Aussie BBQ Forum

Hi all,

I am getting rid of my gasser and am going to go 'old school' by using an old brick built in bbq in my backyard - wood powered obviously:




I just need to work out a few things:

1) what sort of bbq plate should I get - standard cast iron; stainless steel; other?

Currently leaning towards a standard cast iron type plate - why go old school and then get a 'non' old school plate? also, I have read stainless steel isn't as good a conductor of heat. Any major downside to cast iron?

2) given that a wood fire will burn for a while before/after cooking, should I be getting a thicker plate that wont warp?

3) the slot in the brick for the plate is 61cm x 46cm - which isn't a standard plate size. Does anyone know where I get a custom sized plate made or have one cut to size?


thanks in advance....

anyone know anything about plates??

Couldn't you just season the plate thats on it?
That style BBQ reminds of holidays while growing up
We use to have one at our holiday house and would cook up brekky, lunch and dinner on it
I guess the hardest thing would be keeping the plate clean and rust free and regulating the temp of the plate while the inferno blazes below

I'd just get a slab of mild steal, 10mm or so, you could always get part of it laser cut like grill bars to

Hogsy wrote:Couldn't you just season the plate thats on it?
That style BBQ reminds of holidays while growing up
We use to have one at our holiday house and would cook up brekky, lunch and dinner on it
I guess the hardest thing would be keeping the plate clean and rust free and regulating the temp of the plate while the inferno blazes below

Hogsy,

you are so right on this call, if that plate is till there, it looks perfect, nice thickness, and i am sure it will not take much to reseason it.

beermee,

mate i had a BBQ like that, as i am sure most of us old timers did at one stage. the most important thing i added to it was.....a couple or three aloe vera plants. 'cause the mother gave me currie.

kevin

Yea in hindsight I'd use the plate that's on it , attack it with a wire brush then season it

There is nothing wrong with that plate,with a bit of elbow grease would come up like new. It has handles on each side,just lift off the plate and start your fire,when the wood has burned to hot coals,spread the coals out,place the lid back on,it would be ready to cook on in five to ten minutes.

Cheers
Shiska

ok, thanks guys, i'll get to work on that plate..... i just thought it was a bit too rusty and thin, but i'll give it good clean and season it......

well, here it is....

some elbow grease:




the end result:




seasoning the plate:





the morning after:

That came up sweet
Good work

Yea that looks great

thanks guys, I am shocked to see how well it came up myself...

first real cook tonight - pork fillet stir fry. worked so well - great heat, totally non-stick, quick scrape a she's completely clean. my only small complaint is that its pretty hot for the cook standing in front of a roaring fire!

here's a few pics:







and this is how the plate cleans up after a 20 second scrape with a simple flat scrapper:

Nice work bro that looks awsum

That is awesome, and certainly brings back memories!

My Pop hand built something similar and we pretty much lived on it growing up.

Kudos!

mate that looks good! got a ripper old plate layin round the side mite have to get the grinder out!