With everything that’s going on in the world at the moment, it appears that a lot more people are learning to live off the land and/or moving out from Metropolitan areas to more rural areas. But what if you are forced to move out of the Metropolitan areas by proxy and forced to bug out? Well when it comes to some items needed to survive, eating is one of them. We were thinking about how to associate cooking with Bugging Out or at least use for the campsite. One company that really caught my eye was M Grills out of Nebraska.
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Who is M Grills
M Grills was started by a family owned business based out of their 3rd generation machine shop, Magee Machine & Mfg in Mesquite, Texas. As of mid 2022, M Grills and Blazn Grill Works are now built in Beatrice, Nebraska at Kinney Mfg. (kinneymfgllc.com) with precision craftsmanship and as always…built to last. “We take pride in our high-end cooking products and use only the finest materials. Our grills and smokers are not stamped on an assembly line or made overseas with inferior materials. We strive to make our line of barbecue products better at all costs.
Performance, build quality, design, aesthetic, warranty, and customer service. Every one of these categories are extremely important to us. As consumers ourselves, we know they are to you too. That is why we go above and beyond in everything we do to offer the best products and customer experience possible.” – M Grills
One thing we love to showcase on here is American Made Products and M Grills delivers on that! M Grills offers affordable handcrafted products that are backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty. Their grills are handcrafted and may take up to 3 weeks before they are ready to ship, but man is it worth it!
M Grills definitely delivers with a great little setup called the C4. M Grills has designed the C4 to be used with minimal charcoal briquettes (approx. 8-12 depending on your target temp) and/or thin layer of lump charcoal and is made out of 16ga 304 Stainless Steel. To get that perfect grill marks, one must use high heat and grill grates to achieve this, and M Grills offers a set of grill grates to achieve such marks.
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C4 Portable Grill Specifications:
- Dual Intake Airflow
- 16 gauge 304 stainless steel body, legs, and damper covers
- 304 stainless steel handle
- 304 stainless steel piano hinge
- 304 stainless steel fasteners
- Steel latch with comfortable bright red rubber tip
- 16 gauge stainless steel charcoal insulation sleeve (7.5” X 9.25” X 4”)
- 1/4” thick 304 stainless steel charcoal grate
- Stainless Steel grate removing tools
- 16 gauge 304 stainless steel Over-Under (1/4″ 304 stainless steel Grate/Cover)
- C4-S GRILLGRATE BRAND Panels
- M Grills Side Arm Cleaning Tool
- Available in Powder Coated Options (Bright Green, Pink, Red, Orange, Semi Gloss Black, Blue) or Polished Stainless Steel
- Total height: 13.125″
- Total width: 10″
- Total length: 13″
- Cooking area: 11″ x 9.5″
- Total Weight: 26lbs
- Limited Lifetime Warranty
- Price- $500.00
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The Set Up
When you are out camping, saving space is a must, especially when your vehicle is loaded down. This small package makes for a great cooker. Assembling the C4 is quite easy, using standard tools and 1/4″ sockets. After everything is assembled, you are ready to start cooking. Get your charcoal up to temp with a charcoal chimney, dump the the coals in the grill, add the top grate, season and add your protein, and cook to your preferred temp.
When adding the GrillGrates, make sure to season them prior to placing any protein on them. One technique I can recommend is getting an onion, cut it in half and rub the onion on the grates. Place them on top of the hot Stainless Steel Rods and let them get hot for about 20-30mins. After your grates are seasoned, I highly recommend using Duck Fat as a spray for the grates prior to putting on the protein.
If you are wanting to add an oven to this little grill, you can with the addition of the Over-Under. “Once you get your high heat sear, simply put your protein in The Over-Under and place over your hot grill grates. Your protein will slowly come up to your ideal internal temperature with ease. You can leave an instant read temperature probe in your protein through the top to nail that perfect doneness every time! This method is far better than having to open and close a lid every time to check your protein temperature. With The Over-Under, you won’t miss that perfect internal temperature as the radiant heat from the stainless steel warms your protein to perfection!” To expedite your cook, you can place the Over-Under on top of the grates, pull the lid up and place a steak weight in front to create a convection oven!
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Conclusion
If you are wanting to get a small, portable grill for your campsite, tailgating, hunting, smaller families, beach trips, job sites, competitions, and your bug-out vehicle. According to M Grill, “you can even take your C4 Portable Grill on most airlines as a carry on! Sometimes firing up your large charcoal grill is overkill for a small meal. Fire up the C4 instead!” At the end of the day, this little portable grill packs a huge punch with a small footprint! Again, one thing we really like is the fact that it’s American Made, comes with a Lifetime Warranty, and is affordable. We also love the fact that everything fits inside this grill and locks in place for easy carrying.
Disclaimer: Per M Grills, “we highly recommend only using the minimum amount of charcoal inside the sleeve and never filling it up over half way. Usually no more than 8 to 12 charcoal briquettes. Over filling the charcoal sleeve can damage the powder coated finish. If you like to get your grills extremely hot (600 degrees at the grate or more), we recommend going with the Polished Stainless Steel finish. Always start with a minimum amount of charcoal (12 briquettes or thin layer of small lump charcoal).”
