Grate replacement: Weber stainless or charbroil cast iron?


 
J

John Lantern

TVWBB Member
Just like the topic says, i'm curious to hear opinions as to which grate I should switch my old rusty performer grate to. Price is almost identical-$37 shipped for the stainless vs $$35 shipped for the cast iron. I have some old gas cast grates I can put on top of thin ones, but they don't fit very well. I also have a decent, though old, regular grate I can steal from my old bar b kettle, so no matter what I get I can sorry of still do the other, but I'd like to leave one on most of the time.

Thanks!
 
I sold my char-broil and went back to the standard chrome-plated grates. If I had it to do again, I'd have bought the stainless in the first place.

The char-broil is great, but it's not for people who like to mess with the coals mid-cook. You've got to lift off the entire center ring to get to the fire to add more charcoal or wood, and that just became too much of a hassle for me. An arm-singeing hassle.

Also (and I know this is a minority opinion) after cooking on cast iron grates for a year, I'm not sure that they bring that much to the charcoal grill party. Charcoal gets so much hotter than gas that the entire food surface caramelizes instead of just the "grill marks." My food looks and tastes just as good on steel as on cast iron.

S.
 
I have a craycort I am very happy with. What I like most about them is that they will last me a lifetime with proper care. I use them everyday and went through weber grates like socks. There is a learning curve with craycorts, but after you have them dialed in you probably won't ever have any regrets.
 
Originally posted by StanHenson:

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Also (and I know this is a minority opinion) after cooking on cast iron grates for a year, I'm not sure that they bring that much to the charcoal grill party. Charcoal gets so much hotter than gas that the entire food surface caramelizes instead of just the "grill marks." My food looks and tastes just as good on steel as on cast iron.

S.
Click to expand...

I'm of the opinion that cast iron grates are overrated, in terms of what they add to the cooking experience on the Weber kettle versus the chrome plated OEM or stainless grates. They leave great grill marks, sure. But I haven't seen any side-by-side cooking comparisons to validate the benefits, if any.

Like you've stated, and I agree with, the fire is the main key to success for open charcoal cooking. The CrayCorts, by having more surface area, probably have more heat retention value than thinner CI grates, such as the Stok and Charbroil (both of which I have).

I believe where cast iron adds measurable beneficial value is in closed container cooking, such as a CI dutch oven, or CI skillet/frying pan. And the benefit comes as a result of having a full CI surface surrounding the food, which both increases heat efficiency and cooking evenness.

Personally I believe the "nice sear mark" is the main desirable feature of CI cooking grates.
 
+1 stainless. For me the worry-free durability out ways the sear marks. I use cast iron for dutch oven and a fry pan, but find myself always looking for something lighter, and not so maintenance heavy, and still looking.
 
I just like the standard grate that comes with the grill. However I do have the gourmet grill with the center cast iron insert. I only use it for steaks but I do like the griddle for fryin up bacon and eggs on weekend mornings......
 
You might consider Grill Grates as another possibility. I'm not sure whether it's ok to link to Meathead's review at amazingribs, but he gave them rave reviews. I got a set a few weeks back and have been very happy with them. They're "hard anodized aircraft grade aluminum," feel fairly heavy duty and study for aluminum, and appear to be fairly low maintenance. They make it easy to get nice, cross-hatched sear marks, and I've gotten very good results with them on steak, fish, and veggies. I also like that the sections are small and light enough to take them with you to use anywhere (I took them with me to the lake last weekend).
 
Agreed! I got a set when they had a Groupon deal working. Since they're easily portable, at least I don't need to buy separate sets for home and the lake.
 
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