Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

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Captain Cook
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Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by Captain Cook »

Hi

I came across a new type of Cast Iron Grill to suit the Weber 57 cm Kettle and Weber Performer on the Virtual Weber Bullet Forum the other day. I have made contact with the Manufacturer to find out if it was available in Australia yet. It will be available in Australia by online ordering a bit later in the year.
For those of us who appreciate food cooked with live fire and those who would like to, I think this is a fantastic grill.
Here are some photos of it
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The fact that you can remove individual segments and fit options like the hotplate or the chicken holder is fantastic. I like the idea of the hot plate for those some grilling to stop flare-ups when grilling direct The fact that it is cast iron and will hold the heat and give great searing is an added bonus. I am looking forward to when they are available.

Regards
Phil aka Captain Cook

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Davo
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Post by Davo »

Hey Phil,

Yeah mate, I did happen to see a picture of that grill grate and it looks interesting. Weber did have a rectangle cast iron grate with rounded ends to fit over the stainless steel grill but have now discontinued it. I think you can still get the half moon hotplate which i have a regularly use, it's great when you have a very hot fire under it.
One of the new members mentioned the other day about the 22.5" WSM will be available in Australia sometime this spring. You were talking about getting one so you might want to hang loose till the bigger one is avail.
They are still asking AU $599 for the 18.5" so I wonder how much for the 22.5".

Cheers

Davo
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Captain Cook
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Post by Captain Cook »

Davo
The hotplate that Weber had was cast aluminum so it was easier to get up to temp. For my mind if you were going to use a big hotplate on a kettle you may as well use a gasser.
This cast iron grill is a different concept entirely. You have the option of using a quarter of it or a half as a hotplate or using it all as a grill. With the grill handle you can change the configuration mid cook. When I get one I might make up a wire rack so I can hold the fire in one segment and extend the indirect cooking area to 3/4.

I don't know if Weber will be bringing the 57 cm WSM to Australia. The sales of the 47 cm WSM are not all that great. I sell one maybe two per season though the store may sell more during the week. It is smoker which immediately turns people off. If it was explained as a BBQ that could roast grill and smoke with a wide range of temperatures and twice the cooking area of a kettle then I guess that sales would be higher.

Hopefully through the forming of the Australian BBQ and outdoor cooking Association (ABBQA) we can start to change Australian thinking and get a stronger following of cooking with live fire. I love cooking with my Q and Genesis during the week but I look forward to cooking and grilling on my Performer of a weekend. I think that this new Cast Iron grill is going to add to that pleasure.

Cheers

Phil aka Captain Cook
Davo
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Post by Davo »

Phil,

The Hotplate I have is cast iron and it's a half moon shape which fits into one side of the grill ontop of the grill bars. I find that it's great to do your onions, eggs, fried tomatos etc and i can use the other half of the grill for open grilling. I know the cast aluminium one you speak about which sits in the middle of the grill,it's not that one. I bought the half moon shape hotplate when i got my first kettle over 10 yrs ago.I haven't seen one for a long time so maybe they are discontinued now. They still have the cast Alum Breakfast plate.

Going by those pictures, there is food on the charcoal grate as well as the top grate? Am I seeing this correctly?

Yeah Phil, it's great to get the Performer out and have a decent cook-out, something that I haven't been able to do lately as it's either the crappy weather or the mrs has other plans for the weekend. The new Q220 has been getting a bit of a workout though :lol:

Cheers

Davo
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Captain Cook
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Post by Captain Cook »

Davo

You have one of the real old ones, they took a long time to get up to temp. If you use it leave the lid about 25 mm ajar when you preheat, it will heat it quicker.

They are using the charcoal grate to bake the spuds in their jacked and cook the corn. I will sometimes do the spuds like that when I am grilling, I also do onions like that - no need to peel them. I haven't tried corn like that as we usually buy frozen precooked corn. You will note how the chicken roasters are down near the charcoal grate makes it easier to do Beer Can Chicken without the lid hitting the top of the chicken. It shows me that a lot of thought has gone into the grill. I am guessing that it was designed by a BBQ Expert.

Regards

Phil aka Captain Cook
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Post by bbqdude »

I like the griddle for burgers and onions, once the burgers are a bit done I move em over to the grate part. The good thing about the inserts is that you can refill coal as needed. 4 zones also make sense because you got 2 hot areas, for griddle or steak, and 2 indirect areas.
I'd like your thoughts on aluminium? Are alu grates/hotplates common? I was thinking of doing the outside ring in aluminium, but am a bit afraid of hazardous components in the aluminum.
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Post by bbqdude »

Oh yeah, and because its so easy to lift the pieces out, we just toss the potatos down between the coals. So we got more room on the cooking grate.
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Post by Captain Cook »

Rolf
I can see a problem of Aluminium and cast iron together. Different rates of thermal expansion plus the big difference on the galvanic scale, the AL will probably corrode.

If you get a good recipe for Duck on the kettle please post it in the forum.

Cheers

Phil aka Captain Cook
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Re: Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by bbqdude »

Dont worry, our griddle are the same material, non ductile cast iron. Only the outer ring is a bit different, i.e. using ductile CI. It bounces, watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKGEXcOzD1k
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Re: Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by bbqdude »

We are finally able to ship our grates in Australia. If you are interested, please visit www.cast-iron-grate.com and click the Australian flag. If you order before Xmas we send you a handle for free.
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Re: Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by Captain Cook »

Can't wait for mine to arrive. The 18" one should fit a WSM shouldn't it.

Cheers
Phil aka Captain Cook
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Re: Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by urbangriller »

So, does the price listed on the website include freight? or is that extra??

Cheers
Chris
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Re: Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by bbqdude »

Shipping is extra, there is more details button that shows the shipping cost.
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Re: Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by urbangriller »

I've just done my first couple of cooks on the Cast Iron Grate.
I'm posting here because it is the only appropriate place given that I am an agent for the Cast Iron Grate and sell them through my website.

Firstly for Mick, who was asking if it would be OK to cook the Xmas turkey, I cooked a chook, maximum Heat Beads (I thought I'd try it flat out first up, to see what happened) in indirect format. I thought the Cast Iron Grate did protect the chicken from direct radiation and as illustrated in the photo, I had no problem taking out one of the inserts without disturbing the bird.

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The next day I decided to test the flash grill potential, I used a full box of Coco chef charcoal blocks (Bender Turds, I think someone called them) so I had a ridiculously hot fire in the centre of the Grate. The sear was right on the money, given I was really trying to kick it as hard as I could, the Rib Eye had a fantastic char and cooked perfectly in just minutes, Once I had a good sear I moved them to the side (bone facing the centre for protection) for the last 3 to 4 minutes.

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Cheers
Chris
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Re: Cast Iron Grill for Weber 57 cm Kettle and Performer

Post by Smokey »

Thank you Chris, I going to enjoy mine.
Still not arrived yet so I may miss the turkey.
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