I have been using Grill Grates on my Performer for a few months now, and I can’t quite decide if I like them or not. I bought the “fitted” set for a 22.5 kettle.
Pros:
- Really does eliminate flare-ups hitting the food. This is probably my favorite feature. Most juices drip down and hit the metal between the raised grates and vaporize. If anything does hit the fire the grates block the resulting flame.
- Does give really nice sear marks IF hot enough (see below).
- After a couple of cooks I am getting very good non-stick performance.
- The Grate Tool does work very well for flipping fish and delicate foods.
- Chicken and burgers really do seem extra juicy with all that vaporizing happening.
Cons:
- I have to build a much hotter fire then normal for some reason. Usually it is just my wife and I, so I am cooking two or three pieces of meat. On the stock grates, a half chimney is generally perfectly adequate for us (unless I am searing a steak or something requiring very high heat). With the Grill Grates, there is now a hunk of metal between the fire and the food. Sure, it heats up, but I have to use 3/4 to a full chimney in order to cook effectively. So I am burning through charcoal way faster then I used to which bugs me. If I try to get away with less, then cooking takes forever and sear marks are less then impressive. On the stock grates with the food directly exposed to the coals I don’t have that problem, so I can only assume that the grates are deflecting/absorbing a lot of the heat that should be getting to the food.
- Cleaning is a bit of a pain. Gunk collects between the raised portions of the grate. The Grate Tool gets a lot of it out, but not all of it, and then it builds up around the edge of the kettle, which I don’t like. The remaining gunk that the tool misses can sometimes give food a gross black film when hit with hot juices. Giving the grates a quick wash in the sink takes care of this, but it's extra hassle that I never had to do with the stock grates.
- A minor issues, but when lighting my charcoal I really like how I can hang the stock grate from the back of the Performer. Now I have to set it on the table, which makes a mess. This would certainly be an issue with any aftermarket grate, and it’s not that big a deal to just wipe it down, but something to think about.
So there are my two cents. Just last night I went back to my stock grates because I am sick of using so much fuel. I am wondering if I should have gone the cast iron route (I love my CI dutch ovens and skillet), but I really do like the flare-up blocking of the Grill Grates.