Weber Restaurant Stainless Ranch Kettle Questions


 
Benny Gilbert

Benny Gilbert

TVWBB Member
Hey y'all, quick question for the forum - for several years, I've wanted to get one of the all-stainless Ranch Kettles as seen at the Weber Grill Restaurant's various locations. I consider it a bit of a grail piece as I've never seen a private collector own one - plus, I think it could be really useful for catering purposes as it looks super well built. That being said, I have a few questions - I've gotten quite a bit of info on these from other groups and how they don't last as long as one would think due to their extremely constant use in the restaurants, but I still have a few things I'd like to know:

1. Does anyone actually privately own one of these?
2. Who or what company manufactures them for the restaurants? (As I've heard Weber outsources them)
3. Has anyone been crazy enough to attempt to build their own using a standard Ranch Kettle as a blueprint?
If anyone has any other random info that might be interesting, would you mind sharing?

Thanks for y'all's help! I really appreciate it!

(NOTE: Image below is not mine. Only using it as an example so people who may not know can see what I'm talking about.)
 

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“They fell off a truck”?
I have no idea what the life expectancy would be but, if you were a “home user“ or an occasional catering gig, it would probably last a full lifetime.
It seems like making one would be quite a project, but, modifying a Ranch kettle might be feasible. Are you thinking about the spring assist lift for the lid? The hinge could be found I’m pretty sure, I don’t know about the spring. But, it does beg the question… why?
 
Benny Gilbert said:
Hey y'all, quick question for the forum - for several years, I've wanted to get one of the all-stainless Ranch Kettles as seen at the Weber Grill Restaurant's various locations. I consider it a bit of a grail piece as I've never seen a private collector own one - plus, I think it could be really useful for catering purposes as it looks super well built. That being said, I have a few questions - I've gotten quite a bit of info on these from other groups and how they don't last as long as one would think due to their extremely constant use in the restaurants, but I still have a few things I'd like to know:

1. Does anyone actually privately own one of these?
2. Who or what company manufactures them for the restaurants? (As I've heard Weber outsources them)
3. Has anyone been crazy enough to attempt to build their own using a standard Ranch Kettle as a blueprint?
If anyone has any other random info that might be interesting, would you mind sharing?

Thanks for y'all's help! I really appreciate it!

(NOTE: Image below is not mine. Only using it as an example so people who may not know can see what I'm talking about.)
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Yeah it's not something I think they would even sell used. Definitely purpose built for inside the restaurant. If they ever shut down, maybe. I'm just guessing but the restaurant workers or management would snap them up privately if that happened.
 
Timothy F. Lewis said:
“They fell off a truck”?
I have no idea what the life expectancy would be but, if you were a “home user“ or an occasional catering gig, it would probably last a full lifetime.
It seems like making one would be quite a project, but, modifying a Ranch kettle might be feasible. Are you thinking about the spring assist lift for the lid? The hinge could be found I’m pretty sure, I don’t know about the spring. But, it does beg the question… why?
Click to expand...
I think the biggest thing that interests me about this particular design isn't the hinge on some versions (as I've heard it's actually a detriment to heat control, hence why others prefer the lid bale), but rather the open bottom system for the ashes, the super thick hinged cooking grate (which makes it really easy to add fresh coal for large scale grilling), and just the general build quality as they look like tanks, even more so than the standard Ranch Kettles. Also, the enormous handle on the front (which I'm convinced is where Weber got the idea for the handle on the Summit Kamado) seems like it makes moving the lid around much easier than the regular sized handles seen on the home use versions.
 
Benny Gilbert said:
I think the biggest thing that interests me about this particular design isn't the hinge on some versions (as I've heard it's actually a detriment to heat control, hence why others prefer the lid bale), but rather the open bottom system for the ashes, the super thick hinged cooking grate (which makes it really easy to add fresh coal for large scale grilling), and just the general build quality as they look like tanks, even more so than the standard Ranch Kettles. Also, the enormous handle on the front (which I'm convinced is where Weber got the idea for the handle on the Summit Kamado) seems like it makes moving the lid around much easier than the regular sized handles seen on the home use versions.
Click to expand...
I can’t speak to the specific thing you are asking about as I’ve not seen one first hand. But that handle design, in addition to the use of basically what became the “Slide aside” bale were clearly key items in the development of the “platypus“. Really a design that was clever but superfluous and didn’t last long.
To me the thing about the seriously heavy commercial design IS the spring, those big lids are three or four times as heavy as a ranch kettle so, they need ”3 men and a boy” to move them! As my Father used to say!
Honestly, it sounds to me like you are looking for the best of both worlds without investing in some experimentation. Picking the brain trust is fair game but, without seeing the particular design elements you are talking about, I’m not sure how to help.
 
