Searing grate for deep inside my Medium BGE

[RolfTaylor]

I often reverse sear using the propane grill and a griddle. But it is hard to get much smoke flavor that way (I have two smoker boxes and I get some smoke flavor). And of course the max temperature is somewhat limited (I do not have an IR thermometer).

So when I made my first Sous Vide burgers I knew that I wasn't going to pick up a lot of smoke on a short sear, so I decided I would sear in the BGE with chips on the hot coals. I would like to do the warp speed/afterburner effect, but the grate is way too high above the coals.

While the burgers were cooking in the SV I puzzled over this and made a bunch of measurements. I have a spider and it looks like what I need is a grate that fits on the spiders. That gets me right down close to the fire. My measurments indicate I could fits a 12.5" grate at most. Another person here mentions using a 10" grate in a similar way.

So I have been searching and it looks like the best two options are:

1) Weber 8834 searing grate meant to fit inside their 2 piece 22" grate. The plus is that it gives me maximum surface are at 12" (that an additional 2 inches versus option 2. The minus is that while caste iron it is ceramic coated. IMHO that mean's it is going to rust and flake a lot more than a regular cast iron piece.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...adis=100&rt=nc


2) A Fire grate meant for a large BGE. This is real case iron. And sinze grill marks are not the goal, I lke it is mostly flat with relatively little open area. But particularly reachine down into the egg with a long spatula a bit more surface area would be very nice.

There a generic version that is reasonably priced.

https://www.bbqguys.com/bbqguys-signature/cast-iron-charcoal-fire-grate-for-kamado-grills-bbq-kcf-10

3) There's also a 10" grillgrate option. But I am thinking if I am going to spend money on grillgrate I should get a larger one. Probably the one that would fit at the regular height on the Medium BGE and would also be usable on the Weber propane. I might get this as a secondary option, but I am thinking I still want option 1 or 2.

Any thoughts?

[jfmorris]

Can you flip the spider upside down like shown in the last picture here:

https://ceramicgrillstore.com/produc...-medium-spider



I don't know the measurements if you do that, or if that is what you are already talking about, but that would seem to be a larger than 12 inch grate? Or maybe it is a 12". I don't know how big your firebox is.

[RolfTaylor]

I have a grate that will sit at the fire ring, no spider required. But if I want to get inside the fire ring I need something smaller. Looks like 12.5" is the smallest that fits inside the spider.

[jfmorris]

Here's another thought... kinda inspired by my SNS Kamado...

Would it be possible to buy a grate that would rest on the top edge of your charcoal ring/box, rather than hanging the spider on the edges like in the photo above, and then build the fire on top of THAT grate? I.e. raise the fire up higher?

That is what I do in my SNS Deluxe Kamado. It has the lower cast iron charcoal grate in the bottom center of the firebox, like any kamado. And then it has a much larger stainless steel upper charcoal grate that rests on the top edge of the firebox. They have this set so that it ends up at the same distance from the main cooking grate as the charcoal grate in a Weber or SNS kettle - that way you can use the SNS insert the same as in a kettle.

It would basically be a grate like in the above photo, but instead of sitting on the spider, it would sit right on the top of the ceramic fire ring.

Just a thought...

[RolfTaylor]

Hmmm, that's an interesting thought, and I do have such a grate (though if I use it this way I would lose my seasoning). However, I suspect having the fire up above the firebox reduced protection to the shell and I don't want to crack it (despite the fact I know for certain BGE would replace the ceramic no questions asked.

Same issue if I pour a whole back of charcoal in to raise the fire.

[Old Glory]

+1 on the Ceramic Grill Store. Give them a call and see what they suggest for the spider. They have some nice cast iron grates for searing

[Skip]

+2 on the CGS. IMO they are wonderful.

[STEbbq]

I bought one of the cheap Weber ones for searing in the Akorn. It’s not really held up well after a few uses but it serves its purpose.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/accessories-cookware-aa/grill-grates/1270297-are-these-grates-rusted-out

I’d probably look for something a little more heavy duty next time.

[RolfTaylor]

Yeah, I saw that and it's the right size, but I assumed it wouldn't last. Plus the skinny bars aren't particularly good for sear. Better than nothing though for sure.

[Chuck in Charlotte]

I've got a large BGE with the Ceramic Grill Store adjustable rig, and a Kick Ash basket. The Kick Ash basket fits perfectly into the Spider, so I put the Spider on the fire ring, then set the Kick Ash basket on top of the Spider, then put the cooking grate on the bottom level of the adjustable rig and set it on the fire ring. Other than lifting an already hot Kick Ash basket, it works very well for a quick sear.

[RolfTaylor]

Now I like this idea. If I put the spider in the down position, and but the grate I already have on the fire ring (or raise it if need be with the handy Ceramic Grill store spacers I bought this could work well. Not clear to me how much lump the ash basket would hold since it would need to be essentially even. I need to look at dimensions etc.

[SmokeyGator]

I gave up trying to sear with my kamado. It is not a BGE it is a Primo so in theory I can use 1/2 of a heat plate on one side, flip one of the cooking grates upside down over the hot coals side, and its all good.

