Should you buy a NOMAD Grill?
Let me get the boring stuff out of the way. This is NOT a paid ad, not being pushed to say anything I do not mean or believe in. I get asked a lot about various grills so I am going to start posting reviews that are MY OPINIONS.
Now lets get to the fun stuff!
Should you buy a NOMAD Grill? Thats the questions, here are my thoughts and I will give you my answer at the end.
First Impressions
The NOMAD Grill is very impressive, the machining and tooling shows a lot of thought and effort went into the design of the otherwise minimalistic grill. The handle has a great molded grip so it rests comfortably in your hand, the sky blue accented rubber fittings around the grill are also visually appealing.
Regarding the weight of the NOMAD, you are going to know its there when you lift it. Which being a bigger guy, I like because far too many times a lot of these portable grills feel like beefed up soda cans. This feels built to last and I believe it will.
When it came to the grates, them being magnetic is a great touch, makes it much easier when transporting the grill as nothing is loose and shaking around. The built in thermometer is also rather spot on. Which when in “smoker mode” is very important as you do not want to keep opening the grill and losing all of that heat so quickly.
How Does It Cook?
For my first cook on the NOMAD Grill, I used standard lump coal. I was out on the middle of no where and chasing light so I didn’t have the additional time for the coal that came with it.
The portable case design allows for over 400 square inches of cooking space, which is great in Grill Mode. Cut that in half for Smoker Mode. With that space I was able to set the coal to one side and have the chicken on the other [indirect cooking]. I went this route so I could avoid flare ups and really see how good of a smoker the NOMAD really was.
I was actually very impressed with how the NOMAD grill worked as a smoker. very little thin blue smoke, wasn’t giving off an excessive amount of heat. Meaning things were cooking efficiently without waste. I literally was able to set it and leave it alone. For someone like me who is used to fire management and feeding fires all night, it was a welcomed and surprising change for a unit this size.
Things I Would Like To See
Its not easy to implement design changes on a product like this, but there are a few things I would have liked to see the NOMAD Grill do. Firstly would like a latch system that allowed the lid to stay open when in grill mode. Why you ask? Even on your basic kettle style grill you can use the lid to block wind while grilling. Giving the lid the ability to lock in the upward position also allow for radiant heat to bounce back during the cook in grill mode. Heck sometimes you just may not have the space to lay it flat out.
I am a huge fan of the magnetic grill grates. I would like to see a modified version offered in the future that allows one side of the grate to be lifted in order to add additional coal or wood during the cook. [ A hinge system of some sort] Even having the grates cut into two pieces so they are still magnetic but separated. This accompanied by a tool that lets you easily and safely lift the grates, without being burned or having to remove the meat from the heat source.
The thermometer placement is perfect, just making it slightly bigger. Tel-Tru’s are great but this one is rather small and was tricky for me to read.
Clean up was rather simple, just turned the grill over, however having the option to remove the interior lining of the grill would be nice as well. Would make a thorough cleaning and re-seasoning rather simple. These are not huge changes and very minor asks because overall the NOMAD grill is extremely solid.
Back to the original question, should you buy a NOMAD Grill? If you are in the market for a well built, portable two in one smoker/grill, and have an adventurous side or affinity for the outdoors. Then my answer is, yes! Though you can use this at home, this is the grill you take with you on adventures, when you go to explore, or like me when you are in the middle of no where with no one around for miles and want to make yourself some smoked chicken.
If you are looking for more information on the NOMAD Grill visit their site and find out more, but form the cooks I have done on it. I can honestly say this is going to be my go to portable cooking set up for a while!
Do you have a NOMAD Grill? Or is there a grill you are hesitant on getting and would like to have me review? Did I miss something in the review you have questions about? If so, leave a comment below and I will get back to you ASAP.
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