wok is heated up with a generous amount of EVOO. Add ¼ Cup of Minced green onions and garlic. Shrimp are dipped in a seafood tempura batter and dropped in hot EVOO turned once and removed for serving. 
Jail Break Rub Ingredients (in equal portions - you determine the size of the batch you want to create)

3 portions - Granulated Roasted Garlic (NO POWDERED GARLIC)
1 portion - Coriander powder (or two portions coriander seeds)

2 portions - Coarse Sea Salt (original recipe probably had 3 or more portions)

2 portions - Black Peppercorns (not ground pepper)

2.5 portions - Red Pepper Flakes (original recipe probably had 1 portion)

2.25 portions - Dill Seed

2.25 portions - Yellow Mustard seed

Put it all in Mortar and Pestle, (I use the Emile Henry, Citron model) and grind into to medium coarse mixture.  Store in a well sealed container and always shake mixture before applying. 

After you have completed your cook, use a grill brush to remove food particles and residue, then close the lid and all vents (top and bottom) and let cool before covering.

Next Installment - Indirect Cooking on the Rosle Kettle Grill