A buddy of mine has been, “ It’s good, nothing really amazing.” Lawrys is more fun, so he says. Never been there either. I generally look for something that I don’t do at home when I’m away.
 
I ate at the one in downtown Indianapolis back in the late summer. Ribs were OK but not outstanding. I have also had lunch at the one in downtown Chicago a couple times, years ago. I had burgers then. Pricey, of course, but for burgers they were VERY good.

The main thing I got out of my recent visit was mostly enjoying the Weber decor and those stainless kettles cooking away!

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I have another question to add. Sorry if this seems ignorant, I didn’t know Weber had a restaurant until today…but how are they cooking with charcoal indoors?

I very briefly cleaned grease traps on exhaust fans for a few weeks after high school around 14 years ago, and I imagine that mess being exponentially bigger with a charcoal fire. Also, I’ve always heard of the dangers of carbon monoxide due to indoor fires, but have grown up with wood burning stoves in the homes all my life and it’s never been an issue. So either there’s a difference between the two I’m not realizing, or this is something else that California has slapped a danger label on that’s relatively safe with a bit of common sense.
 
Bruno said:
Has anyone eaten here? How’s the food?
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Bruno,

A group of us from my work would go to the Indy 500, and F1 races in Indy and stay just down the street from the Weber grill and it was a must to have dinner there a couple times during our visits. food was always good i loved the half chicken, and flank steaks, even just the burgers were great.
At first the guys gave me a have time because of my Weber BBQ back ground but after they ate there they wanted to go every time we were in town, or would drive up to take family to eat, as it was only 1.5 hours away from Cincinnati.
 
BrettK said:
I have another question to add. Sorry if this seems ignorant, I didn’t know Weber had a restaurant until today…but how are they cooking with charcoal indoors?

I very briefly cleaned grease traps on exhaust fans for a few weeks after high school around 14 years ago, and I imagine that mess being exponentially bigger with a charcoal fire. Also, I’ve always heard of the dangers of carbon monoxide due to indoor fires, but have grown up with wood burning stoves in the homes all my life and it’s never been an issue. So either there’s a difference between the two I’m not realizing, or this is something else that California has slapped a danger label on that’s relatively safe with a bit of common sense.
Click to expand...
Brett, many restaurants that specialize in "boutique" experiences have wood fire, or charcoal capabilities indoors. Think Woodfired pizza places for example. When I was younger I went to an Italian restaurant that had a wood fire grill centerpiece for toasting your own garlic bread to go with your meal.

Restaurants have crazy crazy code regulations. No matter the oven, there are requirements for vent hoods and exhaust fans to properly be installed before a restaurant could even open and obtain a license.

Many regulations are insanity though, as a restaurant can receive a code violation for I kid you not, "having a dent in a condiment bottle" that was on one of their dining tables.
 
Brock Gingery said:
Brett, many restaurants that specialize in "boutique" experiences have wood fire, or charcoal capabilities indoors. Think Woodfired pizza places for example. When I was younger I went to an Italian restaurant that had a wood fire grill centerpiece for toasting your own garlic bread to go with your meal.

Restaurants have crazy crazy code regulations. No matter the oven, there are requirements for vent hoods and exhaust fans to properly be installed before a restaurant could even open and obtain a license.

Many regulations are insanity though, as a restaurant can receive a code violation for I kid you not, "having a dent in a condiment bottle" that was on one of their dining tables.
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I get woodfired pizzerias, every one of those brick ovens has a chimney setup just like the wood stove in our living room.

The grills from the pictures above didn’t have any chimney, just seems to vent to the kitchen. Those exhaust fans most look like the side of the grills in the last picture.
 
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