Anyone here using carbon steel woks on their Weber Kettle grills?


 
B

BradT

New member
Hi all, first-time poster here. I just purchased a Weber Master Touch with the removable center grate insert, and am thinking about getting a wok for it. I know Weber makes a cast iron one for $55 that seems fairly well liked, but it'd be way cheaper to get a carbon steel wok for 1/3 the price. Something like this one which sells for $18.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001BSN7P0/tvwb-20

I mean, woks like this are what they actually use in Chinese restaurants over blazing hot heat sources that I'm sure compare favorably to what we can accomplish with charcoal in our grill. And 1/3 the price of the Weber! What am I missing here? Sure it needs to be seasoned, but so does cast iron.

Has anyone here used one like this with their Weber? The one I linked to is 16" diameter which is also smaller than the weber one. The center hole in the grate is 12" diameter so no danger of this one falling through, and it gets it that much closer to the charcoal.
 
The wok I use is carbon steel. In my humble opinion, it is the only way to go. With a cast iron wok, the whole wok will be about the same temp but with a carbon steel wok you have different levels of temps the further up the wok you go. This is similar to using zone type cooking on a kettle. I say stay with the carbon steel.
Also, welcome to the forum.
 
I agree with Bob's reply, Plus once you get a cast iron wok hot your not going to beable to bring down the temp's quick like you can using a carbon steel wok. I use my flat bottom Imusa carbon wok all the time on the kettle.
 
I have a hand hammered, northern, carbon steel wok that we use over charcoal. Works great. Check out your local international market if you have one. I got mine here in Indy for under $20.
 
Thanks for the feedback, all. Looks like carbon steel it is! Looking forward to my first outdoor stir fry. Guessing it will be a far more satisfying experience than my indoor stovetop usually provides.
 
BradT said:
Thanks for the feedback, all. Looks like carbon steel it is! Looking forward to my first outdoor stir fry. Guessing it will be a far more satisfying experience than my indoor stovetop usually provides.
Click to expand...

You are so right. When the wok is right over the coals, the added heat makes that wok sing. Most cooktops can't get really high BTU's so that was always a problem. I'm luck in that the new cooktop we got a couple of years ago does have a special high BTU burner, but the Performer is still better.

Enjoy that wok. The food is always good and also healthy. I got started using a wok some 25 years ago thanks to a show called "Yan Can Cook" We bought some of Martin Yan's cookbooks and still have and use them to this day. Great place to start.
 
Bob Ivey said:
You are so right. When the wok is right over the coals, the added heat makes that wok sing. Most cooktops can't get really high BTU's so that was always a problem. I'm luck in that the new cooktop we got a couple of years ago does have a special high BTU burner, but the Performer is still better.

Enjoy that wok. The food is always good and also healthy. I got started using a wok some 25 years ago thanks to a show called "Yan Can Cook" We bought some of Martin Yan's cookbooks and still have and use them to this day. Great place to start.
Click to expand...

"Yan can cook" boy does that bring back memories when the Food Network a long time ago had real cooking shows instead of the lame game shows of today. Any ways I picked up a carbon steel wok at wally's for $5 in the closeout section works great on the grill.
 
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