Just got back from a business trip to find that my new Craycort grates had been delivered. Ordered them about a week and half ago, and they were delivered within 5 days (to NY). I ordered the grate with an additional grill\griddle and tool. I didn't waste anytime unpacking them and getting the grill going. First impressions are that they are very solid and well constructed. I was a little concerned about shipping damage (per another user's experience) because the ring and grates come in a thin cardboard box with no padding (the cardboard was a little mangled), but did not find anything wrong. What was funny was that the griddle plate and tool came in a separate box within another box surrounded by paper. Since the griddle plate is significantly heavier than the individual grates (think of the weight of a cast iron skillet) this seemed like overkill - would have preferred to see this type of packing for the ring portion. But no foul and now I have lots of brown paper for starting the chimney. ;-)
While the chimney was going, I washed down the grates and ring with soap and water, dried them off and covered with vegetable oil via spray can, then I started prepping the food. Since I had spent all week eating lots of red meat while I was away, I figured the first burn on the new grates would be chicken. Got some chicken parts (legs, thighs and wings) and gave them a good seasoning\massaging with goya Adobo (for the Puerto Rican in me), lots of garlic powder, oregano, paprika and a light dusting of cayenne. All of this followed by an olive oil bath to keep things moist.
Once the coals were ready I popped down the grate and let it get hot. Nice fit, but it had a little bit of a wobble so I may need to adjust one of the little arms that keep the grate above the coals (never noticed that with the chrome grate). I had used about 1/2 a chimney of used coals from the last cookout and the rest new coal. I like setting my hot\direct zone in the back of the grill, and use the front for indirect cooking. After about 10 minutes things seemed like they were ready to go, so I started cooking. I started by browning the chicken on the hot side first, then moving to the indirect side. The first thing that came to mind as I started "hearing" that searing sound was
NICE.......!!!! And was not disappointed. One thing to note about using cast iron over charcoals is that you will need to rethink your method and timing of cooking, especially over the coals. The temp in the grill was a little under 400, which is my usual for this type of meal. On the chrome grills that came with the performer that meant that I could put the chicken down over direct heat for a 5-10 minutes to brown, flip, a few minutes more then move to indirect, with ok grill mark\sear. With the cast iron this timing was dramatically shortened. As I went back to make that first flip I found that I had some serious grill marks and browning in a very short time, even some blackening (DRUMSTICK DOWN!!! -that one didn't make it). Move the parts over to the indirect side and found that this was hot enough to sizzle as well, so at this point i needed to adjust the vents to bring down the heat a little. Let 'em cook for about 45 minutes, basting every now and then with some seasoned olive oil. When they were done they were nice and moist on the inside, crispy on the outside with nice grill marks (my trade off to not frying chicken). Again,
NICE.......!!!!
All in all, I am happy with this purchase so far. They will get more of a workout this weekend (country style ribs, burgers, veggies, more chicken), so we'll see how they fare, but I doubt I will be disappointed. Being a long time user of cast iron cooking utensils (skillets, grills, griddles, dutch ovens, grill grates, etc) this will be a nice addition to the sets. A couple of more things to note
a) As described in the product description, these grates are pre-seasoned, which is not the same as PCI, so they will definitely need to be maintained to avoid rust. As mentioned above, I have lots of other cast iron pieces so this will not be a problem. After the first cook I cleaned them off with a wire brush, slapped some more veg oil on them with a paper towel and left them on the grill over a low heat to season some more(until the remaining coals burned away). Also, the lifting tool was not seasoned at all so that got covered in oil and left on the grill to season as well (will probably do this after each cook until its nicely seasoned). Its important to keep the seasoning up, as this will help with the cooking (makes the surface almost non stick) and help keep the rust away.
b) While folks have complained that having so many pieces are a pain, especially for lighting the grill with a chimney, now that I have the pieces in front of me I don't think this will be that big a deal. If anything it will make for easier cleaning of the individual grates as now its easier to get them in the sink every now and then as opposed to the full 22" grate. Remember, no scrubbing, just a little soap and water, and make sure to dry thoroughly either on the stove or grill so that they don't rust. Also, having the ability to rotate the pieces to different parts of the grill will allow for more even seasoning, as the pieces that sit directly over the fire will have the seasoning burned away if they are always over the coals.
c) one thing I will keep an eye on is how well the grate maintains its shape. as I was cleaning up I noticed a little give in one of the grates as I used the tool to move it. This one was right over the hottest part of the fire, so it was kind of movement you get when metal gets hot. Was a little surprised, so I'll keep an eye on this. I've never encountered this with the Weber PCI grates or other cast iron stuff that I have used, so again, was surprised. I'll see how that goes and provide any updates - maybe it was my beer goggles and not the actual grate
All of that being said, Happy Grilling - sorry for being so long winded.......