In theory. In practice once the lid is open the fire tends to rapidly run away. So just close the lid, right? Yea. Good luck opening it again. Poofs of fire will be coming out of the bottom grate, so guess what happens when you lift the lid. If you guessed backdraft, you win! You have to be VERY careful to introduce enough oxygen to burn off whatever is trapped under the lid, but while doing that your food is burning.

It CAN be done. I have done high heat direct grilling on my Primo, so it is not impossible. Less fuel might be an option, I can also split the firebox and use less lump. This means a smaller fire, so it does not matter if it rages. One of these days I will try that, but the whole "cant lower the lid" thing will still hold true.

Anyhow after I concluded that I really did not need eyelashes anyway I found a cheap kettle style grill on the side of the road. A rental house was throwing it out. So of course I picked it up. And I discovered it was the way to go for direct grilling. Gets blazing hot, I can throw wood chunks or even log splits in it, and I do not hear sizzling noises coming from my hair when I lift the lid, no matter how fast I do it.

You do not need a Weber, although I want one now. The one I found is an Expert Grill, apparently sold by Walmart for less than $50 pre-covid. About as cheap as you can get. But it worked great for what I wanted - high heat.

Anyhow if you spot a kettle being tossed, go ahead and pick it up. Use it and see how it works out for you. If it is garbage no loss, just re-curb it and pass it off to another junk collector. But if it works well for your purpose - welcome to MCS. Just accept the fact you will be buying a 22.5 Weber in the near future.

[jfmorris]

I will say that the SNSK has 3 levels of cooking easily accessible if I built a fire in the bottom. Or indirect and searing if I build the fire in the SNS insert. Still probably more work than my Performer with its propane ignition.

[RolfTaylor]

Excellent point. But especially since I expect to be moving I am trying to limit acquisition to smaller things like grates. Obviously there the after burner technique, but I really don't want to buy multiple chimney's just for searing.

Speaking of chimney's, why isn't there a stainless steal version available? Seems like a no brainer for the yachting set, as well as anyone with a cabin near the shore...

[SmokeyGator]

RolfTaylor you really do not want charcoal on a boat. Your entire fiberglass hull is not only flammable, but hard to put out if it does catch on fire. Also you need to have charcoal on board, which is not really desirable. If it gets wet, might as well toss it overboard. A company called Magma makes some excellent all stainless gas grills though. They use 1 pound propane bottles and are pricy for their size, buy VERY popular on the water.

[RolfTaylor]

Here's another thought... kinda inspired by my SNS Kamado...

Would it be possible to buy a grate that would rest on the top edge of your charcoal ring/box, rather than hanging the spider on the edges like in the photo above, and then build the fire on top of THAT grate? I.e. raise the fire up higher?

That is what I do in my SNS Deluxe Kamado. It has the lower cast iron charcoal grate in the bottom center of the firebox, like any kamado. And then it has a much larger stainless steel upper charcoal grate that rests on the top edge of the firebox. They have this set so that it ends up at the same distance from the main cooking grate as the charcoal grate in a Weber or SNS kettle - that way you can use the SNS insert the same as in a kettle.

It would basically be a grate like in the above photo, but instead of sitting on the spider, it would sit right on the top of the ceramic fire ring.

Just a thought...

Hmmm, that's an interesting thought, and I do have such a grate (though if I use it this way I would lose my seasoning). However, I suspect having the fire up above the firebox reduced protection to the shell and I don't want to crack it (despite the fact I know for certain BGE would replace the ceramic no questions asked.

Same issue if I pour a whole back of charcoal in to raise the fire.

[jfmorris]

Then the next best option is that approach recommended by Chuck in Charlotte.

A cheap option that might work would be to use the grate on top of the fire ring, as discussed, but put a metal charcoal ring made for a WSM14 or WSM18 on top of that, to hold the charcoal on top of that grate, and far away from the side walls of the kamado. That way you should have no cracking risk of hot charcoal against the side wall of the kamado.

[jfmorris]

Also wondering if a BBQ Vortex (small) would rest on a grate on top of the fire ring, and not be too tall to put the cooking grate in place. That way the charcoal is contained away from the walls of the kamado, and higher up, and you have a focused intense place to sear.

Vortex sizes are listed here: https://vortexbbq.com/which-size/

[BBQPhil]

My solution after trying to use a BGE to blacken my steaks was to buy another grill for that. PKGO and M16 each work better than the BGE for charred steak.

[CandySueQ]

My BGE days are gone, but I used a Weber Smoky Joe for searing.

[RolfTaylor]

So no opinions on which of the two grates I found would sear better? Really?

[STEbbq]

Well, the two eBay links are to the same search…so can’t tell the difference.

[RolfTaylor]

Try now!

[STEbbq]

I would definitely do this one for the improved durability.

https://www.bbqguys.com/bbqguys-signature/cast-iron-charcoal-fire-grate-for-kamado-grills-bbq-kcf-10

I have some long tongs that are really heavy duty that work great at keeping me away from the flames so maybe add those too.

Cave Tools 17" Long Handle Stainless Steel Grill Tongs with Locking Bracket - BBQ Grill Accessories https://a.co/d/4K4Y0lB

[RolfTaylor]

Here's what I went with. Sits about 2" above the coals.



There's room for 2" more diameter, but I had no luck finding something 12" diameter and cast iron. This was after the first flip and you can see the advantage of having more sear area and less openings.